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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA

  (file)

  A voiced bilabial stop is made with the lips alone, by a complete closure cutting off all exit of breath from the mouth, but with accompanying sonant vibrations of the vocal chords, the current of air necessary to produce this being driven from the lungs into the closed cavity of the mouth. The corresponding voiceless stop is p.

Letter

b (upper case B)

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

Symbol

b

1. (IPA) A voiced bilabial plosive, a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages.
2. (physics) A bottom quark.

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”).

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:

Further reading

• Voiced bilabial stop on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /b/ (see also Pronunciation under Translingual)
• (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 sometimes silent, as when final after m, in climb, lamb, limb, tomb, thumb, and in a few other cases, such as debt and doubt. In most of these cases b is a modern graphic insertion, and was never pronounced (in the English forms); see limb, thumb, debt, and doubt.

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

Adjective

b (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of b. (“born”)

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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Estonian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈb̥eː/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) täht; 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, Z z, Ž ž, T t, U u, V v (W w), Õ õ, Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü (X x, Y y)

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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

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

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

Noun

b

1. (music) B flat

Usage notes

• Capitalized for the great octave or any octave below that, or in names of major keys; not capitalized for the small octave or any octave above that, or in names of minor keys.
• Finnish uses the German system; B is written as h.

Declension

Declension of b (type maa) singular plural nominative b b:t genitive b:n b:iden b:itten partitive b:tä b:itä accusative b b:n b:t inessive b:ssä b:issä elative b:stä b:istä illative b:hen b:ihin adessive b:llä b:illä ablative b:ltä b:iltä allative b:lle b:ille essive b:nä b:inä translative b:ksi b:iksi instructive – b:in abessive b:ttä b:ittä comitative – b:ineen

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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

---

Gothic

Romanization

b

1. Romanization of 𐌱

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Hungarian

Pronunciation

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

• Audio

  (file)

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

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

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	b	b-k
accusative	b-t	b-ket
dative	b-nek	b-knek
instrumental	b-vel	b-kkel
causal-final	b-ért	b-kért
translative	b-vé	b-kké
terminative	b-ig	b-kig
essive-formal	b-ként	b-kként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	b-ben	b-kben
superessive	b-n	b-ken
adessive	b-nél	b-knél
illative	b-be	b-kbe
sublative	b-re	b-kre
allative	b-hez	b-khez
elative	b-ből	b-kből
delative	b-ről	b-kről
ablative	b-től	b-ktől
non-attributive possessive - singular	b-é	b-ké
non-attributive possessive - plural	b-éi	b-kéi

Possessive forms of b
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	b-m	b-im
2nd person sing.	b-d	b-id
3rd person sing.	b-je	b-i
1st person plural	b-nk	b-ink
2nd person plural	b-tek	b-itek
3rd person plural	b-jük	b-ik

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

---

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /pjɛː/

Letter

b (upper case B)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bókstafur; A a, Á á, B b, D d, Рð, E e, É é, 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, X x, Y y, Ý ý, Þ þ, Æ æ, Ö ö

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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

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Italian

Noun

b m or 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

---

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

---

Lushootseed

Letter

b

1. The third letter of the Lushootseed alphabet, pronounced as a voiced bilabial stop.

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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

---

Norwegian

Pronunciation

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

• Audio

  (file)

• 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

---

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The fourth letter of the Romanian alphabet, called be or bî and 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

---

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

• IPA^(key): /bə́/, /béː/

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

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

Inflection

Masculine inan., soft o-stem
nom. sing.	b
gen. sing.	b-ja
	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/
  • (common in some countries) IPA^(key): /ˌbe ˈlaɾɡa/ (be larga)

  • 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.

Derived terms

• cara b
• por h o por b

 

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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

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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 cái; 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)

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /biː/
  • (informal) IPA^(key): /bə/

Letter

b (lower case, upper case B)

1. The second letter of the Welsh alphabet, called bi and written in the Latin script. It is preceded by a and followed by c.

Mutation

• b at the beginning of words mutates to f in a soft mutation, to m in a nasal mutation and is unchanged by aspirate mutation, for example with the word bara (“bread”):

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
bara	fara	mara	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) llythyren; A a (Á á, À à,  â, Ä ä), B b, C c, Ch ch, D d, Dd dd, E e (É é, È è, Ê ê, Ë ë), F f, Ff ff, G g, Ng ng, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Πî, Ï ï), J j, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ô ô, Ö ö), P p, Ph ph, R r, Rh rh, S s, T t, Th th, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Û û, Ü ü), W w (Ẃ ẃ, Ẁ ẁ, Ŵ ŵ, Ẅ ẅ), Y y (Ý ý, Ỳ ỳ, Ŷ ŷ, Ÿ ÿ)

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950-), “b”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

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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