be about

English

Verb

be about (third-person singular simple present is about, present participle being about, simple past was about, past participle been about)

1. (This entry is a translation hub.)

   What is this book about?

Usage notes

• Not to confuse with to "be about to", which describes the intention, e.g. "I am about to sell my car".

Translations

Translations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 是關於／是关于 (shì guānyú)

• Dutch: gaan over (nl)
• Finnish: kertoa (fi) (+ elative), käsitellä (fi) (+ partitive)
• French: s’agir de (fr) (e.g. "il s'agit de ..."), concerner (fr), être au sujet de
• German: sich handeln um (de) (e.g. "es handelt sich um ..."), gehen um (de) (e.g. "es geht um ..."), von ... sein, über ... sein
• Greek: αφορά (el) (aforá)
• Polish: chodzić o (pl) impf, być o (pl)
• Russian: быть о (ru) (bytʹ o) (e.g. О чём эта книга? - copula is omitted in the present), речь идёт о ... (rečʹ idjót o ...) (this is about ... (more abstract topics))

about — see about

about to — see about to

what's the matter — see what's the matter

See also

• know what one is about
• what someone is about