بی

See also: بیـ and پی

Bakhtiari

Etymology 1

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

Prefix

بی (transliteration needed)

1. without

   بی تو نیرم

   bī to nīrom

   I won't go without you

Etymology 2

1. past stem form of بیدن (bīdan)

Alternative forms

• بید (bīd)

Verb

بی (bī)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Burushaski

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [baju]

Noun

بی (bayu)

1. salt

References

• Bechtholdt, Astrid (2026), “bayu”, in Burushaski Hunza Dictionary (Webonary), Dallas, Texas, USA: SIL International, published 2017.

Central Kurdish

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *waytaháh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *waytasás, from Proto-Indo-European *wéh₁itis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biː/

Noun

Northern Kurdish	bî

بی (bî)

1. willow (tree)

Derived terms

• بیکۆڵ (bîkoll)

Dongxiang

Pronoun

بی

1. Xiaojing spelling of bi (“I”)

Kalami

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-Iranian *bíHȷ́am

Sanskrit बीज॑ (bī́ja)

Kalami بی

Inherited from Sanskrit बीज॑ (bī́ja), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bíHȷ́am.

Pronunciation

• Tone class: H
• IPA^(key): /bí/

Noun

بی (bi) f

1. seed

References

• Baart, Joan L. G. (1997), “bi”, in The sounds and tones of Kalam Kohistani: with wordlist and texts (Studies in Languages of Northern Pakistan; 1)‎^[1], National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University; Summer Institute of Linguistics, page 81

Khalaj

Article

بی (bî)

1. Arabic spelling of bî (“a, an”)

Numeral

بی (bî)

1. Arabic spelling of bî (“one”)

Khowar

Etymology

From Sanskrit बीज (bīja), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bíHȷ́am. Cognate with Kalasha bi.

Noun

بی (bi)

1. seed

References

• Elena Bashir; Maula Nigah; Rahmat Karim Baig (2022), “بی”, in A digital Khowar-English dictionary with audio‎^[2], second edition, Chicago, I.L.: South Asia Language and Area Center, University of Chicago, archived from the original on 19 January 2023.

Persian

Etymology 1

From earlier ابی (abê), from Middle Persian [script needed] (apē), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”). Compare Old Armenian ապա- (apa-), an Iranian borrowing.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈbeː/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [beː]

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

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [biː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [be]

Readings
Classical reading?	bē
Dari reading?	bē
Iranian reading?	bi
Tajik reading?	be

Preposition

Dari	بی
Iranian Persian
Tajik	бе

بی • (bi)

1. without

   Synonym: بدون (bedun-e)

Usage notes

• Prepositional use is now relatively unusual in Iran (بدون (bedun-e) being preferred), but it remains common elsewhere.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bee.

Noun

بی • (bi)

1. Transliteration of the name of the Latin-script letter b in English and other European languages.

Derived terms

• بی‌بی‌سی (bi-bi-si)

References

• Nourai, Ali (2011), An Etymological Dictionary of Persian, English and other Indo-European Languages, page 29

Ushojo

Etymology 1

From Persian بی (bi).

Verb

بی (bī)

1. avoid, evade, elude

Etymology 2

Numeral

بی (bī)

1. twenty

Coordinate terms

• Prev: اِنڑ بی. Next: اِیک گَبی.