World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English DictionariesBe
/biː/Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
2 senses- 1
To exist or live.
"I want to be happy." - 2
To occupy a specified position or place.
"She will be at the meeting."
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
The word 'be' comes from Old English 'bēon', meaning 'to be, become, happen', which traces back to the Proto-Germanic '*būaną' and ultimately to the Proto-Indo-European root '*bheu-' meaning 'to be, exist, grow'. Historically, it has absorbed forms from multiple distinct roots (suppletion), combining words like 'am', 'is', 'was', and 'be' into a single, highly irregular paradigm.
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10 Global Lexicons: How "Be" is said worldwide
Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration
être
Transliteration: ɛtʁ
"Je veux être heureux."
sein
Transliteration: zaɪn
"Ich möchte glücklich sein."
essere
Transliteration: ˈɛs.se.re
"Voglio essere felice."
ser
Transliteration: seɾ
"Quiero ser feliz."
ser
Transliteration: seʁ
"Quero ser feliz."
होना
Transliteration: hona
"मैं खुश होना चाहता हूँ।"
是
Transliteration: shì
"我想快乐。"
이다
Transliteration: ida
"나는 행복하고 싶다."
である
Transliteration: dearu
"私は幸せになりたい。"
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