Aramaic

Preposition

ב־ • ‎(transliteration needed)

1. in
2. at
3. with

Inflection

Hebrew

Etymology

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

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 (an abstract noun); often used to form adverbs (like -ly).

   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. 7th century BCE, 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 [lit. in-sitting-of-thee] in thine house, and when thou walkest [lit. and-in-walking-of-thee] by the way, and when thou liest down [lit. and-in-lying-of-thee], and when thou risest up [lit. and-in-rising-of-thee].

   • 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 [lit. in-flowering-of wicked] 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

   hayafa banashim

   the most beautiful of women [lit. the pretty among women]

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 שָֹוֶה 16.‎ ― 2 to the power of four [lit. in the fourth] 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.

Inflection

Derived terms

• ביחד ‎(b'yákhad) “together”
• בלבד ‎(bil'vád) “alone”
• בעוד ‎(b'ód) “in (a duration of time)”
• בעזרת השם ‎(b'ezrát hashém) “with G-d’s help”
• בוודאי ‎(b'vadái) “certainly, definitely”
• בתוך ‎(b'tókh) “inside, within”
• בצורה ‎(b'tzurá) “in a … form”
• באופן ‎(b'ófen) “in a … way”
• בקושי ‎(b'kóshi) “hardly”
• באמת ‎(b'emét) “truly”
• בשביל ‎(bish'víl) “for”
• בגלל ‎(big'lál) “because of”
• בדיוק ‎(bid'yúk) “exactly”
• במקום ‎(bim'qóm) “instead of”
• במקום ‎(bamaqóm) “in place”
• ט״ו בשבט ‎(tú bish'vat) “Tu Bishvat”