# bi
## Translingual
### Symbol

bi
* (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Bislama.

### See also

* Wiktionary’s coverage of Bislama terms

## English
### Etymology 1

Clipping of bisexual and biceps.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baɪ/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɪ
* Homophones: bye, buy, by

#### Adjective

bi (not comparable)
* (LGBTQ, slang) Bisexual.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bisexual
    Coordinate terms: pan, mono
    I'm straight, but my oldest sister is bi.
* (LGBTQ, slang, uncommon) Bigender.

##### Translations
#### Noun

bi (plural bis)
* (LGBTQ, slang) A bisexual person.
    Synonyms: bisexual; see also Thesaurus:bisexual person
** 1991 October 10, Ken Jones, “Re: Bisexual privilege? (Was Re: Tom Robinson Concert”, in soc.motss‎ (Usenet):For some reason, I'm feeling _very_ sensitive to bi-discrimination tonight. I'm really not trying to mock the points being made here, it's just that many of the same arguments can be turned around and used to describe the discrimination that bis face.
* (bodybuilding, colloquial, uncommon) A biceps muscle.
    You cannot train your back without regard to your tris and bis.

##### Translations
#### Derived terms

* antibi
* bicon
* bi-curious
* bidar
* biphobic
* cisbi
* forced bi

#### See also

* bi-

### Etymology 2

From Mandarin 璧 (bì).

#### Alternative forms

* pi (Wade–Giles)

#### Pronunciation

* (UK, US) enPR: bē, IPA: /biː/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -iː
* Homophones: b, be, Bea, bee

#### Noun

bi (plural bi)
* A type of jade disk produced in ancient China.

#### See also

* Bi (jade) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### References

* 1 2 A. F. Niemoeller, "A Glossary of Homosexual Slang," Fact 2, no. 1 (Jan-Feb 1965): 25

### Anagrams

* IB, ib.

## Äiwoo
### Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *biti.

### Verb

bi
* to bake

### References

* Lackey, W.J.. & Boerger, B.H. (2021) “Reexamining the Phonological History of Oceanic's Temotu subgroup”, in Oceanic Linguistics.

## Albanian
### Etymology

A short form of bijë, from archaic bilë ("daughter, girl").

### Interjection

bi
* A friendly exclamation to a person (female).
    Fol bi, Dritë!Speak, therefore, Dritë!
* An exclamation of surprise (to a female person).
    Bi! Po ç'është kjo?Girl! What is this?
    Po ç'është kjo, bi?What is this, girl?

#### Related terms

* bre
* brez
* pra

## Bambara
### Noun

bi
* today

#### See also

* kunùn
* sini

## Basque
### Alternative forms

* biga, bida (Navarrese, Navarro-Lapurdian)

### Etymology

Probably from Proto-Basque *biga (“two”), given the fact that dialectal forms like biga and bida (with *-g- > -d-) are phonetically more conservative. Often compared with Iberian bi (“two”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/ [bi]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -i
* Hyphenation: bi

### Numeral

bi
* two

#### Usage notes

* This number can appear after the noun, especially in Biscay; but, just like all other numerals apart from bat, it is much more commonly placed before the noun.

#### Derived terms

* bi ahoko ezpata
* bi begietaraino sartu
* bi errealeko
* bi hitz
* bi pareta
* bi plegu egin
* bi puntu (“colon”)
* bi-biak
* bi-bitara
* biak ala biak
* biak bietara
* bibira (“twin”)
* biburdina
* bika
* biki (“twin”)
* bikoitz (“double”)
* bitarte (“interval”)
* bizpahiru (“two or three”)

### References

* ↑ “bi” in Etymological Dictionary of Basque by R. L. Trask, sussex.ac.uk
* ↑ Mitxelena, Koldo L. (1961) Fonética histórica vasca [Basque Historical Phonetics] (Obras completas de Luis Michelena; 1) (in Spanish), Diputación Foral de Guipuzkoa, published 1990, →ISBN, page 413
* ↑ Orduña A., Eduardo (2011) “Los numerales ibéricos y el protovasco [Iberian numerals and Proto-Basque]”, in Veleia‎ (in Spanish), volume 28, pages 125–139

### Further reading

* “bi”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005
* “bi”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
* Azkue, Resurrección María de (1905–1906) “bi”, in Diccionario vasco-español-francés = Dictionnaire basque-espagnol-français [Basque-Spanish-French Dictionary], volume 1 (overall work in Spanish and French), Bilbao, page 162

## Bislama
### Etymology

From English bee.

### Noun

bi
* bee

## Borôro
### Verb

bi
* to die

## Bura
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bì]

### Noun

bì
* bin for grain storage

### References

* 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

## Danish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈb̥iˀ]
* Rhymes: -iː

### Etymology 1

From Old Norse bý, from Proto-Germanic *bijō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰey-. Cognate with English bee.

#### Noun

bi c (singular definite bien, plural indefinite bier)
* bee

##### Inflection
#### See also

* hveps c

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle Low German bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, around”). Related to English by and German bei.

#### Adverb

bi
* by

##### Usage notes

* Only in certain fixed phrases that are borrowed from German, like stå bi (German beistehen).

### Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

bi
* imperative of bie

## Dongxiang
### Etymology

From Proto-Mongolic *bi (“I”). Compare Mongolian би (bi).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pi/

### Pronoun

bi (Xiaojing spelling بی)
* I (first-person singular personal pronoun)

## Drung
### Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-bəj-n/k.

### Verb

bi
* to give

### References

* Ross Perlin (2019) A Grammar of Trung‎, Santa Barbara: University of California

## Dutch
### Etymology

Clipping of biseksueel.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: bi
* Rhymes: -i

### Adjective

bi (invariable, comparative meer bi, superlative meest bi)
* (colloquial) bisexual

## Finnish
### Etymology

From English bi.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbi/, [ˈbi]
* IPA: /ˈbiː/, [ˈbiː]
* Rhymes: -i
* Hyphenation: bi

### Noun

bi (colloquial)
* bi (bisexual)

#### Declension

Inflection of bi (irregular)
singular
plural
nominative
bi
bit
genitive
bin
biiden biitten
partitive
bitä
biitä
accusative
bi bin
bit
inessive
bissä
biissä
elative
bistä
biistä
illative
bihin
biihin
adessive
billä
biillä
ablative
biltä
biiltä
allative
bille
biille
essive
binä
biinä
translative
biksi
biiksi
abessive
bittä
biittä
instructive
biin
comitative
biineen :

#### Derived terms

* bi-mies
* bi-nainen

### Further reading

* “bi”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

## French
### Etymology

From bisexuel, or possibly directly from English bi.

### Pronunciation

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

### Noun

bi m or f by sense (plural bis)
* bi, bisexual person

### Adjective

bi (invariable)
* bi, bisexual

### Further reading

* “bi”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## German
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [biː]
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

* A user has added this entry to requests for verification with the reason: “for "strong nominative masculine singular bier"”
* If it cannot be verified that this term meets our attestation criteria, it will be deleted. Feel free to edit this entry as normal, but do not remove {{rfv}} until the request has been resolved.
bi (strong nominative masculine singular bier, not comparable)
* (informal) bi

## Gothic
### Romanization

bi
* Romanization of 𐌱𐌹

## Guerrero Amuzgo
### Adjective

bi
* green

## Iberian
### Etymology

Connected to Proto-Basque *biga (“two”), compare Basque bi.

### Numeral

bi
* two

### References

* Villamor, Fernando (2020) A basic dictionary and grammar of the Iberian language

## Isthmus Zapotec
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbì]

### Noun

bi
* wind

## Italian
### Alternative forms

* be (obsolete, regional)

### Etymology

From Latin bē (the name of the letter B).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbi/
* Rhymes: -i
* Hyphenation: bì

### Noun

bi f (invariable)
* The name of the Latin-script letter B/b.; bee

### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) lettera; a, bi, ci, di, e, effe, gi, acca, i, gei / i lunga, cappa, elle, emme, enne, o, pi, cu, erre, esse, ti, u, vu / vi, doppia vu, ics, ipsilon / i greca, zeta

## Japanese
### Romanization

bi
* The hiragana syllable び (bi) or the katakana syllable ビ (bi) in Hepburn romanization.

## Kalasha
### Etymology

From Sanskrit बीज (bīja), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bíHȷ́am. Cognate with Konkani बी (bī) and Parachi bīz (“seed-corn”).

### Noun

bi
* seed
* semen
* moth larva

#### Related terms

* bíyak

## Kangjia
### Etymology

From Proto-Mongolic *bi. Compare Mongolian би (bi) and Dongxiang bi.

### Pronoun

bi
* I

## Kaure
### Noun

bi
* water

### References

* C. L. Voorhoeve, 1975. Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, p.108
* Bill Palmer, editor (2018), The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide, Padua: De Gruyter Mouton, →OCLC, page 457

## Low German
### Etymology

From Old Saxon bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /biː/

### Preposition

bi
* at, with
    Bi us is dat ümmer Feest.With us it's always a party.
* by
    Wi wahnt in en Huus bi de Meer.I live in a house by the lake.
* around, about (often in combination with üm)
    Dat weer üm bi so'n twintig Johr vör.It was about twenty years ago.

#### Inflection
### Adverb

bi
* alongside, with
* in order to adjust or improve

## Maltese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɪ/

### Preposition

bi
* Alternative form of b’: used before a consonant cluster

## Manchu
### Romanization

bi
* Romanization of ᠪᡳ

## Mandarin
### Romanization

bi
* Nonstandard spelling of bī.
* Nonstandard spelling of bí.
* Nonstandard spelling of bǐ.
* Nonstandard spelling of bì.

#### Usage notes

* Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

## Middle Dutch
### Etymology

From Old Dutch bi, from Proto-West Germanic *bī.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /biː/

### Preposition

bi
* by, near, around
* beside, alongside
* at, with
* among
* during
* by (the work of)
* because of

#### Descendants

* Dutch: bij
* Limburgish: bie

### Adverb

bi
* by, near, around

#### Descendants

* Dutch: bij
* Limburgish: bie

### Further reading

* “bi (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
* “bi (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
* Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “bi”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

## Middle English
### Preposition

bi
* Alternative form of by

## Mirandese
### Verb

bi
* first-person singular preterite indicative of ber: I saw.
** 2011, Ana Afonso, L Princepico Chapter 1:Quando you tenie seis anhos, bi ua beça ua eimaige mi guapa nun lhibro subre la floresta birge que se chamaba "Stórias Bibidas".1948 translation by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryOnce when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest.

## Namuyi
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bi˧]
* Hyphenation: bi

### Verb

bi
* (intransitive) to go

### References

* Štěpán Pavlík (2017) The Description of Namuzi Language‎, Prague: Charles University (PhD Thesis), page 50

## North Frisian
### Etymology

From Old Frisian bē, from Proto-West Germanic *bijā.

### Noun

bi f (plural bi)
* (Mooring) bee

## Northern Kurdish
### Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *pati-.

### Pronunciation

* Rhymes: -ɪ

### Preposition

bi
* with
* to
* by

#### Usage notes

* In a lot of positions, bi and di may not be read unlike ji and li. When the noun comes after the verb with these prepositions, it becomes an -e instead (eg. gote min, "said to me"; not *got bi min). Coming before nouns, they become -î (eg. nîşanî min da, "showed me"; not *nîşan bi min da).
* Unlike ji and li, which lose the schwa before any vowel; bi and di lose it only before long vowels (ie. a, ê, î).

## Nzadi
### Pronoun

bǐ
* we (first-person plural pronoun)

#### See also
## Old Dutch
### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *bī.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /biː/

### Preposition

bī
* by, near
* at, with

#### Descendants

* Middle Dutch: bi
** Dutch: bij
** Limburgish: bie

#### Further reading

* “bī”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

## Old English
### Alternative forms

* be

### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *bī (“near, by, around, about”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /biː/

### Preposition

bī
* about (concerning)
** late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
    Đyssum tidum Ongolcyningas þā æðelestan Ōswēo Norðanhymbra cyning ⁊ Eċġberht Contwarena cyning hæfdon betwēoh him sprǣċe ⁊ ġeþēahte, hwæt tō donne wǣre bī þǣm stealle Ongolcynnes ċiriċan .At this time the most noble English kings, Oswiu of Northumbria and Ecgberht of Kent, held a discussion and conference between them about what was to be done about the state of the English church.
* by, in various senses:
** 10th century, The Wanderer:Wōriað þā wīnsalo; · waldend liċġað drēame bidrorene; · duguþ eal ġecrong, wlonc bī wealle. · Sume wīġ fornōm,The wine-halls ramble; lords lie still, deprived of mirth; army completely perished, proud by the wall. The war took away some men,
** near or next to
** not later than
** based on, according to

#### Descendants

* Middle English: by, be, bi
** English: by
*** → Mandarin: by (bāi), BY (bāi)
** Scots: by, bye, bi', be, b'
** Yola: bee, be, bie, by

## Old High German
### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi, whence also Old English bi.

### Preposition

bī
* by
* at

#### Descendants

* Alemannic German:
** Alsatian: bii
* German: bei
* Vilamovian: by
* Yiddish: בײַ (bay)

## Old Saxon
### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *bī, whence also Old English bi.

### Preposition

bī
* by, near, to
* beside

#### Descendants

* Low German: bi, bie

## Phalura
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/

### Particle

bi (discourse, Perso-Arabic spelling بیۡ)
* also, too
* else, at all
* even

### References

* Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “bi”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎, Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈbi/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈbi/
* Rhymes: -i

### Adjective

bi (invariable)
* (LGBTQ, colloquial) Clipping of bissexual (“sexually attracted to persons of either sex”).

### Noun

bi m or f by sense (plural bis)
* (LGBTQ, colloquial) Clipping of bissexual (“bisexual person”).

### Noun

bi f (plural bis)
* (Brazil, LGBTQ, slang) Clipping of bicha (“flammer”).

## Sardinian
### Etymology

From Latin ibi.

### Pronoun

bi (adverbial)
* there (at a place)
* there, thither (to there)
    Synonyms: i, nche

## Scots

* A user has added this entry to requests for verification
* If it cannot be verified that this term meets our attestation criteria, it will be deleted. Feel free to edit this entry as normal, but do not remove {{rfv}} until the request has been resolved.

### Preposition

bi
* by

## Scottish Gaelic
### Etymology

From Old Irish bí. Cognate with Irish bí and Manx bee.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pi/, lengthened to /piː/ when emphatic.
* Hyphenation: bi

### Verb

bi (past bha, future bidh, verbal noun bhith)
* (copulative) to be
* (intransitive) to exist
* (auxiliary) Used with air to form various tenses with perfect meaning

#### Inflection

Impersonal forms can be found at thathar.
$^1$ Lewis dialect form

#### Related terms

* beò

### Mutation

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

### References

* Colin Mark (2003) “bi”, in The Gaelic-English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 75
* Edward Dwelly (1911) “bi”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎, 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN

## Serbo-Croatian
### Verb

bi
* second-person singular aorist of biti
    On bi tamo jučer. (archaic)He was there yesterday.
* third-person singular aorist of biti
    On bi u školi tad. (archaic)She was at school then.
* (colloquial, conditional) aorist of biti; would
    Ja bi također išao da mogu. ― I would go as well if I could.
    Je li bi htio ići s nama? ― Would you like to go with us?
    Ivana bi htjela ići s nama. ― Ivana would like to go with us.
    Mi/Oni bi voljeli jednog dana posjetiti Japan. ― We/They would like to visit Japan one day.
    Voljeli bi jednog dana posjetiti Japan. ― We/They would like to visit Japan one day.

#### Usage notes

* In colloquial Serbo-Croatian, bi is commonly used in place of other aorist forms when forming conditional of biti in both singular and plural if the subject is deducible from context (usually from the conjugated form of the verb). That is, bi is a shared shorthand for bih, bismo, biste and biše.

## Solon
### Etymology

From Proto-Tungusic *bi. Cognate with Evenki би (bi) and Manchu ᠪᡳ (bi).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/

### Pronoun

bi
* I

## Southern Ndebele
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-bɪ́ɪ̀.

### Adjective

-bí
* bad
* evil
* ugly

#### Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

## Spanish
### Adjective

bi (invariable)
* bi (bisexual)

## Swazi
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-bɪ́ɪ̀.

### Adjective

-bí
* bad
* evil
* ugly

#### Inflection
## Swedish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /biː/
* Rhymes: -iː

### Etymology 1

From Old Swedish bī, bȳ, from Old Norse bý, from Proto-Germanic *bijō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰī-.

#### Noun

bi n
* bee
    surrande binbuzzing bees
    Bin producerar honungBees produce honey

##### Usage notes

* More rare spellings of the definite forms are bit/bits (singular) and bien/biens (plural). However, the spellings in the inflection box are the most common.
* See the usage notes for geting (“wasp”) for a note on bee stings.

##### Derived terms

* bikupa (“beehive”)
* biodlare (“beekeeper”)
* biodling (“beekeeping”)
* bisvärm (“swarm of bees”)
* blommor och bin (“birds and bees”)

#### See also

* bålgeting c
* geting c (“wasp”)
* humla c (“bumblebee”)

### Etymology 2
#### Adjective

bi
* (informal) bisexual
    Synonym: bisexuell

#### See also

* hetero
* homo

### Etymology 3
#### Adverb

bi (not comparable)
* (in some fixed expressions) by
    lyckan står den djärve bifortune favors the bold(literally, “fortune stands by the brave”)

##### Related terms

* stå någon bi

### References

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

## Tagalog
### Etymology

Borrowed from English bee, the English name of the letter B/b. Ultimately from Latin bē. Doublet of be.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /bi/ [bɪ]
* Rhymes: -i
* Syllabification: bi

### Noun

bi (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜒ)
* the name of the Latin-script letter B/b, in the Filipino alphabet
    Synonyms: (in the Abakada alphabet) ba, (in the Abecedario) be

#### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) titik; ey, bi, si, di, i, ef, dyi, eyts, ay, dyey, key, el, em, en, enye, en dyi, o, pi, kyu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dobolyu, eks, way, zi

### Further reading

* “bi”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

## Teke-Tyee
### Noun

bi (plural mabi)
* egg

## Tok Pisin
### Etymology

From English bee.

### Noun

bi
* bee

## Tooro
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-bɪ́ɪ̀.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /βi/

### Adjective

-bi (declinable)
* bad
    Antonym: -rungi
* hideous, ugly
    Synonym: -rofu (“dirty, ugly”)
    Antonyms: -ecumi (“clean, pretty”), -rungi (“pretty”)

#### Derived terms

* kubi (“badly, in a bad way”)

#### Related terms

* -biiha (“to become bad; to be ugly; to deceive”)

### References

* Kaji, Shigeki (2007) A Rutooro Vocabulary‎, Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 377

## Turkish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/

### Adjective

bi
* Alternative spelling of bi'

### Adverb

bi
* Alternative spelling of bi'

### Numeral

bi
* Alternative spelling of bi'

## Vietnamese
### Pronunciation

* (Hà Nội) IPA: [ʔɓi˧˧]
* (Huế) IPA: [ʔɓɪj˧˧]
* (Saigon) IPA: [ʔɓɪj˧˧]

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from French bille (“marble, ball”).

#### Noun

(classifier cục, hòn, viên) bi
* a marble (spherical ball)
    bắn bi ― to shoot marbles
* (billiards, snooker) a ball
    bi cái ― a cue ball
* (slang) a ball (testicle)
    Á! Dập bi tao rồi!Ow! My bawlls popped!

##### See also

* bi cái
* bút bi

### Etymology 2

Probably from French bille (“tree log, trunk”).

#### Noun

(classifier cái) bi
* big concrete sewer
* (by extension) a type of water tank made from concrete

### Etymology 3
#### Romanization

bi
* Sino-Vietnamese reading of 悲

##### See also

* bi ai
* bi kịch
* bi thảm
* bi thương
* bi tráng
* sầu bi
* từ bi

## Volapük
### Conjunction

bi
* because

## Welsh
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /biː/
* Rhymes: -iː

### Noun

bi f (plural biau)
* The name of the Latin-script letter B/b.

### Mutation

This word cannot be mutated.

### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) llythyren; a, bi, ec, èch, di, èdd, e, èf, èff, èg, eng, aetsh, i / i dot, je, ce, el, èll, em, en, o, pi, ffi, ciw, er, rhi, ès, ti, èth, u / u bedol / u gwpan, fi, w, ecs, y, sèd

## Xhosa
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-bɪ́ɪ̀.

### Adjective

-bí
* bad
* evil
* ugly

#### Inflection
## Yoruba
### Pronunciation

* (high-tone): IPA: /bí/
* (mid-tone): IPA: /bī/
* (low-tone): IPA: /bì/

### Etymology 1
#### Noun

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

#### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) lẹ́tà; á, bí, dí, é, ẹ́, fí, gí, gbì, hí, í, jí, kí, lí, mí, ní, ó, ọ́, pí, rí, sí, ṣí, tí, ú, wí, yí

### Etymology 2
#### Conjunction

bí
* (conditional) if

##### Derived terms

* bí ẹnipé

### Etymology 3
#### Conjunction

bí
* (subordinating conjunction) how
    Wọ́n kọ́ wa bí a ti lè ṣe é.They taught us how to do it.
* Alternative spelling of bíi (“like, as”)

### Etymology 4
#### Conjunction

bí
* when, as soon as
    Bí a ti jáde ni wọ́n dé.As soon as we left, they arrived.

### Etymology 5
#### Conjunction

bí
* subordinating conjunction used solely with intensifiers such as àfi, àyàmọ̀, àyàṣe, and àdàmọ̀

### Etymology 6
#### Particle

bí
* question marker that can be used at the end of a yes-no question
    Ẹ̀yin lọ bí? ― Did you go?

### Etymology 7

Cognate with Igala bí (“to give birth to”)

#### Alternative forms

* bẹ́ (Ìjẹ̀bú)

#### Verb

bí
* (transitive) to give birth to
    Ọmọ mẹ́rin l'ó bí.She gave birth to four children.
* (intransitive) to increase

##### Derived terms

* Abídèmí
* abínibí
* Abíọ̀nà
* Abíọ́dún
* Abíọ́lá
* Abíọ́sẹ̀
* bíbí
* bímọ
* ẹbí
* obí
* ọmọ bíbí
* Àbíbá
* àbígbẹ̀yìn
* Àbíkẹ́
* àbíkú
* Àbíìbá
* àbíìkọ́
* àkọ́bí
* ìbí
* Ìbídùnmóyè
* Ìbídùnọ̀únní
* Ìbíkúnlórí
* òbí

### Etymology 8
#### Verb

bí
* (with inú) to be angry
    Synonym: bínú
    Inú ń bí mi ― I'm angry

##### Derived terms

* bínú (“to be angry”)

### Etymology 9

Likely cognate with Igala bi (“to beg for; to pray for”)

#### Verb

bi
* (transitive) to ask, to interrogate
    Mo bi í nípa àwọn ọ̀rẹ́ rẹ̀.I asked him about his friends.

##### Derived terms

* bi léèrè
* bèèrè

### Etymology 10
#### Verb

bi
* (transitive) to push, to jostle

### Etymology 11
#### Verb

bi
* (transitive) to cause one to gain an evil reward for a prior evil committed

### Etymology 12
#### Verb

bì
* (transitive) to vomit, to throw up
    Synonyms: dà, pọ̀

#### Verb

bi
* Alternative form of bì (“to vomit”) used before object nouns
    Ó ti bi oúnjẹ rẹ̀.He's thrown up his food.

#### Derived terms

* bíbì, èbíbì, èébì, ìbì

### Etymology 13
#### Verb

bì
* (intransitive) to sway, to push back

## Zaghawa
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi/

### Noun

bi
* water

### References

* Ehret, Christopher (2001) A Historical-Comparative Reconstruction of Nilo-Saharan (SUGIA, Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika: Beihefte; 12)‎, Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, →ISBN, →ISSN.
* Beria-English English-Beria Dictionary [provisional] ADESK, Iriba, Kobe Department, Chad

## Zhuang
### Pronunciation

* (Standard Zhuang) IPA: /pi˨˦/
* Tone numbers: bi$^1$
* Hyphenation: bi

### Etymology 1

From Proto-Tai *piːᴬ (“year”). Cognate with Thai ปี (bpii), Northern Thai ᨸᩦ, Lao ປີ (pī), Lü ᦔᦲ (ṗii), Shan ပီ (pǐi), Tai Nüa ᥙᥤ (pi), Phake ပီ (pī), Ahom 𑜆𑜣 (pī), Bouyei bil.

#### Classifier

bi (Sawndip forms 𭯌 or 𭽨 or 𭙂, 1957–1982 spelling bi)
* year
    Synonym: nienz
* year old

##### Derived terms

* bide
* bigeq
* bi'gyai
* bi'gyaihaenx
* bihaenx
* bimoq
* binaengz
* bineix
* bi'nyinh
* birawz
* biriengh
* hopbi

### Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Verb

bi (1957–1982 spelling bi)
* (intransitive) to swing; to sway; to rock
* (transitive) to swing; to rock; to wag
* to swing (on a swing)

## Zou
### Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ɓuu, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *pru(w). Cognates include Mandarin 胞 (bāo, “womb”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bǐ/
* Hyphenation: bi

### Noun

bí
* nest

### References

* Philip Thanglienmang (2014) “Zou Tonology”, in Indian Linguistics, volume 75, numbers 1-2, →ISSN

## Zulu
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-bɪ́ɪ̀.

### Adjective

-bí
* bad
* evil
* ugly

#### Derived terms

* -bana
* isibi
* okubi
* ububi