be – Wiktionary

Translingual

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Etymology

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Abbreviation of English Belarusian

Symbol

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be

English

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be

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia

Etymology 1

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From Middle English been (“to be”).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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be (highly irregular; see conjugation table)

Usage notes

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• When 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.
• Except senses 12 (auxiliary forming the passive voice), 13 (auxiliary forming the continuous aspect) and 22 (dynamic or lexical be), this is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous aspect. See Category:English stative verbs.

Conjugation

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• 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 many more:
  • Be itself is the plain form, used as the infinitive, as the imperative, and as the present subjunctive (though many speakers do not distinguish the present indicative and present subjunctive, using the indicative forms for both).

    I want to be a father someday. (infinitive)

    If that be true… (present subjunctive; is is common in this position)

    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)

    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 1, circa 1600 — though this may be viewed as the subjunctive instead)[4]

  • 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 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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• bee

  (

  obsolete

  )

Synonyms

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• (

  to exist

  )

  :

  See also Thesaurus:exist

• (

  used to form passive

  )

  :

  get

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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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

   possibly dated

   )

   by

   Alternative form of

   begorra.

   Also found in compounds, especially oaths, e.g.

   • 1851, Oliver Ormerod, Felley fro Rachde:

     O ful tru un pertikler akeawnt o… th’ greyt Eggshibishun. Be o felley fro Rachde.

   • 1860, Henry Baird, The Song of Solomon in the Devonshire Dialect, i 8:

     Go thy way vorth be tha vootsteps uv tha vlock.

   • 1870, Joseph Philip Robson, Evangeline: The Spirit of Progress, 332:

     Aw teuk me seat be day an’ neet.

   • 1870, Roger Piketah, Forness Folk 44:

     Fetchin’ it yan… be a round about rooad.

   • 1878, John Castillo, Poems in the North Yorkshire Dialect, 35:

     Like a leeaf be firm decree / Mun fade an’ fall.

   • 1885, Alfred Lord Tennyson, To-morrow:

     ‘I’ll meet you agin to-morra,’ says he, ‘be the chapel-door.’

Etymology 3

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Borrowed from Russian бэ (bɛ).

Noun

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be (plural bes)

1. Б / б.

   The name of the Cyrillic script letter

Phrasal verbs

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References

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Anagrams

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Albanian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Albanian *bẹðə < *baidā, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoydʰ-eh₂ < *bʰeydʰ- (“to persuade”).[1] 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 (indefinite plural be, definite singular beja, definite plural betë)

Derived terms

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References

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1. ^ Die Verben des Altalbanischen: Belegwörterbuch, Vorgeschichte und Etymologie (Albanische Forschungen; 33) (in German), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 236

   Schumacher, Stefan; Matzinger, Joachim (2013)(Albanische Forschungen; 33) (in German), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz,, page 236

Balinese

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Romanization

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be

1. ᬩᬾ

   Romanization of

Basque

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be inan

1. B

   The name of the Latin-script letter

Declension

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Declension of be (inanimate, ending in vowel)

indefinite

singular

plural

absolutive

be

bea
beak

ergative

bek
beak
beek

dative

beri
beari
beei

genitive

beren
bearen
been

comitative

berekin
bearekin
beekin

causative

berengatik
bearengatik
beengatik

benefactive

berentzat
bearentzat
beentzat

instrumental

bez
beaz
beez

inessive

betan
bean
beetan

locative

betako
beko
beetako

allative

betara
bera
beetara

terminative

betaraino
beraino
beetaraino

directive

betarantz
berantz
beetarantz

destinative

betarako
berako
beetarako

ablative

betatik
betik
beetatik

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

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. B

   The name of the Latin-script letter

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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• “be” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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

Further reading

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• 2020 June 11, Hendrik Heidler, 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[1], 3. geänderte Auflage edition, Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 21:

  June 11, Hendrik Heidler,, 3. geänderte Auflage edition, Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand,, page 21:

Esperanto

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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be

Derived terms

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Faroese

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Noun

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be n (genitive singular bes, plural be)

1. B

   The name of the Latin-script letter

Declension

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Declension of be

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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Guerrero Amuzgo

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Adjective

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be

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

   )

   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

Related terms

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Further reading

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• (

  adverb: “in”

  )

  :

  be in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

• (

  de

  interjection-like adverb: “how…!”; a dated, poetic synonym of

  )

  :

  be in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

• be in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (’A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2023)

Anagrams

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Iau

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Noun

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be

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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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be (plural be-i)

1. B/b.

   The name of the Latin script letter

See also

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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

   )

   bi

   Alternative form of

References

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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. べRōmaji transcription of
2. ベRōmaji transcription of

Karajá

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Noun

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be

References

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

Latin

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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bē f (indeclinable)

1. B.

   The name of the letter

Coordinate terms

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References

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• 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.”

Lithuanian

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Pronunciation

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Preposition

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be (with genitive)

1. (

   shows absence of something

   )

   without

2. besides; but, except

Antonyms

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Malagasy

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Adjective

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be

Mandarin

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Romanization

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be

1. bē

   Nonstandard spelling of

2. bê̄

   Nonstandard spelling of

Usage notes

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• 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

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Etymology 1

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From Old English bēon.

Verb

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be

1. been

   Alternative form of

Etymology 2

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From Old English bēo.

Noun

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be

1. bee

   Alternative form of

Etymology 3

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

Verb

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be

Usage notes

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• Less common than am.

Etymology 4

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From Old English bēo, singular subjunctive of bēon.

Verb

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be

Descendants

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Etymology 5

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

Verb

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be

Descendants

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Etymology 6

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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

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Verb

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be

Usage notes

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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

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• English: be

  (

  obsolete or dialectal as the plural

  )

• Scots: be

Mòcheno

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Etymology

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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

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be m

Derived terms

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References

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• “be” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From Old Norse biðja.

Verb

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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

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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]

Related terms

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References

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• “be” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “be” in The Ordnett Dictionary

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

[

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]

From Old Norse biðja. Akin to English bid.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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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

Derived terms

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Related terms

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]

References

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]

• “be” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• “be” in The Ordnett Dictionary

Occitan

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Pronunciation

[

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]

• Audio (Gascon)

Noun

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be f (plural bes)

1. bee

   (

   the letter b

   )

Old English

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Etymology

[

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]

From Proto-Germanic *bi.

Pronunciation

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Preposition

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be

See also

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Old Irish

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Alternative forms

[

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• (

  2nd sg. pres. subj.

  )

  :

  ba

Verb

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be

Old Prussian

[

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]

A user has added this entry to requests for verification

If it cannot be verified that this term meets our attestation criteria, it will be deleted. Feel free to edit this entry as normal, but do not remove {{rfv}} until the request has been resolved.

Conjunction

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be

1. bhe

   Alternative form of

   and

   wāiklis be mērgā – a boy and a girl

Preposition

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be

Phalura

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Etymology

[

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From Sanskrit वयम् (vayam, “we”).

Pronunciation

[

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Pronoun

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be (personal, Perso-Arabic spelling بےۡ)

1. we (1pl nom)

References

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• Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎[2], 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

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Pronunciation

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• IPA(key):

  /bɛ/

• Audio

• Rhymes:

  -ɛ

• Syllabification:

  be

Etymology 1

[

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From the phonetic pronunciation of the letter B/b.

Noun

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]

be n (indeclinable)

1. B

   The name of the Latin-script letter

Etymology 2

[

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Onomatopoeic.

Adjective

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

Adverb

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be (comparative bardziej be, superlative najbardziej be)

Interjection

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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

   me

Derived terms

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adjective

interjection

nouns

verbs

• beczeć

  impf

• bekać

  impf

  , beknąć

  pf

 

Further reading

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]

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

Romanian

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

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be

1. baa

   (

   sound made by sheep or goats

   )

Savi

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Etymology

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From Sanskrit वयम् (vayam).

Pronoun

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be

1. we;

   first-person plural personal pronoun

References

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• Nina Knobloch (2020) A grammar sketch of Sauji: An Indo-Aryan language of Afghanistan‎[3], Stockholm University

Scots

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Etymology 1

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

Cognates include English be.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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be

1. to be

Conjugation

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Conjugation of be (highly irregular, suppletive

infinitive

tae be

present participle

bein

past participle

been

person

singular

plural

A

thoo1

he/she/it

we

ye

they

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

present

am
amna
art
artna
is
isna
are
arena
are
arena
are
arena

past

wis
wiswir2

1Archaic.

2Used only with plural pronouns.

    Northern Scots conjugation of be (highly irregular, suppletive)

infinitive

tae be

present participle

bein

past participle

been

person

singular

plural

A

ee

hei/shi/it

oo

yow yins

they

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

regular

emphatic

negative

present

im
emum
imni
ir
erur
irni
is
es
isni
ir
erur
irni
is
es
isni
ir
erur
irni

past

wuz
wuzwur
wuz
wur

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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be

1. by

   Alternative form of

References

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Serili

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Noun

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be

References

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• Roger Blench, The Enggano (in notes)
• ABVD (as ‘bɛ)
• ASJP (as bE, representing bɛ)

Slovene

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bẹ̑ m inan

1. B

   The name of the Latin-script letter

Inflection

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Masculine inan., soft o-stem

nom. sing.

bé

gen. sing.

bêja

singular

dual

plural

nominative
(imenovȃlnik)

bé

bêja
bêji

genitive
(rodȋlnik)

bêja
bêjev
bêjev

dative
(dajȃlnik)

bêju
bêjema
bêjem

accusative
(tožȋlnik)

bé

bêja
bêje

locative
(mẹ̑stnik)

bêju
bêjih
bêjih

instrumental
(orọ̑dnik)

bêjem
bêjema
bêji

Synonyms

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Sotho

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *-bɪ́ɪ̀.

Adjective

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be

Spanish

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Pronunciation

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• IPA(key):

  /ˈbe/

  [ˈbe]

• Audio

• Rhymes:

  -e

• Syllabification:

  be

• Homophone: ve

Etymology 1

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Noun

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be f (plural bes)

Etymology 2

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Echoic.

Noun

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be m (plural bes)

1. baa

   (

   bleating of a sheep

   )

Further reading

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• “be”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Sumerian

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Romanization

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be

1. 𒁁

   (

   be

   )

   Romanization of

Swedish

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Alternative forms

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• bedjaarchaic)

Etymology

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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

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Verb

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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

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Synonyms

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• bedjadated for prayer, archaic for other senses)

Related terms

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Further reading

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Tagalog

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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be (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜒ)

1. (

   historical

   )

   Bb

   The name of the Latin-script letter

   in the Abecedario.

   (

   in the Filipino alphabet

   )

   bi

   (

   in the Abakada alphabet

   )

   ba

Further reading

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• “be”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2018

Tarao

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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be

References

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• Chungkham Yashwanta Singh (2002) Tarao Grammar

Turkish

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Etymology 1

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be

1. B

   The name of the Latin-script letter

See also

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Etymology 2

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Noun

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be

1. Letter of the Arabic alphabet:

   ب

Etymology 3

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From Ottoman Turkish به‎ (be).

Interjection

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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

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Tzotzil

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Pronunciation

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• (

  Zinacantán

  )

  IPA(key):

  /ɓɛ/

Noun

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be

References

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Vietnamese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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

Noun

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be

1. wine flask

   Rượu ngon chẳng quản be sành.

   Good wine does not mind a terracotta flask.

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from French beige.

Adjective

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be

1. beige

   chiếc áo mưa màu be — a beige raincoat

Etymology 3

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

Verb

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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

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

Verb

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be

1. To hug a boundary or riverbank.

   Thuyền be theo bờ sông.

   The boat hugged the riverbank.

Etymology 5

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Onomatopoeic

Interjection

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be • (𠻻, 𠾦)

Related terms

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References

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“be” in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)

West Makian

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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be

References

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• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎[4], Pacific linguistics

Yola

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Etymology 1

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Verb

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be

1. ba

   (

   “

   to be

   ”

   )

   Alternative form of

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2:

     Well, gosp, c’hull be zeid; mot thee fartoo, an fade;

     Well, gossip, it shall be told; you ask what ails me, and for what;

Etymology 2

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Preposition

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be

1. bee

   (

   “

   by

   ”

   )

   Alternative form of

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 13:

     Ha-ho! be mee coshes, th’ast ee-pait it, co Joane;

     Hey-ho! by my conscience, you have paid it, quoth John;

Etymology 3

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Verb

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be

1. ba

   (

   “

   are

   ”

   )

   Alternative form of

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 14:

     Shoo ya aam zim to doone, as w’ be doone nowe;

     She gave them some to do, as we are doing now;

References

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• Jacob Poole (1867), 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, page 84 & 90

Zia

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Noun

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be

Zou

[

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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bè

References

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

Zulu

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Etymology

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From -ba (“to be”).

Pronunciation

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IPA(key): /ɓe/

Verb

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-be

1. (

   auxiliary

   )

   forms continuous tenses

   [+participial]

   Ngesonto elilandelayo ngizobe ngisebenza kakhulu.

   Next week I will be working a lot.

Usage notes

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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

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This entry needs an inflection-table template.

References

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