به

See also: ته, بہٕ, په, پہ, تۀ, and بە

Malay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bah/
• Rhymes: -bah, -ah

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayic *bah, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *bah, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *bah, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bahaq, from Proto-Austronesian *bahaq.

Alternative forms

• bah

Noun

به (Rumi spelling bah, plural به٢)

1. flood (overflow of water)

Synonyms

• banjir / بنجير

Etymology 2

Shortened form of ابه, from Proto-Malayic *aba-h, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *aba-h, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *aba-h, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aba, from Proto-Austronesian *aba.

Alternative forms

• abah
• aba
• bah
• ابه
• اب

Noun

به (Rumi spelling bah)

1. Alternative form of ابه

Etymology 3

Shortened form of بابه, from بابا, variant of باڤ.

Alternative forms

• bapa
• baba
• babah
• bah
• bapanda
• bapai
• bapak
• bapang
• papa
• باڤ
• بابا
• بابه
• باڤندا
• باڤاي
• باڤق
• باڤڠ
• ڤاڤ

Noun

به (Rumi spelling bah)

1. Alternative form of bapa

Etymology 4

Abbreviation of بهاس, from Sanskrit भाषा (bhāṣā, “language”).

Alternative forms

• bahasa
• بهاس
• bahasa

Noun

به (Rumi spelling bah)

1. Abbreviation of بهاس.

Etymology 5

Shortened form of باوه, from Proto-Malayic *babah, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *babah, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *babah, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *babaq, from Proto-Austronesian *babaq.

Alternative forms

• bawah
• bah
• باوه

Preposition

به (Rumi spelling bah)

1. Alternative form of باوه

Pashto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba/

Particle

به • (ba)

1. will (indicating future action)

Persian

Etymology 1

From Middle Persian 𐭯𐭥𐭭 (pʿn) / PWN (pad, “to, at, in, on”), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎫𐎡𐎹 (patiy), from Proto-Iranian *pati-.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -e

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ba]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [bä]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [bä]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [bä]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [bä]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [be]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [bä]

Readings
Classical reading?	ba
Dari reading?	ba
Iranian reading?	be
Tajik reading?	ba

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

Preposition

Dari	به
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ба

به • (be)

1. expresses the indirect object: to; for
2. expresses movement to a place: to; towards; into
3. indicates the language of a text, speech, etc.: in

   به فارسی

   be fârsi

   in Persian

References

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) “pad”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 62

Etymology 2

Dari	به
Iranian Persian
Tajik	беҳ

From Middle Persian [script needed] (byh /⁠bēh⁠/, “quince”).

Alternative forms

• بهی (behi)
• بی (beyy) (in Isfahani dialect)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [bih]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [be̞ʱ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [be̞ʱ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [biː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [bi]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [beʱ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [beʱ]

Readings
Classical reading?	bih
Dari reading?	beh
Iranian reading?	beh
Tajik reading?	beh

Noun

به • (beh)

1. quince

Descendants

• → Avar: бигь (bih)
• → Georgian: ბია (bia)
  • → Abkhaz: а-биа (a-bja)
  • → Laz: ბიჲა (biya) — Chkhala
  • → Mingrelian: ბია (bia)
  • → Ossetian: биа (bia) — Digor
• → Lak: бигь (bih)
• → Northern Kurdish: bîhok

References

• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) “bēh”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 18

Etymology 3

From Middle Persian [Term?] ŠPYL / wyh (weh, “better, good”), from Old Persian 𐎺𐎢 (vahu, “good”), from Proto-Iranian *Hwáhuš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hwásuš, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wésus (“good”). Related to Old Armenian վեհ (veh, “sublime”), an Iranian borrowing.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [bih]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [be̞ʱ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [be̞ʱ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [be̞]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [bi]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [beʱ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [beʱ]

Readings
Classical reading?	bih
Dari reading?	beh
Iranian reading?	beh
Tajik reading?	beh

Adjective

Dari	به
Iranian Persian
Tajik	беҳ

به • (beh)

1. (archaic) good, excellent

   Synonym: خوب (xub)

2. (archaic) better

   Synonym: بهتر (behtar)

   • c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 2925:

     بَاغْبَان هَم دَانَد آن رَا دَر خَزَان / لیک دِیدِ یَک بِهْ اَز دِیدِ جَهَان

     bāğbān ham dānad ān rā dar xazān / lēk dīd-i yak bih az dīd-i jahān

     The Gardener knows that (difference) even in autumn, but the One's sight is better than the world's sight.

3. (archaic) elegant
4. (archaic) safe, sound

Derived terms

• بهتر (behtar)
• بهدین (behdin)
• بهروز (behruz)
• بهشهر (behšahr)
• بهینه (behine)
• به‌آفرید (beh-âfarid)

 

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “به”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
• MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) “weh”, in A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 89