ב־

• IPA^(key): /b-/

ב־‎ • (transliteration needed)

1. in
2. at
3. with

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

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. 14th century B.C.E., 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 ― 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 [lit. in the fourth] equals 16.

• 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.

• ביחד‎ (b'yákhad) “together”
• 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”
• בתוך‎ (b'tókh) “inside, within”
• בצורה‎ (b'tzurá) “in a … form”
• באופן‎ (b'ófen) “in a … way”
• בקושי‎ (b'kóshi) “hardly”
• באמת‎ (beemét) “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”