ב־

See also: ב, בֿ, and Appendix:Variations of "b"

Aramaic

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /b-/

Preposition

ב־ • (transliteration needed)

1. in
2. at
3. with

Inflection

Inflection table

Non-personal-pronoun-including form				בְּ־, בּ־, בִּ־, בַּ־, בֶּ־, בָּ־ (bə-, b-, bi-, ba-, be-, bo-)
Personal-pronoun- including forms	Singular		Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
First person	בִּי (bī)		בַּנָא (bánā)
Second person	בָּךְ (bāḵ)	בָּךְ (bāḵ)	בְּכוֹן (bəḵōn)	בְּכֵין (bəḵēn)
Third person	בֵּהּ (bēh)	בַּהּ (bah)	בְּהוֹן (bəhōn)	בְּהֵין (bəhēn)

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Hebrew

Etymology

Compare Aramaic ב־, Arabic بِـ (bi-), Ge'ez በ (bä).

Preposition

בְּ־ • (b'-)

1. In (a place or time).

   אֲנִי בַּבִּנְיָן. ― aní babinyán. ― I am in the building.

   טִיַּלְנוּ בְּאַמֶרִיקָה. ― tiyálnu b'amérika. ― We traveled in America.

   הֵם דִּבְּרוּ בַּבֹּקֶר. ― hem dibrú babóker. ― They spoke in the morning.

2. With (an abstract noun); often used to form adverbs (like -ly).

   הוּא הִתְכּוֹנֵן בִּזְרִיזוּת. ― hu hitkonén bizrizút. ― He got ready with haste. (=He got ready hastily.)

   אָכַלְתֶּם בְּיַחַד? ― akháltem b'yákhad? ― Did you eat with togetherness? (=Did you eat together?)

3. (archaic, introducing a bare infinitive) While, during.
   • c. 7th century B.C.E.
     Tanach, Deuteronomy 6:7:

     (please add the primary text of this quotation)

     KJV

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     
     ,

     וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ׃

     v'shinantám l'vanékha v'dibárta bam b'shivt'khá b'veitekhá uv'lekht'khá vadárekh uv'shokhb'khá uv'kumékha.

     And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest [lit. in-sitting-of-thee] in thine house, and when thou walkest [lit. and-in-walking-of-thee] by the way, and when thou liest down [lit. and-in-lying-of-thee], and when thou risest up [lit. and-in-rising-of-thee].

   • Tanach, Psalms 92:7:

     (please add the primary text of this quotation)

     KJV

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     
     

     בִּפְרֹחַרְשָׁעִים ׀ כְּמוֹ עֵשֶׂב וַיָּצִיצוּ כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן לְהִשָּׁמְדָם עֲדֵי־עַד׃

     bifróakh r'sha'ím k'mó ésev vayatsítsu kol-po'aléi áven l'hisham'dám adéi-ád.

     When the wicked spring [lit. in-flowering-of wicked] as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:

4. (introducing a verbal noun) While, during.

   הוּא נָפַל בְּשֵׁינָה. ― hu nafal b'sheina. ― He fell during sleep.

5. Among.

   הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים

   hayafa banashim

   the most beautiful of women

   (literally, “the beautiful among women”)

6. On (a medium of communication).

   רָאִינוּ אֵת זֶה בַּטֶּלֶוִיזְיָה וְשָׁמַעֲנוּ עַל זֶה בָּרַדְיוֹ.

   ra'ínu et ze batelevízya v'shamá'nu al ze barádyo.

   We saw it on TV and heard about it on the radio.

   כָּל הַיּוֹם מְדַבְּרִים בַּטֶּלֶפוֹן!

   kol-hayóm m'dab'rím batélefon!

   All day they talk on the phone!

7. (mathematics, followed by a feminine ordinal number) To the power of: Indicating an exponent.

   2 בַּרְבִיעִית שָֹוֶה 16. ― 2 to the power of four [lit. in the fourth] equals 16.

Usage notes

• Unlike English in, בְּ־ cannot easily mean into; rather, לְ־ (l'-, “to”) is generally used for that sense.
• Like English in, בְּ־ is a fairly weak word; when the sense is that of being in a place, the word בְּתוֹךְ (b'tókh, “within, inside”) may be used as a stronger variant.
• בְּ־ is used in forming dates using the traditional Hebrew months; for example, 17 Tammuz is “‏17 בתמוז”, literally “17 in Tammuz”. However, לְ־ (l'-, “to”) is sometimes used with the months of the Roman calendar.
• בְּ־ undergoes the same vowel changes as לְ־ (l'-, “to”) and כְּ־ (k'-, “like, as”), including the merger with הַ־ (ha-, “the”); see לְ־ (l'-, “to”).
• Unlike English in, בְּ־ is strictly a preposition, and always takes an object; בִּפְנִים (bif'ním, “in, inside”) is used without an object.

Inflection

Inflection table

Non-personal-pronoun-including form				בְּ־, בּ־, בִּ־, בַּ־, בֶּ־, בָּ־ (b'-, b-, bi-, ba-, be-, bo-)
Personal-pronoun- including forms	Singular		Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
First person	בִּי (bí)		בָּנוּ (bánu)
Second person	בְּךָ (b'khá)	בָּךְ (bákh)	בָּכֶם (bakhém)	בָּכֶן (bakhén)
Third person	בּוֹ (bó)	בָּהּ (báh)	בָּהֶם (bahém), בָּם (bám)1	בָּהֶן (bahén), בָּן (bán)1
Notes	The forms בָּם and בָּן are archaic except in poetic use.

Derived terms

• ביחד (b'yákhad) “together”
• בלבד (bil'vád) “alone”
• בעוד (b'ód) “in (a duration of time)”
• בעזרת השם (b'ezrát hashém) “with G-d’s help”
• בוודאי (b'vadái) “certainly, definitely”
• בתוך (b'tókh) “inside, within”
• בצורה (b'tzurá) “in a … form”
• באופן (b'ófen) “in a … way”
• בקושי (b'kóshi) “hardly”
• באמת (b'emét) “truly”
• בשביל (bish'víl) “for”
• בגלל (big'lál) “because of”
• בדיוק (bid'yúk) “exactly”
• במקום (bim'qóm) “instead of”
• במקום (bamaqóm) “in place”
• ט״ו בשבט (tú bish'vat) “Tu Bishvat”