bīties

Latvian[edit]

A contraction of the older form bijāties, itself the reflexive form of bijāt. From Proto-Balto-Slavic *bajā́ˀtei, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoyh₂-eh₂-ti, from *bʰeyh₂-. Cognates include Lithuanian bijóti, bijótis (“to be afraid, to fear”), Old Prussian biātwei ([bjātvei]), present 3rd person bia (“to be afraid”) ([bija]) biāsnan (acc., compare Latvian bijāšanu), pobaiint (“to condemn”) (compare Latvian pabaidīt), Old Church Slavonic боꙗти (bojati), Russian бояться (bojatʹsja), Belarusian бая́цца (bajácca), Ukrainian боя́тися (bojátysja), Czech báti, Polish bać, Old High German bibēn (“to tremble”) (< *bʰi-bʰoy-ti, a reduplicated root), German beben, Sanskrit भयते (bháyate), Ancient Greek πίθηκος (píthēkos, “ape, monkey”) (*pithos < *bʰidʰ-os (“ugly”), probably from earlier “fearsome”), Latin foedus (“ugly, loathsome, horrible”) (< *bʰoydʰos).^[1]

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bīties refl. + (no+) genitive, 1st conj., pres. bīstos, bīsties, bīstas, past bijos

to be afraid (to experience fear; to feel insecure)
bities no suņu ― to be afraid of dogs

bīties soda ― to be afraid of punishment

bīties tumsas ― to be afraid of darkness

ne no kā nebīties ― to not be afraid of anything

bīties kā no uguns ― to be afraid as if of fire (= to be very afraid)

bīstas kā velns no krusta ― he is afraid like the devil (is) of the cross

bīties pakustēties ― to be afraid of budging

soļi dobji skan tukšā telpā, tu pūlies klusi staigāt... tukšums, nav ko bīties, tomēr bailes ― the steps sound hollow in the empty space, you try to walk silently... darkness, there is nothing to be afraid of, but (= except) fear
to be afraid, to fear (to feel worried, to feel anxiety)
bīties par dēlu ― to fear for (one's) son

par tādām bēdām mums vairs nav jābīstas ― we no longer need to fear such misfortune
to be afraid, to fear, to dread (to try to avoid)
bīties šķēršļus ― to fear obstacles

no darba zemnieki nebijās ― the farmers were not afraid of work
(colloquial, usually about plants) to be afraid (to be sensitive to something)
jaunās šķirnes zemenes nebīstas no salnas ― the new varieties of strawberry are not afraid of the frost

conjugation of bīties

	INDICATIVE (īstenības izteiksme)				IMPERATIVE (pavēles izteiksme)
		Present (tagadne)	Past (pagātne)	Future (nākotne)	IMPERATIVE (pavēles izteiksme)
1st pers. sg.	es	bīstos	bijos	bīšos	—
2nd pers. sg.	tu	bísties	bijies	bīsies	bísties
3rd pers. sg.	viņš, viņa	bīstas	bijās	bīsies	lai bīstas
1st pers. pl.	mēs	bīstamies	bijāmies	bīsimies	bīsimies
2nd pers. pl.	jūs	bīstaties	bijāties	bīsieties, bīsities	bístieties
3rd pers. pl.	viņi, viņas	bīstas	bijās	bīsies	lai bīstas

RENARRATIVE (atstāstījuma izteiksme)			PARTICIPLES (divdabji)
Present	bīstoties		Present Active 1 (Adj.)		—
Past	esot bijies		Present Active 2 (Adv.)		bīdamies
Future	bīšoties		Present Active 3 (Adv.)		bīstoties
Imperative	lai bīstoties		Present Active 4 (Obj.)		bīstamies
CONDITIONAL (vēlējuma izteiksme)			Past Active		bijies
Present	bītos		Present Passive		—
Past	būtu bijies		Past Passive		—
DEBITIVE (vajadzības izteiksme)			NOMINAL FORMS
Indicative	(būt) jābīstas		Infinitive (nenoteiksme)		bīties
Conjunctive 1	esot jābīstas		Negative Infinitive		nebīties
Conjunctive 2	jābīstoties		Verbal noun		bīšanās

^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “bīties”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN