b

See also: B and Appendix:Variations of "b"

Translingual

b U+0062, b LATIN SMALL LETTER B ← a [U+0061] Basic Latin c → [U+0063]

ｂ U+FF42, ｂ FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER B ← ａ [U+FF41] Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms ｃ → [U+FF43]

Etymology

Modification of capital letter B by dropping its upper loop, from the Greek letter Β (B, “Beta”).

Letter

b (upper case B)

1. The second letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Usage notes

The letter b is used in several romanization systems to represent the bilabial plosive or stop, usually voiced (/b/), including Cyrillic б (b, “be”), Zhuyin fuhao ㄅ, and Korean jamo ㅂ (b, “bieup”).

Pronunciation

• IPA

  (file)

Symbol

b

1. (IPA) voiced bilabial plosive
2. (physics) beauty quark, bottom quark

Gallery

• Letter styles
• 

  Capital and lowercase versions of B, in normal and italic type

• 

  Uppercase and lowercase B in Fraktur

• 

  Approximate form of Greek upper case beta, which was the source for both common variants of b' in uncial script

See also

• (IPA): p (“voiceless bilabial plosive”)
• (Latin script): Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
• For more variations, see Appendix:Variations of "b".

Other representations of B:

NATO phonetic: Bravo Morse code: –··· Braille: ⠃ ASL Manual: B

Signal flag:

Semaphore:

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English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /biː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iː
• (letter name) Homophones: be, bee, Bea

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B, plural b's)

1. The second letter of the English alphabet, called bee and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

In Modern English, the letter b is silent in several words, including climb, and debt.

See also

• (Latin script): Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

Number

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The ordinal number second, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called bee and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation

b

1. Alternative form of b.

Symbol

b

1. (astronomy) latitude in the galactic coordinate system
2. (physics) barn
3. (computing) bit
4. (cricket) bye
5. (size) big

Derived terms

• (computing): Kb, Mb, Gb, Tb, Pb, Eb
• (computing): bps, b/s
• (cricket): lb

See also

• (astronomy): ℓ (galactic longitude)
• (computing): B (byte)

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Afar

Letter

b

1. The second letter of the Afar alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, T t, S s, E e, C c, K k, X x, I i, D d, Q q, R r, F f, G g, O o, L l, M m, N n, U u, W w, H h, Y y

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Azerbaijani

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/

Letter

b lower case (upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) hərf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ə ə, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, X x, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, Q q, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /be/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Catalan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) lletra; A a, À à, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, É é, È è, F f, G g, H h, I i, Í í, Ï ï, J j, K k, L l (L·L l·l), M m, N n, O o, Ó ó, Ò ò, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eː
• (letter name): IPA^(key): /beː/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letter; A a (Á á, Ä ä), B b, C c, D d, E e (É é, Ë ë), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í, Ï ï, IJ ij), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ö ö), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y (Ý ý), Z z

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Esperanto

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /bo/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /b/

• Audio

  (file)

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called bo and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, Ĉ ĉ, D d, E e, F f, G g, Ĝ ĝ, H h, Ĥ ĥ, I i, J j, Ĵ ĵ, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, R r, S s, Ŝ ŝ, T t, U u, Ŭ ŭ, V v, Z z

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Faroese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p/

Letter

b (upper case B)

1. The third letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bókstavur; A a, Á á, B b, D d, Рð, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ó ó, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ú ú, V v, Y y, Ý ý, Æ æ, Ø ø

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Finnish

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Finnish alphabet, called bee and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Used only in loanwords.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

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Fula

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The third letter of the Fula alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

See also

• (Latin-script letters) karfeeje; ', A a, B b, Mb mb, Ɓ ɓ, C c, D d, Nd nd, Ɗ ɗ, E e, F f, G g, Ng ng, Ɠ ɠ, H h, I i, J j, Nj nj, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, Ñ ñ, Ɲ ɲ, O o, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, W w, Y y, Ƴ ƴ

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Gothic

Romanization

b

1. Romanization of 𐌱

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Hungarian

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): [ˈb]
• (letter name): IPA^(key): [ˈbeː]

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The third letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called bé and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z, Zs zs

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Ido

Pronunciation

• (context pronunciation) IPA^(key): /b/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /be/

Letter

b (upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

---

Italian

Noun

b m, f (invariable)

1. See under B

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Latvian

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [b]

(file)

Letter

B

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The third letter of the Latvian alphabet, called bē and written in the Latin script.

See also

• Letters of the Latvian alphabet:

  burti: Aa, Āā, Bb, Cc, Čč, Dd, Ee, Ēē, Ff, Gg, Ģģ, Hh, Ii, Īī, Jj, Kk, Ķķ, Ll, Ļļ, Mm, Nn, Ņņ, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Šš, Tt, Uu, Ūū, Vv, Zz, Žž

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Livonian

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/

Letter

b (upper case B)

1. The fifth letter of the Livonian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) kēratēḑ; A a, Ā ā, Ä ä, Ǟ ǟ, B b, D d, Ḑ ḑ, E e, Ē ē, F f, G g, H h, I i, Ī ī, J j, K k, L l, Ļ ļ, M m, N n, Ņ ņ, O o, Ō ō, Ȯ ȯ, Ȱ ȱ, Õ õ, Ȭ ȭ, P p, R r, Ŗ ŗ, S s, Š š, T t, Ț ț, U u, Ū ū, V v, Z z, Ž ž

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Malay

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

---

Maltese

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Maltese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) ittra; A a, B b, Ċ ċ, D d, E e, F f, Ġ ġ, G g, Għ għ, H h, Ħ ħ, I i, Ie ie, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Ż ż, Z z

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Norwegian

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /beː/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /b/
• Homophone: be

Letter

b

1. The second letter of the Norwegian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Audio (BR)

  (file)

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á, À à,  â, àã), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, Ê ê), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ô ô, Õ õ), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

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Romanian

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /be/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /b/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The fourth letter of the Romanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ă ă,  â, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Πî, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Ș ș, T t, Ț ț, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

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Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/

Letter

b (Cyrillic spelling б)

1. The second letter of the Serbo-Croatian alphabet (gajica), written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) slȍvo; A a, B b, C c, Č č, Ć ć, D d, Dž dž, Đ đ, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Lj lj, M m, N n, Nj nj, O o, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, Z z, Ž ž

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Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/

Letter

b (upper case B)

1. The third letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bukva; A a,  â, B b, C c, Č č, Ʒ ʒ, Ǯ ǯ, D d, Đ đ, E e, F f, G g, Ǧ ǧ, Ǥ ǥ, H h, I i, J j, K k, Ǩ ǩ, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, O o, Õ õ, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, Z z, Ž ž, Å å, Ä ä, ʹ

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Slovene

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/
• (letter) IPA^(key): /bə/, /beː/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /bə/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Slovene alphabet, called b or be and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) čŕka; A a, B b, C c, Č č, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, Z z, Ž ž

Noun

b m inan (genitive b-ja, nominative plural b-ji)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter B/b.

Declension

Declension of b (masculine inan., soft o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	b	b-ja	b-ji
accusative	b	b-ja	b-je
genitive	b-ja	b-jev	b-jev
dative	b-ju	b-jema	b-jem
locative	b-ju	b-jih	b-jih
instrumental	b-jem	b-jema	b-ji

Synonyms

• bé

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/, [β̞]
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /be/

  • Audio (Spain)

    (file)

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Spanish alphabet, called be and written in the Latin script.

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Turkish

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /beː/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Turkish alphabet, called be and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) harf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

---

Turkmen

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/

Letter

b (upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Turkmen alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) harp; A a, B b, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ä ä, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, Ž ž, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ň ň, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, W w, Y y, Ý ý, Z z

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Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓe˧˧], [ʔɓe˧˧ ʔɓɔ˨˩], [ʔɓəː˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓej˧˧], [ʔɓej˧˧ ʔɓɔ˦˩], [ʔɓəː˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɓej˧˧], [ʔɓej˧˧ ʔɓɔ˨˩], [ʔɓəː˨˩]
• Phonetic: bê, bê bò, bờ

Letter

b (upper case B)

1. The fourth letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called bê, bê bò, or bờ and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Quốc ngữ letters) chữ; A a (À à, Ả ả, àã, Á á, Ạ ạ), Ă ă (Ằ ằ, Ẳ ẳ, Ẵ ẵ, Ắ ắ, Ặ ặ),  â (Ầ ầ, Ẩ ẩ, Ẫ ẫ, Ấ ấ, Ậ ậ), B b, C c (Ch ch), D d, Đ đ, E e (È è, Ẻ ẻ, Ẽ ẽ, É é, Ẹ ẹ), Ê ê (Ề ề, Ể ể, Ễ ễ, Ế ế, Ệ ệ), G g (Gh gh, Gi gi), H h, I i (Ì ì, Ỉ ỉ, Ĩ ĩ, Í í, Ị ị), K k (Kh kh), L l, M m, N n (Ng ng, Ngh ngh, Nh nh), O o (Ò ò, Ỏ ỏ, Õ õ, Ó ó, Ọ ọ), Ô ô (Ồ ồ, Ổ ổ, Ỗ ỗ, Ố ố, Ộ ộ), Ơ ơ (Ờ ờ, Ở ở, Ỡ ỡ, Ớ ớ, Ợ ợ), P p (Ph ph), Q q (Qu qu), R r, S s, T t (Th th, Tr tr), U u (Ù ù, Ủ ủ, Ũ ũ, Ú ú, Ụ ụ), Ư ư (Ừ ừ, Ử ử, Ữ ữ, Ứ ứ, Ự ự), V v, X x, Y y (Ỳ ỳ, Ỷ ỷ, Ỹ ỹ, Ý ý, Ỵ ỵ)

---

Zulu

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z