به

See also: ته‎, بہٕ‎, په‎, پہ‎, تۀ‎, and بە‎

Egyptian Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic بَاء‎ (bāʔ).

Noun

به • (beh) f

1. The name of the second letter of the Arabic alphabet (ب).

Malay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bah/
• Rhymes: -bah, -ah

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayic *bah, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *bah, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *bah, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bahaq, from Proto-Austronesian *bahaq.

Alternative forms

• bah

Noun

به (Rumi spelling bah‎, plural به٢‎)

1. flood (overflow of water)

Synonyms

• banjir / بنجير‎

Etymology 2

Shortened form of ابه‎, from Proto-Malayic *aba-h, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *aba-h, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *aba-h, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aba, from Proto-Austronesian *aba.

Alternative forms

• abah
• aba
• bah
• ابه‎
• اب‎

Noun

به (Rumi spelling bah‎)

1. Alternative form of ابه‎

Etymology 3

Shortened form of بابه‎, from بابا‎, variant of باڤ‎.

Alternative forms

• bapa
• baba
• babah
• bah
• bapanda
• bapai
• bapak
• bapang
• papa
• باڤ‎
• بابا‎
• بابه‎
• باڤندا‎
• باڤاي‎
• باڤق‎
• باڤڠ‎
• ڤاڤ‎

Noun

به (Rumi spelling bah‎)

1. Alternative form of bapa

Etymology 4

Abbreviation of بهاس‎, from Sanskrit भाषा (bhāṣā, “language”).

Alternative forms

• bahasa
• بهاس‎
• bahasa

Noun

به (Rumi spelling bah‎)

1. Abbreviation of بهاس‎.

Etymology 5

Shortened form of باوه‎, from Proto-Malayic *babah, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *babah, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *babah, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *babaq, from Proto-Austronesian *babaq.

Alternative forms

• bawah
• bah
• باوه‎

Preposition

به (Rumi spelling bah‎)

1. Alternative form of باوه‎

Pashto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba/

Particle

به • (ba)

1. will (indicating future action)

Persian

Etymology 1

From Middle Persian 𐭯𐭥𐭭‎ (pʿn) / PWN (pad, “to, at, in, on”), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎫𐎡𐎹 (patiy), from Proto-Iranian *pati-.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -e

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ba]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [bä]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [bä]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [bä]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [bä]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [be]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [bä]

Readings
Classical reading?	ba
Dari reading?	ba
Iranian reading?	be
Tajik reading?	ba

• Audio (Iran)

  (file)

Preposition

Dari	به
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ба

به • (be)

1. expresses the indirect object: to; for
2. expresses movement to a place: to; towards; into
3. indicates the language of a text, speech, etc.: in

   ‏به فارسی‎

   be fârsi

   in Persian

References

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “pad”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 62

Etymology 2

Dari	به
Iranian Persian
Tajik	беҳ

From Middle Persian [script needed] (byh /⁠bēh⁠/, “quince”).

Alternative forms

• بهی‎ (behi)
• بی‎ (beyy) (in Isfahani dialect)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [bih]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [be̞ʱ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [be̞ʱ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [biː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [bi]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [beʱ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [beʱ]

Readings
Classical reading?	bih
Dari reading?	beh
Iranian reading?	beh
Tajik reading?	beh

Noun

به • (beh)

1. quince

Descendants

• → Avar: бигь (bih)
• → Georgian: ბია (bia)
  • → Abkhaz: а-биа (a-bja)
  • → Laz: ბიჲა (biya) — Chkhala
  • → Mingrelian: ბია (bia)
  • → Ossetian: биа (bia) — Digor
• → Lak: бигь (bih)
• Northern Kurdish: bîhok

References

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “bēh”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 18

Etymology 3

From Middle Persian [Term?] ŠPYL / wyh (weh, “better, good”), from Old Persian 𐎺𐎢 (vahu, “good”), from Proto-Iranian *Hwáhuš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hwásuš, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wésus (“good”). Related to Old Armenian վեհ (veh, “sublime”), an Iranian borrowing.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [bih]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [be̞ʱ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [be̞ʱ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [be̞]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [bi]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [beʱ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [beʱ]

Readings
Classical reading?	bih
Dari reading?	beh
Iranian reading?	beh
Tajik reading?	beh

Adjective

Dari	به
Iranian Persian
Tajik	беҳ

به • (beh)

1. (archaic) good, excellent
2. (archaic) better
   • c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی‎ [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 2925:

     ‏باغبان هم داند آن را در خزان / لیک دید یک به از دید جهان‎

     bâğbân ham dânad ân râ dar xazân / lêk did-i-yak bih az did-i-jahân

     The Gardener knows that (difference) even in autumn, but the One's sight is better than the world's sight.

3. (archaic) elegant
4. (archaic) safe, sound

Synonyms

• (good): خوب‎ (xub)
• (better): بهتر‎ (behtar)

Derived terms

• بهتر‎ (behtar)
• بهدین‎ (behdin)
• بهروز‎ (behruz)
• بهشهر‎ (behšahr)
• بهینه‎ (behine)
• به‌آفرید‎ (beh-âfarid)

 

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892), “به”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971), “weh”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 89