# bi-
## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baɪ-/, (rare) /bɪ-/
* Audio (US):(file)

### Etymology 1

* PIE word
* *dwóh₁
Borrowed from Latin bi-, from Proto-Italic *dwi-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwi-. Doublet of twi- and di-.

#### Alternative forms

* bin- (before some vowel-initial roots)
* bis-

#### Prefix

Latin number prefix :
| Previous: | uni- |
| Next: | tri- |
bi-
* Two in number.
    biarticular is affecting, or connecting two joints; biaxial is along two axes; bicoloured is of two colours
* Having or possessing two of the root word's quality.
    biangular is having two angles or corners, biantheriferous is having two anthers, bicardial is having two separate hearts, bikont is a eukaryotic cell with two flagella; thought to be the ancestor of all plants
* Both: referring to two as a set.
    biacetabular is relating to both acetabula, biallelic is of or pertaining to both alleles of a gene, bicaval is relating to both veins of the vena cava
* Being different in two ways with respect to the root.
    biadjoint is adjoint in two different ways, biaffine is affine in two different ways, biclonal is having cell markers from two different cell lines
* Forked, divided by two, halved; (chemistry, proscribed) half
    bifurcate is to divide or fork into two channels or branches, bicapitate is to divide something equally between two people or organisations, bicarinate is dividing into two points at the end
* Double, twofold.
    bialgebroid is a double algebroid, bifarious is twofold, double, biarticulated is doubly articulated
* (LGBTQ) Bisexual, relating to bisexuality.
    bicentric is having a bisexual bias or basis, biphobia is antipathy towards bisexuals, biromantic is romantically attracted to both males and females
* (anatomy) Bilateral, on both sides of the body.
    biconcave is having both sides concave, biballism is ballism that affects both sides of the body
* Twice.
    biannual is occurring twice a year, biannual is something occurring twice each year, biconjugate is paired twice
* Every two; a rate of once every two.
    biannual is occurring once every two years; biennial, bicentennial is occurring every two hundred (200) years
* A pair of; composed of two.
    bibrow is a pair of eyebrows which do not meet in the middle, as opposed to a unibrow, bicomplex is composed of a pair of complex numbers having certain defined properties

##### Usage notes

In an old, common method used to indicate the presence of an acidic hydrogen, sodium hydrogen sulfate is called "sodium bisulfate" and sodium hydrogen carbonate is called "sodium bicarbonate". This method is not recommended by IUPAC and does not denote a “doubling up” of a specific group, which is reserved for the Greek prefix di-, as in carbon dioxide (“CO$_2$”).
The prefix bi in the older system comes from the observation that there is two times as much carbonate (CO$_3$) in sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO$_3$) and other bicarbonates as in sodium carbonate (Na$_2$CO$_3$) and other carbonates.
As a prefix for periods, bi- is ambiguously used to mean either “once every two periods” or “twice every period”; this is particularly acute for biweekly, bimonthly, and biannual. To avoid ambiguity, semi- or twice can be used to unambiguously mean “every half period” (thus twice every period) or “twice every period”, but there is no general way to refer unambiguously to “once every two periods”. In some cases a separate word is unambiguous, as in fortnightly (“every two weeks”), or biennial (“every two years”), but there is no word that unambiguously refers to “every two months”. Due to the ambiguity, some prefer to use explicit phrases, like “every two months” or “twice a month”.

##### Synonyms

* di-
* duo-

##### Derived terms

* bi
* biannual
* biautomaton
* biceps
* bichrome
* bicolor
* bicolour
* biconvex
* bicornuate
* bicycle
* bicyclic
* bicylindrical
* bidentate
* bidirectional
* biennial
* bifacial
* bifocals
* bigender
* bijugate
* bilabial
* bilabiate
* bilanguage
* bilateral
* bilinear
* bilingual
* billion
* bilobate
* bilogarithmic
* bilogarithmical
* bimanual
* bimester
* bimetal
* bimonthly
* binary
* binomial
* biped
* biplane
* bipod
* bipolar
* birefringent
* bireme
* birotate
* biscuit
* bisect
* bisection
* bisector
* biserrate
* bisexual
* bisexuality
* bitartrate
* bivalve
* biweekly
* bialgebra
* bialkali
* bialtitude
* biamping
* biandry
* biangle
* biantennary
* bianthraquinone
* biarc
* biarchy
* biareal
* biarsenical
* biarticular
* biarticulate
* biaryl
* biauricular
* biaxial
* bibenzimidazole
* bibenzyl
* bicalicene
* bicameral
* biceps
* bicolour
* bicolouration
* bicoloured
* bicolpate
* bicolumnar
* bicombing
* bicommunal
* bicompartmental
* bicompetent
* bicomponent
* biconceptual
* biconditional
* bicondylar
* bicone
* biconic
* biconical
* biconjugate
* biconnected
* biconsonantal
* biconstituent
* bicontinental
* bicontinuous
* bicorn
* biraryl
* biacid
* biacuminate
* bialate
* biandry
* biangular
* biannulate
* biantheriferous
* biapical
* biarcuate
* biarmed
* biaspectual
* biauriculate
* biautomatic
* biaxial
* bibasic
* bibracteate
* bibracteolate
* bicalcarate
* bicallose
* bicameral
* bicardial
* bicarotid
* bicarpellate
* bicaudal
* bicaudate
* bicausal
* bicellular
* bicentric
* bicentrism
* bicephalic
* bicephalism
* bicephalous
* bicephaly
* biceps
* bichambered
* bichord
* bicoordinate
* bicorn
* biforate
* bikont
* bilete
* bimastism
* bisemic
* bisemous
* biacetabular
* biallelic
* biamorous
* biasterionic
* biatrial
* bicanonical
* bicaval
* biclosed
* bicommissural
* biconvex
* biromantic
* biune
* biadjoint
* biaffine
* biclonal
* bicomposite
* bicongenic
* biloquist
* bicameralism
* bicapitate
* bicarinate
* bifid
* bifurcate
* bipartism
* bialgebroid
* biarticulated
* bicapsular
* bicommutant
* bifarious
* bicentric
* biphobia
* biballism
* biconcave
* bilateral
* biannual
* biconjugate
* bicentennial
* biennial
* bibrow
* bicomplex

##### Translations
### Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “life”).

#### Prefix

bi-
* (before a vowel) Alternative form of bio-
    biont is a living organism

##### Derived terms

* biont

### Anagrams

* IB, ib.

## Azerbaijani
### Etymology

From Persian بی (bi).

### Pronunciation

IPA: [bi]

### Prefix

bi-
* (rarely productive) -less, un-, in-.
    Synonym: -siz

#### Derived terms
## Catalan
### Etymology

From Latin bis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [bi]

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* “bi-” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “bi-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “bi-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

## Czech
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin bis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bɪ ]

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-

#### Related terms

* binárka
* binární
* kombajn
* kombajnér
* kombajnista
* kombi
* kombík
* kombinace
* kombinačky
* kombinát
* kombinatorika
* kombinatorický
* kombiné
* kombinéza
* kombinovat
* masokombinát
* překombinovat
* rekombinace

### Further reading

* “bi-”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

## Danish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈb̥i]

### Etymology 1

From German bei- (“by-”).

#### Prefix

bi-
* by-, side-
    Synonym: side-

### Etymology 2

From Latin bis (“twice”).

#### Prefix

bi-
* bi-
    Synonyms: di-, tve-, dobbelt-

### See also
## Finnish
### Etymology

Internationalism (see English bi-), ultimately from Latin bis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbi-/, [ˈbi-]

### Prefix

bi-
* bi- (double, twin)
    Synonyms: see kaksois-

#### Derived terms
## French
### Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/
* Audio:(file)

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-

#### Derived terms
## Galician
### Etymology

From Latin bis.

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-
    Synonyms: bi-, duo-

#### Derived terms

From

### Further reading

* “bi-”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

## German
### Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice”).

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-

#### Derived terms
## Gothic
### Romanization

bi-
* Romanization of 𐌱𐌹-

## Ido
### Prefix

bi-
* bi-

#### Derived terms
## Indonesian
### Etymology

From Dutch bi-, from Latin bi-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bi]
* Hyphenation: bi

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-: two, pair, both.

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* “bi-” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Irish
### Prefix

bi-
* Alternative form of bith-, used before a slender T.

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### Further reading

* Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “bit-”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

## Italian
### Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/
* Hyphenation: bi-

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-
* di-

#### Derived terms
## Kongo
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bì-.

### Prefix

bi- (singular ki-)
* class 8 prefix
* class subject concord

## Latin
### Etymology

From Proto-Italic *dwi-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“two-; twice-”), prefix form corresponding to the numeral *dwóh₁ (“two”); the origin in PIE of the *i here is uncertain.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈbi/, [ˈbɪ]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈbi/, [ˈbiː]

### Prefix

bi-
* having two parts
* occurring twice

#### Derived terms
### References

* ↑ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “bi-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 71

### Further reading

* “bi-”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “bi-” on page 231/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

## Malay
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi-/
* Hyphenation: bi-

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Persian بی.

#### Prefix

bi- (Jawi spelling بی-)
* -less; prefix expressing the lack of the root word.
    ‎bi- + ‎adab (“manners”) → ‎biadab (“impolite”)

##### Usage notes

* While there have been efforts to popularize the use of this prefix in scientific and technological coinages, currently, its range of use is very limited, and so, it is found only in a small number of words.

### Etymology 2

From English bi-.

#### Prefix

bi- (Jawi spelling بی-)
* bi-
    bienial ― biennial

##### Usage notes

* This prefix is unproductive and is only found in loanwords borrowed from English which contain the prefix.

### References

* 1 2 Nik S. Farid M. Hashim H. & Abdul H. (2004). Tatabahasa dewan : edisi baharu. Dewama Sdn. Bhd.

## Middle English
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English be-, from Proto-West Germanic *bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-, from *bi-; compare by-.
The pronunciation /bi-/ (instead of expected /bə-/) is probably due to the influence of the preposition by.

#### Alternative forms

* be-, by-
* b- (in certain words)

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi-/

#### Prefix

bi-
* A prefix forming transitive verbs from any content word, often denoting completion or thoroughness.
* A prefix forming prepositions, often denoting adjacency, position, or relation.

##### Descendants

* English: be-
* Scots: be-

##### References

* “bi-, pref.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* “bi-, pref.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

### Etymology 2
#### Prefix

bi-
* Alternative form of by-

## Navajo
### Etymology 1

Cognate with Tanacross u-.

#### Prefix

bi-
* his, her, its, their
    ‎amá (“one's mother”) + ‎bi- → ‎bimá (“his/her/its/their mother”)

##### Usage notes

This prefix often corresponds to an English possessive ’s appended to the preceding word. For example, Diné bizaad means literally “the People their-language”, equivalent to “the People’s language” (i.e., Navajo language).

##### Related terms

* b-
* bá
* baa
* be-
* bí
* bí-
* bibaʼ
* biiʼ
* bííʼ
* biyiʼ
* bíʼáłtsé
* daabí
* tʼáá bí

##### See also

* á-
* ał-
* ahił-
* Navajo terms prefixed with bi- (possessive) Binááʼ Ádaałtsʼózí bichʼil łigaií God bidiyin naalʼaʼí bikétłʼóól bikéyah biwááshindoon

### Etymology 2
#### Prefix

bi-
* Marks a third-person singular indirect object.

#### See also
## Northern Kurdish
### Prefix

bi-
* forms the affirmative subjunctive mood of verbs.

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Prefix

bi-
* by-, by, side
* bi-

### References

* “bi-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Prefix

bi-
* by-, by, side
* bi-

### References

* “bi-” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Ojibwe
### Preverb

bi-
* this way, here, hither (toward the speaker)
    Bi-anokiin.Come and work.

#### Related terms

* biid-

### See also

* ani-
* omaa

### References

* The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/bi-pv-dir

## Old English
### Alternative forms

* biġ-, be-

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbiː/

### Etymology 1

From bī (“by, near, around”).

#### Prefix

bī-
* near, around (compare Latin para-)
    ‎bi- + ‎nama → ‎bīnama (“pronoun”)
    ‎bi- + ‎word → ‎bīword (“proverb, byword”)

##### Usage notes

* Occurred primarily in nouns.

##### Derived terms

* bīgenga (“inhabitant; observer; benefactor”)
* bīleofa (“support, sustenance, nourishment, capital”)
* bīswæc (“treachery”)

##### Descendants

* Middle English: by-, bi-
** English: by-, be-
** Scots: by-, be-

### Etymology 2
#### Prefix

bi-
* Alternative form of be-

## Old Saxon
### Etymology 1

An unstressed form of bī, from Proto-West Germanic *bī-.

#### Prefix

bi-
* A productive prefix usually used to form verbs and adjectives, especially verbs with the sense “around, throughout” or makes transitive verbs from intransitive verbs, adjectives and nouns.
    ‎bi- + ‎brekan → ‎bibrekan (“to break”)
    ‎bi- + ‎brengian → ‎bibrengian (“to accomplish”)
    ‎bi- + ‎dēlian → ‎bidēlian (“to deprive”)
    ‎bi- + ‎delvan → ‎bidelvan (“to bury”)
    ‎bi- + ‎dempian → ‎bidempian (“to suffocate”)
    ‎bi- + ‎dernian → ‎bidernian (“to conceal, to hide”)
    ‎bi- + ‎dōdian → ‎bidōdian (“to kill”)
    ‎bi- + ‎driogan → ‎bidriogan (“to deceive”)
    ‎bi- + ‎drōragon → ‎bidrōragon (“to bleed to death”)
    ‎bi- + ‎dumbilian → ‎bidumbilian (“to make a fool”)
    ‎bi- + ‎*dwellian → ‎bidwellian (“to hinder”)
    ‎bi- + ‎fāhan → ‎bifāhan (“to embrace, seize”)
    ‎bi- + ‎fallan → ‎bifallan (“to befall”)
    ‎bi- + ‎felhan → ‎bifelhan (“to recommend, give over, confide”)
    ‎bi- + ‎fellian → ‎bifellian (“to throw down”)
    ‎bi- + ‎findan → ‎bifindan (“to notice, find out”)
    ‎bi- + ‎gangan → ‎bigān, bigangan (“to celebrate”)
    ‎bi- + ‎gehan → ‎bigehan (“to dare, confess”)

##### Descendants

* be-

### Etymology 2

From bī (“by, near, around”).

#### Prefix

bī-
* prefix meaning near, around (compare Latin para-), occurring primarily in nouns
    ‎bi- + ‎word → ‎bīword (“proverb, byword”)

##### Derived terms

* bīgengio (“inhabitant”)

## Polish
### Etymology

Derived from Latin bi-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -i
* Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-, two
    Synonyms: dwu-, di-, dy-
    ‎bi- + ‎-gamia → ‎bigamia

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* bi- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin bis.

### Prefix

bi-
* bi- (two-)

#### Derived terms
## Spanish
### Alternative forms

* bis-, biz-

### Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice”).

### Prefix

bi-
* bi-
    Synonyms: di-, duo-

#### Derived terms

* bicicleta
* bicorne
* bilingüe
* bimensual
* bisemenal

### Further reading

* “bi-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/, [ˈb̥i]

### Prefix

bi-
* by-, next to, near, by the side, aside; same as English by- and German bei-; see also the rare preposition bi
* bi-, two, dual; from Latin bis (“twice”)

#### See also

* hetero-
* homo-

### References

* bi- in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* bi- in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* bi- in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

## Tooro
### Alternative forms

* (before vowels) by-

### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bí-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /βi-/

### Prefix

bi-
* class 8 pronominal concord
    ‎bi- + ‎-nu (“this, these”) → ‎binu (“these (class 8)”)
* they; class 8 subject concord
    ‎bi- + ‎-kora (“to do”) → ‎bikora (“they (class 8) do”)
* positive imperative form of -bi- (“them; class 8 object concord”)
    ‎bi- + ‎-ha (“to give”) → ‎biha (“give them (class 8)”)

#### See also

| Class | Person | Independent | Possessive | Subject concord | Object concord | Combined forms | Combined forms |
| Class | Person | Independent | Possessive | Subject concord | Object concord | na | ni |
| Class 1 | First | nyowe, nye | -ange | n- | -n- | nanyowe, nanye | ninyowe, ninye |
| Class 1 | Second | iwe | -awe | o- | -ku- | naiwe | niiwe |
| Class 1 | Third | uwe | -e | a- | -mu- | nawe | nuwe |
| Class 2 | First | itwe | -aitu | tu- | -tu- | naitwe | niitwe |
| Class 2 | Second | inywe | -anyu | mu- | -ba- | nainywe | niinywe |
| Class 2 | Third | abo | -abo | ba- | -ba- | nabo | nubo |
| Class 3 | Class 3 | gwo | -agwo | gu- | -gu- | nagwo | nugwo |
| Class 4 | Class 4 | yo | -ayo | e- | -gi- | nayo | niyo |
| Class 5 | Class 5 | lyo | -alyo | li- | -li- | nalyo | niryo |
| Class 6 | Class 6 | go | -ago | ga- | -ga- | nago | nugo |
| Class 7 | Class 7 | kyo | -akyo | ki- | -ki- | nakyo | nikyo |
| Class 8 | Class 8 | byo | -abyo | bi- | -bi- | nabyo | nibyo |
| Class 9 | Class 9 | yo | -ayo | e- | -gi- | nayo | niyo |
| Class 10 | Class 10 | zo | -azo | zi- | -zi- | nazo | nizo |
| Class 11 | Class 11 | rwo | -arwo | ru- | -ru- | narwo | nurwo |
| Class 12 | Class 12 | ko | -ako | ka- | -ka- | nako | nuko |
| Class 13 | Class 13 | two | -atwo | tu- | -tu- | natwo | nutwo |
| Class 14 | Class 14 | bwo | -abwo | bu- | -bu- | nabwo | nubwo |
| Class 15 | Class 15 | kwo | -akwo | ku- | -ku- | nakwo | nukwo |
| Class 16 | Class 16 | ho | -aho | ha- | -ha- | naho | nuho |
| Class 17 | Class 17 | (kwo) | N/A | ha- (...-yo) | -ha- | N/A | nukwo |
| Class 18 | Class 18 | (mwo) | -amwo | ha- (...-mu) | -ha- | N/A | numwo |
| Reflexive | Reflexive | -enyini, -onyini | — | — | -e- | — | — |

### References

* Kaji, Shigeki (2007) A Rutooro Vocabulary‎, Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 414

## Turkish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Persian بی (bi, prefix).

### Prefix

bi-
* (obsolete, unproductive) -less, un-, in-.
    Synonym: -siz