ב־

Aramaic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b-/

Preposition

ב־ • (transliteration needed)

1. in
2. at
3. with

Inflection

Hebrew

Etymology

Compare Aramaic ב־, Arabic بِـ (bi-), Ge'ez በ (bä).

Pronunciation

• (Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /bi/, /ba/

• Audio

  (file)

Preposition

בְּ־ • (b'-)

1. In (a place or time).

   אֲנִי בַּבִּנְיָן. ― aní babinyán. ― I am in the building.

   טִיַּלְנוּ בְּאַמֶרִיקָה. ― tiyálnu b'amérika. ― We traveled in America.

   הֵם דִּבְּרוּ בַּבֹּקֶר. ― hem dibrú babóker. ― They spoke in the morning.

2. With
   1. (instrumental) By means of, using

      הַמּוֹרֶה כּוֹתֵב בְּגִּיר. ― ha-moré kotév b'gír. ― The teacher is writing with a piece of chalk.

   2. (followed by an abstract noun) In a manner characterized by (in English usually rendered by an adverb)

      הוּא הִתְכּוֹנֵן בִּזְרִיזוּת. ― hu hitkonén bizrizút. ― He got ready with haste. (=He got ready hastily.)

   אָכַלְתֶּם בְּיַחַד? ― akháltem b'yákhad? ― Did you eat with togetherness? (=Did you eat together?)

3. (archaic, introducing a bare infinitive) While, during.
   • c. 14th century B.C.E.,
     Tanach, Deuteronomy 6:7, with translation of the King James Version:

     וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ׃

     v'shinantám l'vanékha v'dibárta bam b'shivt'khá b'veitekhá uv'lekht'khá vadárekh uv'shokhb'khá uv'kumékha.

     And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down , and when thou risest up .

   • Tanach, Psalms 92:7, with translation of the King James Version:

     בִּפְרֹחַרְשָׁעִים ׀ כְּמוֹ עֵשֶׂב וַיָּצִיצוּ כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן לְהִשָּׁמְדָם עֲדֵי־עַד׃

     bifróakh r'sha'ím k'mó ésev vayatsítsu kol-po'aléi áven l'hisham'dám adéi-ád.

     When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:

4. (introducing a verbal noun) While, during.

   הוּא נָפַל בְּשֵׁינָה. ― hu nafal b'sheina. ― He fell during sleep.

5. Among.

   הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים ― hayafá banashím ― the most beautiful of women (literally, “the beautiful among the women”)

   שלושה בני אדם, בהם ילדה בת שבע ― sh'loshá b'néi-adám, bahém yaldá bát shéva ― three people, among them a seven-year-old girl

6. On (a medium of communication).

   רָאִינוּ אֵת זֶה בַּטֶּלֶוִיזְיָה וְשָׁמַעֲנוּ עַל זֶה בָּרַדְיוֹ.

   ra'ínu et ze batelevízya v'shamá'nu al ze barádyo.

   We saw it on TV and heard about it on the radio.

   כָּל הַיּוֹם מְדַבְּרִים בַּטֶּלֶפוֹן!

   kol-hayóm m'dab'rím batélefon!

   All day they talk on the phone!

7. (mathematics, followed by a feminine ordinal number) To the power of: Indicating an exponent.

   2 בַּרְבִיעִית שָׁוֶה 16. ― 2 to the power of four equals 16.

Usage notes

• Unlike English in, בְּ־ cannot easily mean into; rather, לְ־ (l'-, “to”) is generally used for that sense.
• Like English in, בְּ־ is a fairly weak word; when the sense is that of being in a place, the word בְּתוֹךְ (b'tókh, “within, inside”) may be used as a stronger variant.
• בְּ־ is used in forming dates using the traditional Hebrew months; for example, 17 Tammuz is “‏17 בתמוז”, literally “17 in Tammuz”. However, לְ־ (l'-, “to”) is sometimes used with the months of the Roman calendar.
• בְּ־ undergoes the same vowel changes as לְ־ (l'-, “to”) and כְּ־ (k'-, “like, as”), including the merger with הַ־ (ha-, “the”); see לְ־ (l'-, “to”).
• Unlike English in, בְּ־ is strictly a preposition, and always takes an object; בִּפְנִים (bif'ním, “in, inside”) is used without an object.
• בְּ־ turns to בִ when it's followed by a letter with a Shva.

Inflection

Derived terms

• בלבד (bil'vád) “only”
• בעוד (b'ód) “in (a duration of time)”
• בעזרת השם (b'ezrát hashém) “with G-d’s help”
• בוודאי (b'vadái) “certainly, definitely”
• בצורה (b'tzurá) “in a … form”
• באופן (b'ófen) “in a … way”
• בקושי (b'kóshi) “hardly”
• בגלל (big'lál) “because of”
• ט״ו בשבט (tú bish'vat) “Tu Bishvat”