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be

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Appendix:Variations of "be"
show ▼Languages (60)

Translingual

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Etymology

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Clipping of English Belarusian, from Belarusian беларуская (bjelaruskaja).

Symbol

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be

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Belarusian.

See also

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology 1

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From Middle English been (“to be”).

show ▼further etymology of be and its conjugated forms

Pronunciation

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Verb

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be (highly irregular; see conjugation table)

  1. As an auxiliary verb:
    1. (auxiliary) Used with past participles of verbs to form the passive voice. quotations ▼
      The dog was saved by the boy.
    2. Used with present participles of verbs to form the continuous aspect. quotations ▼
      The woman is walking.
      I shall be writing to you soon.
      We liked to chat while we were eating.
    4. (formal) Used with to-infinitives of verbs to express intent, obligation, appropriateness, or relative future occurrence.
      I am to leave tomorrow.
      They are to stay here until I return.
      I'd been to've been ambassador, but fell seriously ill.
      How were they to know the whole exercise was a ruse?
      They were to have been married overseas but COVID forced a change of plans.
    5. Used with past participles of certain intransitive verbs to form the perfect aspect. quotations ▼
      He is finished.
      He is gone.
      He is come. (archaic)
    6. (African-American Vernacular, Caribbean, Ireland, auxiliary, not conjugated) To tend to do, often do; marks the habitual aspect. quotations ▼
  2. As a copulative verb:
    2. (with there, or dialectally it, as dummy subject) To exist. quotations ▼
      There is just one woman in town who can help us.
      (or, dialectally:) It is just one woman in town who can help us.
    3. Used to declare the subject and object identical or equivalent.
      Hi, I’m Jim.
      3 times 5 is fifteen.
      These four are the ones going to the quarter-finals.
      François Mitterrand was president of France from 1981 to 1995.
      This is how we do it.
    4. Used to indicate that a predicate nominal applies to the subject.
      Rex is a dog.
      A dog is an animal.
      Dogs are animals.
    5. Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by an adjective or prepositional phrase. quotations ▼
      The sky is blue.
    6. Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase.
      The sky is a deep blue today.
    7. (colloquial, humorous) To have (a condition, especially a mental or physical disability).
      He’s a little autism.
    8. Used to link a subject to a measurement.
      This building is three hundred years old.
      I am 75 kilograms.
      He’s about 6 feet tall.
    9. (with a cardinal numeral) Used to state the age of a subject in years.
      I’m 20 (years old).
    10. (with a dummy subject it) Used to indicate the time of day.
      It is almost eight (o’clock).
      It’s 8:30 [read eight-thirty] in Tokyo.
      What time is it there? It’s night.
    11. (with since) Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event.
      It has been three years since my grandmother died. (similar to "My grandmother died three years ago", but emphasizes the intervening period)
      It had been six days since his departure, when I received a letter from him.
    12. (rare and regional, chiefly in the past tense) Used to link two noun clauses: a day of the week, recurring date, month, or other specific time (on which the event of the main clause took place) and a period of time indicating how long ago that day was. [from 15th c.] quotations ▼
      I saw her Monday was a week: I saw her a week ago last Monday (a week before last Monday).
      On the morning of Sunday was fortnight before Christmas: on the morning of the Sunday that was two weeks before the Sunday prior to Christmas.
    13. To pass or spend (time). quotations ▼
    14. To take a period of time.
      Dinner will be ten minutes.
      It was an hour before he returned.
    15. (often impersonal, with it as a dummy subject) Used to indicate ambient conditions such as weather, light, noise or air quality.
      It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid.
      Why is it so dark in here?
    16. (dynamic / lexical be, especially in progressive tenses, conjugated non-suppletively in the present tense, see usage notes) To exist or behave in a certain way. quotations ▼
      "What do we do?" "We be ourselves."
      Just be yourself.
      Why is he being nice to me?
  3. As an intransitive lexical verb:
    1. (now usually literary) To exist; to have real existence, to be alive. quotations ▼
      The Universe has no explanation: it just is.
      That was the week that was.
      This is something that was meant to be.
    2. To remain undisturbed in a certain state or situation.
      Let them be for a few hours.
      Leave us be until the guests arrive.
    3. To occupy a place.
      The cup is on the table.
    4. To occur, to take place.
      When will the meeting be?
    5. (in perfect tenses) Elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar, also extending to certain other senses of "go".
      The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come.
      I have been to Spain many times.
      We've been about twenty miles.
      I have terrible constipation – I haven't been for several days.
      I’ve been into town this morning.
Usage notes
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  • When be is used copulatively with a pronoun, traditional grammar puts the pronoun in the subjective case (I, he, she, we, they) rather than the objective case (me, him, her, us, them), regardless of which side of the copula it is placed. For example, “I was the masked man” and “The masked man was I” would both be considered correct, while “The masked man was me” and “Me was the masked man” would both be incorrect. However, most colloquial speech treats the verb be as transitive, in which case the pronoun is used in the objective case if it occurs after the copula: “I was the masked man” but “The masked man was me”. This paradigm applies even if the copula is linking two pronouns; thus “I am her” and “She is me", and “Am I me?” (versus the traditional “I am she”, “She is I”, “Am I I?”). However, the use of whom with a copula is generally considered incorrect and a hypercorrection, though in some cases (especially in sentences involving a to-infinitive or a perfect tense), such as “Whom do you want to be?”, it can come naturally to some speakers; in short, straightforward sentences, such as “Whom are you?”, this is much rarer and likelier to be considered incorrect.
  • In most copulative and intransitive senses be is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous aspect. See Category:English stative verbs.
Conjugation
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show ▼Conjugation of be
infinitive (to) be
present tense past tense
1st-person singular am, 'm, be† was, 's1, were1
2nd-person singular are, 're, art, 'rt were, wast†, wert†
3rd-person singular is, 's, beeth†, bes† was, were1
plural are, 're, be†, been† were, was1, 's1, weren†
subjunctive be, beest† were, wert†
imperative be —
participles being been

† Archaic or obsolete. 1 Dialectal.

  • The verb be is the most irregular non-defective verb in Standard English. Unlike other verbs, which distinguish at most five forms (as in do–does–doing–did–done), be distinguishes eight:
    • Be itself is the plain form, used as the infinitive, as the imperative, and as the present subjunctive (though many speakers do not have a separate present subjunctive, using an auxiliary verb construction in place of the subjunctive).
      I want to be a father someday. (infinitive)
      Allow the truth to be heard! (infinitive)
      Please be here by eight o’clock. (imperative)
      The librarian asked that the rare books not be touched. (present subjunctive; speakers that do not distinguish the subjunctive and indicative would use an auxiliary verb construction here)
      If that be true... (archaic present subjunctive; not in common use, even by speakers who otherwise maintain the subjunctive)
    • Be is also used as the present tense indicative form in the alternative, dynamic / lexical conjugation of be:
      What do we do? We be ourselves. (first-person plural present indicative, lexical be)
      but: Who are we? We are human beings. (first-person plural present indicative, copula be)
      • It is also an archaic alternative form of the indicative, especially in the plural:[1]
      The powers that be, are ordained of God. (Romans 13:1, Tyndale Bible, 1526)[2]
      We are true men; we are no spies: We be twelve brethren... (Genesis 42:31–2, King James Version, 1611)[3]
      I think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in it. (Hamlet, Act V, Scene i, circa 1600 – though this may be viewed as the subjunctive instead)[4]
      Thanks be.
    • Am, are, and is are the forms of the present indicative. Am is the first-person singular (used with I); is is the third-person singular (used with he, she, it and other subjects that would be used with does rather than do); and are is both the second-person singular and the plural (used with we, you, they, and any other plural subjects).
      Am I in the right place? (first-person singular present indicative)
      You are even taller than your brother! (second-person singular present indicative)
      Where is the library? (third-person singular present indicative)
      These are the biggest shoes we have. (plural present indicative)
    • Was and were are the forms of the past indicative and past subjunctive (like did). In the past indicative, was is the first- and third-person singular (used with I, as well as with he, she, it and other subjects that would be used with does rather than do), and were is both the second-person singular and the plural (used with we, you, they, and any other plural subjects). In the traditional past subjunctive, were is used with all subjects, though many speakers do not actually distinguish the past subjunctive from the past indicative, and therefore use was with first- and third-person singular subjects even in cases where other speakers would use were.
      I was out of town. (first-person singular past indicative)
      You were the first person here. (second-person singular past indicative)
      The room was dirty. (third-person singular past indicative)
      We were angry at each other. (plural past indicative)
      I wish I were more sure. (first-person singular past subjunctive; was is also common, though considered less correct by some)
      If she were here, she would know what to do. (third-person singular past subjunctive; was is also common, though considered less correct by some)
    • Being is the gerund and present participle, used in progressive aspectual forms, after various catenative verbs, and in other constructions that function like nouns, adjectivally or adverbially. (It’s also used as a deverbal noun and as a conjunction; see those senses in the entry for being itself.)
      Being in London and being in Tokyo have similar rewards but in different languages. (gerund in grammatical subject)
      All of a sudden, he’s being nice to everyone. (present participle in progressive aspect)
      His mood being good increased his productivity noticeably. (present participle in adjectival phrase)
      It won’t stop being a problem until someone does something about it. (gerund after catenative verb)
    • Been is the past participle, used in the perfect aspect. In certain circumstances it is replacable with gone (see the usage notes at go). In Middle English, it was also the infinitive.
      It’s been that way for a week and a half.
  • In archaic or obsolete forms of English, with the pronoun thou, the verb be has a few additional forms:
    • When the pronoun thou was in regular use, the forms art, wast, and wert were the corresponding present indicative, past indicative, and past subjunctive, respectively.
    • As thou became less common and more highly marked, a special present-subjunctive form beest developed (replacing the regular present subjunctive form be, still used with all other subjects). Additionally, the form wert, previously a past subjunctive form, came to be used as a past indicative as well.
  • The forms am, is, and are can contract with preceding subjects: I’m (“I am”), ’s (“is”), ’re (“are”). The form are most commonly contracts with personal pronouns (we’re (“we are”), you’re (“you are”), they’re (“they are”)), but contractions with other subjects are possible; the form is contracts quite freely with a variety of subjects. These contracted forms, however, are possible only when there is an explicit, non-preposed complement, and they cannot be stressed; therefore, the contractions cannot appear at the end of a sentence. Instead one must use the full forms, such as:
    Who’s here? — I am.
    I wonder what it is.
  • Several of the finite forms of be have special negative forms, containing the suffix -n’t, that can be used instead of adding the adverb not. Specifically, the forms is, are, was, and were have the negative forms isn’t, aren’t, wasn’t, and weren’t. The form be itself does not, even in finite uses, with “not be” being used in the present subjunctive and “do not be” or “don’t be” (or, in dated use, “be not”) being used in the imperative. The form am has the negative forms aren’t, amn’t, and ain’t, but all of these are in restricted use; see their entries for details.
  • Outside of Standard English, there is some variation in usage of some forms; some dialects, for example, use is or ’s throughout the present indicative (supplanting, in whole or in part, am and are), and/or was throughout the past indicative and past subjunctive (supplanting were).
Alternative forms
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Synonyms
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Derived terms
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show more ▼
phrasal verbs etc. derived from be
show more ▼
Translations
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See be/translations § Verb.

Further reading

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Etymology 2

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A variant of by which goes back to Middle English be (variant of Middle English bi).

Pronunciation

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Preposition

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be

  1. (dialectal, possibly dated) Alternative form of by. Also found in compounds, especially oaths, e.g. begorra. quotations ▼

Etymology 3

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Borrowed from Russian бэ (bɛ).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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be (plural bes)

  1. The name of the Cyrillic script letter Б / б

References

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  1. ^ Goold Brown (1851), “Of Verbs”, in The Grammar of English Grammars, […], New York, N.Y.: […] Samuel S. & William Wood, […], page 357.
  2. ^ [William Tyndale, transl.] (1526), The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany]: [Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Romans xiij:[1], folio ccxiij, recto: “The powers that be / are ordeyned off God.”
  3. ^ The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Genesis 42:31–32, column 2: “We are true men; we are no ſpies. We be twelue brethren […]”
  4. ^ William Shakespeare (c. 1599–1602 (date written)), The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], signature M3, recto: “I thinke it be thine indeede, for thou lyeſt in’t.”
  5. ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 Joseph Wright, editor (1898), “BE”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume I (A–C), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC.

Anagrams

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Ahtna

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Postposition

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be

  1. third-person singular form of -e

Albanian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Albanian *bẹ(ð)ə < *baidā-, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoydʰ-eh₂ < *bʰeydʰ- (“to persuade”).[1][2] Compare Old English bād (“pledge, expectation”), Proto-Slavic *bě̄dà, Ancient Greek πείθω (peíthō), Latin foedus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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be f (plural be, definite beja, definite plural betë)

  1. oath
  2. vow, swearing

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Forschungen, Stefan; Matzinger, Joachim (2013), Die Verben des Altalbanischen: Belegwörterbuch, Vorgeschichte und Etymologie (Albanische Forschungen; 33) (in German), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 236
  2. ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl et al. (2021), “be”, in DPEWA. Digitales Philologisch-Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altalbanischen [DPEWA. Digital Philological-Etymological Dictionary of Old Albanian]

Azerbaijani

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be

  1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

See also

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Balinese

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Noun

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be

  1. alternative spelling of bé

Bangi

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Proto-Bantu *-bɪ́ɪ̀.

Adjective

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be

  1. bad

Basque

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be inan

  1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

Declension

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show ▼Declension of be (inan V-stem)
indefinite singular plural proximal plural
absolutive be bea beak beok
ergative bek beak beek beok
dative beri beari beei beoi
genitive beren bearen been beon
comitative berekin bearekin beekin beokin
causative berengatik bearengatik beengatik beongatik
benefactive berentzat bearentzat beentzat beontzat
instrumental bez beaz beez beotaz
innesive betan bean beetan beotan
locative betako beko beetako beotako
allative betara bera beetara beotara
terminative betaraino beraino beetaraino beotaraino
directive betarantz berantz beetarantz beotarantz
destinative betarako berako beetarako beotarako
ablative betatik betik beetatik beotatik
partitive berik — — —
prolative betzat — — —

See also

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Blagar

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be

  1. pig

References

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Catalan

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Etymology 1

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be f (plural bes)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.
Usage notes
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  • In some dialects of Catalan, the sounds associated with the letter b and the letter v are the same: [b ~ β]. In order to differentiate be and ve in those dialects, the letters are often called be alta (“high B”) and ve baixa (“low V”).
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Onomatopoeic from the sound of a lamb.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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be m (plural bens)

  1. sheep, ram, ewe, lamb; an individual of the species Ovis aries
Hyponyms
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Further reading

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Dorasque

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Noun

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be

  1. (Changuena, Chumulu, Gualaca) night

References

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  • Alphonse Louis Pinart, Vocabulario Castellano-dorasque, Dialectos Chumulu, Gualaca Y Changuina (1890)

East Central German

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Etymology

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From Old High German bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi. Compare German bei.

Preposition

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be

  1. (Erzgebirgisch) at; with; by; near; (close) to

Further reading

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  • Hendrik Heidler (11 June 2020), Hendrik Heidler's 400 Seiten: Echtes Erzgebirgisch: Wuu de Hasen Hoosn haaßn un de Hosen Huusn do sei mir drhamm: Das Original Wörterbuch: Ratgeber und Fundgrube der erzgebirgischen Mund- und Lebensart: Erzgebirgisch – Deutsch / Deutsch – Erzgebirgisch‎[2] (in German), 3. geänderte Auflage edition, Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 21

Esperanto

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /be/
  • Audio:Duration: 1 second.(file)
  • Rhymes: -e
  • Syllabification: be

Interjection

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be

  1. The characteristic cry of a sheep.

Derived terms

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Faroese

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Noun

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be n (genitive singular bes, plural be)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

Declension

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n4 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative be beið be beini
accusative be beið be beini
dative be, bei benum beum beunum
genitive bes besins bea beanna

See also

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Galician

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be m (plural bes)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

See also

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Further reading

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Guerrero Amuzgo

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Adjective

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be

  1. red

Gullah

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Etymology

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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be

  1. clean
  2. remove debris

References

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  • Lorenzo Dow Turner, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect (1969)

Hungarian

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Pronunciation

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Adverb

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be (comparative beljebb, superlative legbeljebb)

  1. in (towards the interior of a defined space, such as a building or room) antonym ▲
    Antonym: ki

Usage notes

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This term may also be part of the split form of a verb prefixed with be-, occurring when the main verb does not follow the prefix directly. It can be interpreted only with the related verb form, irrespective of its position in the sentence, e.g. meg tudták volna nézni (“they could have seen it”, from megnéz). For verbs with this prefix, see be-; for an overview, Appendix:Hungarian verbal prefixes.

Derived terms

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Compound words
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show more ▼

Further reading

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  • (adverb: “in”): be in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
  • (interjection-like adverb: “how…!”; a dated, poetic synonym of de): be in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
  • be in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Anagrams

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Iau

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Noun

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be

  1. fire

Further reading

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Bill Palmer, The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area (→ISBN, 2017), page 531, table 95, Comparative basic vocabulary in Lakes Plain Languages

Ido

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Etymology

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From b +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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be (plural be-i)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

See also

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Indonesian

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Etymology

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From Dutch bee.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bé (plural be-be)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

Synonyms

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  • bi (Standard Malay)

See also

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Further reading

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Italian

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be f (invariable)

  1. (regional, obsolete) alternative form of bi

References

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  1. ^ be in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Further reading

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  • be in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Japanese

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Romanization

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be

  1. The hiragana syllable べ (be) or the katakana syllable ベ (be) in Hepburn romanization.

Karajá

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Noun

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be

  1. water

References

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  • David Lee Fortune, Gramática Karajá: um Estudo Preliminar em Forma Transformacional

Latin

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Etymology

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    Derived from Etruscan. Etruscan names of stops were the stop followed by /eː/.[1]

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    bē f (indeclinable)

    1. The name of the letter B.

    Coordinate terms

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    References

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    1. ^ Geoffrey Sampson (1985), Writing Systems: A Linguistic Introduction, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. →ISBN, page 109.
    • Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), part III: “Summary of the Ancient Evidence”, page 32: "Clearly there is no question or doubt about the names of the vowels A, E, I, O, U. They are simply long A, long E, etc. (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū). Nor is there any uncertainty with respect to the six mutes B, C, D, G, P, T. Their names are bē, cē, dē, gē, pē, tē (each with a long E). Or about H, K, and Q: they are hā, kā, kū—each, again, with a long vowel sound."

    Lingala

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Bangi be.

    Adjective

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    be

    1. bad

    Lithuanian

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    Etymology

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    From Proto-Balto-Slavic *beź, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰe (instrumental particle) + *-ǵʰs (“out”). Cognate with Proto-Slavic *bez(ъ) (“without”); see there for more cognates.[1]

    Pronunciation

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    Preposition

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    bè (with genitive)

    1. (shows absence of something) without
    2. besides; but, except

    Antonyms

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    References

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    1. ^ Derksen, Rick (2015), “be”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 84

    Lutuv

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    Etymology

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    From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ɓeel.

    Noun

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    be

    1. cheek

    References

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    • VanBik, Kenneth (2009), Proto-Kuki-Chin: A Reconstructed Ancestor of the Kuki-Chin Languages (STEDT Monograph Series), volume 8, →ISBN

    Malagasy

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    Adjective

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    be

    1. big; great antonym ▲
      Antonym: kely
    2. many; numerous

    Mandarin

    [edit]

    Romanization

    [edit]

    be

    1. nonstandard spelling of bē
    2. nonstandard spelling of bê̄

    Usage notes

    [edit]
    • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

    Middle English

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    From Old English bēon.

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. alternative form of been

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    From Old English bēo.

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. alternative form of bee

    Etymology 3

    [edit]

    From Old English bēo, bēom, first-person singular of bēon, from Proto-Germanic *biumi, first-person singular of *beuną.

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. first-person singular present indicative of been
    Usage notes
    [edit]
    • Less common than am.

    Etymology 4

    [edit]

    From Old English bēo, singular subjunctive of bēon.

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. singular present subjunctive of been
    Descendants
    [edit]
    • English: be
    • Scots: be

    Etymology 5

    [edit]

    From Old English bēo, 2nd-person singular imperative of bēon, from Proto-Germanic *beu, 2nd-person singular imperative of *beuną.

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. singular imperative of been
    Descendants
    [edit]
    • English: be
    • Scots: be

    Etymology 6

    [edit]

    Old English bēoþ (with the -þ replaced with an -n levelled in from the past and subjunctive, then lost), present plural of bēon (“to be”), from Proto-Germanic *biunþi, third-person present plural of *beuną (“to be, become”).

    Alternative forms

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. plural present of been
    Usage notes
    [edit]

    The usual plural form of been is aren in the North, been in the Midlands, and beth in the South; sind also existed, especially early on, but was not the predominant form in any area.

    Descendants
    [edit]
    • English: be (obsolete or dialectal as the plural)
    • Scots: be

    Mizo

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Proto-Kuki-Chin *bee.

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. bean

    Derived terms

    [edit]
    show more ▼

    Further reading

    [edit]

    Mòcheno

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Middle High German wec, from Old High German weg, from Proto-West Germanic *weg, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz (“way, path”). Cognate with German Weg, English way.

    Noun

    [edit]

    be m

    1. path, way

    Derived terms

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]

    Norwegian Bokmål

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Old Norse biðja.

    Verb

    [edit]

    be (imperative be, present tense ber, passive bes, simple past ba or bad, past participle bedt, present participle beende)

    1. to pray
    2. to ask something of someone

    Synonyms

    [edit]

    Derived terms

    [edit]
    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
    • “be” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
    • “be” in The Ordnett Dictionary

    Norwegian Nynorsk

    [edit]

    Alternative forms

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Old Norse biðja. Akin to English bid.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    be (present tense ber, past tense bad, supine bede or bedd or bedt, past participle beden or bedd, present participle bedande, imperative be)

    1. to pray
    2. to ask something of someone

    Derived terms

    [edit]
    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
    • “be” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
    • “be” in The Ordnett Dictionary

    Occitan

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be f (plural bes)

    1. bee (the letter b)

    Old English

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Proto-Germanic *bi.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Preposition

    [edit]

    be

    1. about (concerning) quotations ▼
    2. by, in various senses:
      1. near or next to
      quotations ▼
      1. not later than
      2. based on, according to
    3. for, in the account of quotations ▼

    See also

    [edit]

    Old Irish

    [edit]

    Alternative forms

    [edit]
    • (2nd sg. pres. subj.): ba

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. second-person singular present subjunctive of is
    2. first/second-person singular future of is

    Palula

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Sanskrit वयम् (vayam, “we”).

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Pronoun

    [edit]

    be (personal, Perso-Arabic spelling بےۡ)

    1. we (1pl nom)

    References

    [edit]
    • Henrik Liljegren; Naseem Haider (2011), “be”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[3], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
    • Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “be”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press

    Polish

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]
    • IPA(key): /ˈbɛ/
    • Audio:Duration: 1 second.(file)
    • Rhymes: -ɛ
    • Syllabification: be

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    From the phonetic pronunciation of the letter B/b.

    Noun

    [edit]

    be n (indeclinable)

    1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Onomatopoeic.

    Adjective

    [edit]

    be (comparative bardziej be, superlative najbardziej be, indeclinable, derived adverb be)

    1. (childish) icky, yucky synonym ▲
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:zły

    Adverb

    [edit]

    be (comparative bardziej be, superlative najbardziej be)

    1. (childish) icky, yucky

    Interjection

    [edit]

    be

    1. (colloquial) used with children to tell them not to touch something, bad! no touchy!
    2. (onomatopoeia) used to imitate the sound of a sheep or ram, baa synonym ▲
      Synonym: me
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    adjective
    interjection
    nouns
    verbs

    Further reading

    [edit]
    • be in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
    • be in Polish dictionaries at PWN

    Romanian

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Onomatopoeic.

    Interjection

    [edit]

    be

    1. baa (sound made by sheep or goats)

    Savi

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Sanskrit वयम् (vayam).

    Pronoun

    [edit]

    be

    1. we; first-person plural personal pronoun

    References

    [edit]
    • Knobloch, Nina (2020), A grammar sketch of Sauji: An Indo-Aryan language of Afghanistan‎[4], Stockholm: Stockholm University

    Scots

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    From Middle English been, from Old English bēon. The various forms have different further etymologies:

    Cognates include English be.

    Alternative forms

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. to be
    Conjugation
    [edit]
    show ▼Conjugation of be
    infinitive tae be
    present participle bein
    past participle been
    singular plural
    A thoo1 he/she/it we ye they
    present positive am art is are
    negative amna artna isna arena
    past wis wis, wir2

    1Archaic.   2Used only with plural pronouns.

    show ▼Northern Scots conjugation of be
    infinitive tae be
    present participle bein
    past participle been
    singular plural
    A ee hei/shi/it oo yow yins they
    present regular im ir is ir is ir
    emphatic em, um er, ur es er, ur es er, ur
    negative imni irni isni irni isni irni
    past wuz wuz, wur wuz wur

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Conjunction

    [edit]

    be

    1. alternative form of by

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ “be, v..”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
    2. ^ “by, prep., adv., conj..”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

    Serili

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. water

    References

    [edit]
    • Roger Blench, The Enggano (in notes)
    • ABVD (as 'bɛ)
    • ASJP (as bE, representing bɛ)

    Slovene

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Probably from the German name of the letter B (pronounced [beː]).

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    bẹ̑ m inan

    1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

    Declension

    [edit]
    Unknown tone or non-tonal
    		 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
    more ▼Masculine inan., soft o-stem
    nom. sing. bé
    gen. sing. bêja

    Synonyms

    [edit]

    Sotho

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Proto-Bantu *-bɪ́ɪ̀.

    Adjective

    [edit]

    be

    1. bad

    Spanish

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be f (plural bes)

    1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b. synonyms, coordinate terms ▲
      Synonyms: be larga, be alta, be grande
      Coordinate terms: uve, ve, ve corta, ve baja, ve chica, ve pequeña, ve de vaca
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    See also
    [edit]

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Echoic.

    Noun

    [edit]

    be m (plural bes)

    1. baa (bleating of a sheep)

    Further reading

    [edit]

    Sumerian

    [edit]

    Romanization

    [edit]

    be

    1. romanization of 𒁁 (be)

    Swedish

    [edit]

    Alternative forms

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From older bedja, from Old Swedish biþia, from Old Norse biðja, from Proto-Germanic *bidjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰedʰ-. Cognate with Danish bede, Icelandic biðja, English bid, Dutch bidden, German bitten.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    be (present ber, preterite bad, supine bett, imperative be)

    1. to ask for, request someone else to do something
      Han bad om ett glas vatten ― He asked for a glass of water
      Jag vill be om en tjänst ― I want to ask you a favor
      Han bad honom lämna rummet ― He asked him to leave the room
    2. to pray
      De satt i kyrkan och bad ― They sat in church, praying
    3. to beg, to plead with someone for help or for a favor
      Hjälp mig! Jag ber dig! ― Help me! I beg of you!

    Conjugation

    [edit]
    show ▼Conjugation of be (class 5 strong)
    active passive
    infinitive be bes
    supine bett betts
    imperative be —
    imper. plural1 ben —
    present past present past
    indicative ber bad bes bads
    ind. plural1 be bådo bes bådos
    subjunctive2 be både bes bådes
    present participle bedjande, beende
    past participle bedd

    1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

    show ▼Conjugation of bedja (class 5 strong, dated)
    active passive
    infinitive bedja bedjas
    supine bett betts
    imperative bed —
    imper. plural1 beden —
    present past present past
    indicative beder bad beds, bedes, bedjes bads
    ind. plural1 bedja bådo bedjas bådos
    subjunctive2 bede både bedes bådes
    present participle bedjande
    past participle bedd

    1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

    Synonyms

    [edit]
    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]

    Tagalog

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Borrowed from Spanish be, the Spanish name of the letter B / b. Ultimately from Latin bē. Doublet of bi.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜒ) (historical)

    1. the name of the Latin script letter B/b, in the Abecedario synonyms ▲
      Synonyms: (in the Filipino alphabet) bi, (in the Abakada alphabet) ba

    Further reading

    [edit]
    • “be”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

    Tarao

    [edit]

    Alternative forms

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. bean, beans

    References

    [edit]
    • Chungkham Yashwanta Singh (2002), Tarao Grammar (in Tarao)

    Tày

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    Cognate with Lao ແບ (bǣ) or ເບ (bē), Tai Dam ꪵꪚ, Zhuang mbe, Saek แบ๋, Thai แบ (bɛɛ).

    Verb

    [edit]

    be (Nôm form 𬌱)

    1. to spread
      be píc ― to spread one's wings
    2. to bulge
      Toọng be.
      One's stomach bulges.
    3. to spread out
      cần pác be ― A person with a wide mouth
    4. to lie down with one's limbs spread out (from tiredness or laziness)
      be nòn tẳm sloai ― to oversleep 'til noon
      be nòn quá nâư ― to oversleep the entire morning
    Derived terms
    [edit]

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. carp bream
    Derived terms
    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
    • Lương Bèn (2011), Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎[5][6] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
    • Dương Nhật Thanh; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎[7] (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội [Social Sciences Publishing House]

    Turkish

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. The name of the Latin script letter B/b.

    See also

    [edit]

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. Letter of the Arabic alphabet: ب

    Etymology 3

    [edit]

    From Ottoman Turkish به (be).

    Interjection

    [edit]

    be

    1. (very informal) hey there, hey! you! (implying disapproval of the addressee’s actions)
    2. strengthening of the preceding sentence
      Bu yük çok ağır be! ― My, this load is very heavy

    References

    [edit]

    Tzotzil

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]
    • (Zinacantán) IPA(key): /ɓɛ/

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. road, path, way

    References

    [edit]

    Vietnamese

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. wine flask
      Rượu ngon chẳng quản be sành.
      Good wine does not mind a terracotta flask.

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Borrowed from French beige.

    Adjective

    [edit]

    be

    1. beige
      chiếc áo mưa màu be — a beige raincoat

    Etymology 3

    [edit]

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. To build a mud embankment with one's hands.
    2. To prop up the lip of a sack while topping off the sack, to ensure a more generous quantity.
      lấy tay be miệng đấu khi đong đỗ — to surround the top of a measure with one's hands while measuring beans
      Đong bình thường, không được be đâu đấy. — Measure it out normally; don't prop up the lip of the sack.

    Etymology 4

    [edit]

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. To hug a boundary or riverbank.
      Thuyền be theo bờ sông.
      The boat hugged the riverbank.

    Etymology 5

    [edit]

    Onomatopoeic

    Interjection

    [edit]

    be • (𠻻, 𠾦)

    1. (onomatopoeia) bleat; baa
    [edit]

    References

    [edit]

    Hồ Ngọc Đức, editor (2003), “be”, in Việt–Việt‎[9] (DICT), Leipzig: Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details), archived from the original on 12 November 2024

    West Makian

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. water

    References

    [edit]
    • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎[10], Pacific linguistics

    Yola

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    be

    1. alternative form of ba (“to be”) quotations ▼
    2. alternative form of ba (“is”) quotations ▼
    3. alternative form of ba (“are”) quotations ▼
    4. alternative form of ba (“been”) quotations ▼

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Preposition

    [edit]

    be

    1. alternative form of bee (“by”) quotations ▼

    References

    [edit]
    • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867

    Zia

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    be

    1. mouth

    Zou

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    bè

    1. bean

    References

    [edit]
    • Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40

    Zulu

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From -ba (“to be”).

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    IPA(key): /ɓe/

    Verb

    [edit]

    -be

    1. (auxiliary) forms continuous tenses [with participial]
      Ngesonto elilandelayo ngizobe ngisebenza kakhulu.
      Next week I will be working a lot.

    Usage notes

    [edit]

    In past tenses, this auxiliary is usually contracted.

    Ngibe ngihamba → Bengihamba "I was walking." (recent past)

    Ngabe ngihamba → Ngangihamba "I was walking." (remote past)

    Inflection

    [edit]

    This entry needs an inflection-table template.

    References

    [edit]

    C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “-ɓe”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “-ɓe”

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