bis

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bis"

Languages (28)

Translingual • English

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Albanian • Catalan • Cimbrian • Cornish • Danish • Dutch • Esperanto • Fiji Hindi • French • German • Indonesian • Italian • Latin • Lower Tanana • Luxembourgish • Maltese • Middle English • Navajo • Polish • Portuguese • Romanian • Spanish • Swedish • Vietnamese • Western Apache • Yucatec Maya

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology 1

Clipping of English and Bislama Bislama.

Symbol

bis

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Bislama.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Bislama terms

Etymology 2

From French bis, from Latin bis

Adjective

bis

1. The second iteration. Used in names of international standards.

Coordinate terms

• ter

English

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baɪz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

bis

1. plural of bi

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin bis (“twice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɪs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪs

Adverb

bis (not comparable)

1. (music, law) Twice; showing that something is, or is to be, repeated, such as a passage of music, or an item in accounts.
   • 2014 January 10, Sergey Sayapin, The Crime of Aggression in International Criminal Law: Historical Development, Comparative Analysis and Present State, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 300:

     Article 15 bis of the Rome Statute ("Exercise of jurisdiction over the crime of aggression (State referral, proprio motu)") lays down, in ten paragraphs, special procedural rules for the initiation of an individual prosecution on charges under Article 8 bis of the Statute (for a comprehensive examination of that article's material provisions, see supra 5.1) on the basis of a State referral or proprio motu by the Prosecutor. An analysis of specific provisions of Article 15 bis is offered below.

Derived terms

• bis key

See also

• bis-phossy jaw

Anagrams

• SBI, SIB, IBs, BSI, sib, IBS

Albanian

Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice; again!”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bis/

Noun

bis

1. encore (brief extra performance after the main performance is complete)

Interjection

bis

1. used to request an encore

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈbis]

Etymology 1

From older bis (“dark grey”), of unknown origin, but compare French bis meaning "beige."

Noun

bis m (plural bisos)

1. either of two closely-related species of mackerel, the Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) or the Pacific chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

   Synonyms: bísol, cavalla, gallimó

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin bis (“twice”).

Adverb

bis

1. again

Interjection

bis

1. encore

Noun

bis m (plural bisos)

1. encore

Derived terms

• bisar

Further reading

• “bis”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

• biiza (Sette Comuni)

Etymology

From Middle High German wise, from Old High German wisa, further etymology unknown, perhaps related with Proto-Germanic *wasô, from Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to increase”). Cognate with German Wiese.

Noun

bis f (plural bisan, diminutive bisle) (Luserna)

1. grass, lawn
2. meadow

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Cornish

Etymology

Presumably derived from English vice.

Noun

bis f (plural bisyow)

1. (tool) vice

Mutation

Mutation of bis

radical	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
bis	vis	unchanged	pis	fis, vis*

* after 'th
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

• “bis” in Cornish Dictionary / Gerlyver Kernewek, Akademi Kernewek.

Danish

Noun

bis c

1. genitive singular indefinite of bi

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bis/
• Hyphenation: bis
• Rhymes: -is

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Bis.

Noun

bis f (plural bissen, diminutive bisje n)

1. (music) B-sharp

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin bis. Doublet of twee and duo.

Interjection

bis

1. Used to request an encore.

Descendants

• → Indonesian: bis

Esperanto

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *dwís

Proto-Italic *dwis

Old Latin duis

Latin bisder.

Esperanto bis

From Latin bis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bis/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -is
• Syllabification: bis

Interjection

bis

1. encore!

Further reading

• “bis”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “bis”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Fiji Hindi

Etymology

Inherited from Awadhi बीस (bīs).

Numeral

bis

1. twenty

French

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi/
• Rhymes: -i

Noun

bis m pl or f pl

1. plural of bi

Etymology 2

From Latin bysseus (“cotton-coloured”), from Latin byssus (“linen”); cf. Italian bigio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi/

Adjective

bis (feminine bise, masculine plural bis, feminine plural bises)

1. beige (colour)
2. brown (of bread that contains bran)

Etymology 3

Learned borrowing from Latin bis (“twice”).

Pronunciation

• (adverb) IPA^(key): /bis/

Adverb

bis

1. again (a second time); encore
2. (in street numbering or law) A; designating a second thing with the same number

   12 bis, rue des Carmelites ― 12A, rue des Carmelites

Descendants

• → Romanian: bis
• → Translingual: bis
• → Vietnamese: bis

Adjective

bis (invariable)

1. alternative, secondary

Noun

bis m (invariable)

1. encore

Interjection

bis

1. used to request an encore

Derived terms

• bisser (“to ask for an encore; to do an encore”)
• itinéraire bis (“detour”)

Etymology 4

From bise.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi/

Noun

bis m (invariable)

1. (Quebec) kiss

Further reading

• “bis”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

German

Etymology

From Middle High German biz, bit, bitze, from bī (“by”) + ze (“to”). Equivalent to modern bei/be- and zu. Compare German Low German bit (“until”), Saterland Frisian bit (“until”). Compare also English up to.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɪs/

• Audio (Germany):

  (file)

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Homophone: Biss
• Rhymes: -ɪs

Conjunction

bis

1. (subordinating, temporal) until

   Wir warten hier, bis das Gewitter vorbei ist.

   We'll wait here until the thunderstorm is over.

2. (coordinating) to

   Ich arbeite 40 bis 50 Stunden in der Woche.

   I work 40 to 50 hours a week.

   Ihre Haare sind braun bis dunkelbraun.

   Her hair is brown to dark brown.

Preposition

bis [with accusative]

1. (temporal) until, to, (US) through

   Meine Tochter ist bis zwei Uhr in der Schule.

   My daughter is at school until two o'clock.

   Ich war von Montag bis Freitag krank.

   I was sick from Monday to Friday.

2. (temporal) by

   Die Aufgabe muss bis Donnerstag fertig sein.

   The task must be complete by Thursday.

3. (local) to; all the way to

   Der Zug fährt bis Köln.

   The train goes to Cologne.

Usage notes

• The temporal preposition bis can be followed by temporal adverbs of all kind: bis nachmittags (“until afternoon”), bis jetzt (“until now”). Moreover it can be followed by times, dates, holidays, days of the week, months, or years. The words Woche (“week”), Monat (“month”), and Jahr (“year”), as well as the names of days and months may also be preceded by letzter, voriger, dieser, kommender, or nächster. Bis takes the accusative. For example: bis letzte Woche (“until last week”); bis nächsten Freitag (“by next Friday”).
• The local preposition bis can be followed by local adverbs of all kind (e.g. bis hier (“over here”)) and by place names (see above).
• In other cases, bis must be followed by another preposition, most commonly zu (“to”): bis zum Sommer (“until summer”); bis zum ersten Freitag im neuen Jahr (“by the first Friday of the new year”); bis zum Hauptbahnhof (“to the main station”); bis zur Decke (“(up) to the ceiling”). This means that bis is never directly followed by a definite or indefinite article. Sometimes other prepositions may also be used after bis: Er ging bis ans Ufer. (“He went close to the shore”).

Derived terms

• bis auf

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪs/
• Hyphenation: bis

Etymology 1

From Dutch bus (“container, box”) Compare to Dutch brievenbus (“letterbox, mailbox, post box”).

Noun

bis

1. (rare) letterbox; mailbox; post box

   Synonym: kotak surat

Derived terms

• biskan

Etymology 2

Noun

bis

1. nonstandard form of bus (“bus”)

Etymology 3

Learned borrowing from Latin bis (“twice”).

Adverb

bis

1. (colloquial) twice

Etymology 4

From Dutch bies (“piping”), from Middle Dutch biese, from Old Dutch *biesa, from Proto-West Germanic *beusu.

Noun

bis

1. pipe; piping
   1. a hollow conduit or something resembling a tube
   2. decorative edging stitched to the hems or seams of an object made of fabric

      Synonym: pelisir

2. vessel, tube, duct

   Synonym: pembuluh

Etymology 5

From Dutch buis (“pipe”), from Middle Dutch buse.

Noun

bis

1. (construction) pipe, duct

Further reading

• “bis”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin bis (“twice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbis/
• Rhymes: -is
• Hyphenation: bìs

Noun

bis m (invariable)

1. encore
2. repetition
3. duo (two varieties as a unit)

   Un bis di baccalà

   Two varieties of salt cod

Usage notes

It may also be appehended to a number:

• via Roma 2/bis

  2-bis Rome Street

  i.e., a house that finds itself between and was assigned after the house numbers 2 and 3 in via Roma (though some administrations instead appehend Latin letters: via Roma 2/A)
• articolo 41-bis

  section 41-bis

  i.e., the law section that was added after section 41 at a later date and thus could not be named section 42 as the name was already in usage

In such usages, a sequence of Latinate numbers is used: bis (“2”), ter/tris (“3”), quater/quadris (“4”), quinquies (“5”), ...

Derived terms

• bissare

Descendants

• → Maltese: bis

Adjective

bis (invariable)

1. additional

Further reading

• “bis”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Latin

Latin numbers ^(edit)

	20[a], [b], [c]
←  1	II 2	3  →
Cardinal: duo     Ordinal: secundus, alter     Adverbial: bis     Proportional: duplus     Multiplier: duplex, alterplex, biplex     Distributive: bīnus     Collective: bīniō     Fractional: dīmidius, sēmis

Etymology

From Old Latin duis (mentioned by Cicero), from Proto-Italic *dwis, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“in two, twice, doubly”), adverb derived from *dwóh₁ (“two”); compare Ancient Greek δίς (dís), Sanskrit द्विस् (dvís). Doublet of dis-.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈbɪs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbis]

Adverb

bis (not comparable)

1. twice, two times, on two occasions, in two ways
   • 23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horatius, Carmina 3.9:

     Me torret face mutua / Thurini Calais filius Ornyti, / pro quo bis patiar mori, / si parcent puero fata superstiti.

     I love my own fond lover, / Young Calais, son of Thurian Ornytus: / For him I'd die twice over, / Would Fate but spare the sweet survivor thus.

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 2.217–219:

     “[...] et iam / bis medium amplexī, bis collō squāmea circum / terga datī [...].”

     “[...] and soon, twice [the serpents] had encircled [Laocoön’s] body, twice around [his] neck with [their] scaly backs [...].” – Aeneas

   fallī bis

   to be deceived twice

   • (post-Classical)
     Familia mea bis in hebdomade ad ecclesiam it.

     My family goes to the church twice a week.

Derived terms

• bis ad eundem (“to commit the same error twice”)
• bis in anno, bis anno (“twice a year”)
• bis in die, bis die (“twice a day”)
• bis in mense, bis mense (“twice a month”)
• bis minus
• bis tanto, bis tantum (“twice as great, twice as much”)
• bis terque (“several times, repeatedly”)
• ne bis in idem

Descendants

(Note: all terms are learned and some are unsorted.)

• → Albanian: bis
• → Bulgarian: бис (bis)
• → Catalan: bis
• → Dutch: bis
  • → Indonesian: bis
• → English: bis
• → Esperanto: bis
• → French: bis
  • → Romanian: bis
  • → Translingual: bis
  • → Vietnamese: bis
• → Italian: bis
  • → Maltese: bis
• → Macedonian: бис (bis)
• → Polish: bis
• → Portuguese: bis
• → Russian: бис (bis)
• → Spanish: bis

Further reading

• “bis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “bis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “bis”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be absolutely ignorant of arithmetic: bis bina quot sint non didicisse
    
  • twice consul: bis consul
    
• “bis”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

Lower Tanana

Stem

bis (Toklat-Bearpaw)

1. Verbal stem occurring in the following root, aspect, and mode combinations:

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Optative
Customary	batr (boil)	batr (boil)	batr (boil)	batr (boil)

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Middle High German biz, bit, bitze, from bī (“by”) + ze (“to”). See German bis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bis/

Conjunction

bis

1. until, till (something becomes true)

   Mir waarde mam Iessen, bis datt eis Gäscht all ukomm sinn.

   We are waiting with the food until all our guests have arrived.

2. to (used to indicate time)

   Synonym: vir

3. as far as (until)
4. between ... and

   Zeideg Quidde moosse 7 bis 12 Zentimeter laang.

   Mature quinces measure between 7 and 12 centimetres long.

5. (up) to (a certain value, a certain number)

bis zu

1. up to (a maximal value)

Preposition

bis

1. until (a certain time)

   D'Metzlerei ass bis fënnef Auer nomëttes op.

   The butcher's is open until five in the afternoon.

2. up to, to

   Hire Jong ka scho bis zéng zielen.

   Their son can already count up to ten.

Maltese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *dwís

Proto-Italic *dwis

Old Latin duis

Latin bisubor.

Italian bisbor.

Maltese bis

Borrowed from Italian bis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biːs/
• Rhymes: -iːs

Interjection

bis

1. Used to request an encore

Related terms

• bbissja

Middle English

Etymology

A version of bith with the third-person singular ending replaced with -es as in other verbs (in some dialects).

Verb

bis

1. alternative form of bith

Navajo

Etymology

Cognate with Western Apache bis (“river bank”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɪ̀s/

Noun

bis

1. adobe, clay, clod, cake of dirt

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin bis (“twice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbis/
• Rhymes: -is
• Syllabification: bis

Noun

bis m inan

1. encore (brief extra performance, done after the main performance is complete)

   podwójny bis ― double encore

   potrójny bis ― triple encore

   domagać się bisu ― to demanda encore

   wykonywać/wykonać bis ― to perform an encore

   zagrać bis ― to play an encore

   zakończyć się bisem ― to end with an encore

   prosić/poprosić o bis ― to ask for an encore

Declension

Declension of bis

	singular	plural
nominative	bis	bisy
genitive	bisu	bisów
dative	bisowi	bisom
accusative	bis	bisy
instrumental	bisem	bisami
locative	bisie	bisach
vocative	bisie	bisy

Interjection

bis

1. encore!

Adjective

bis (not comparable, no derived adverb)

1. (colloquial) repeat, extra

   Synonyms: bisowy, powtórzony, dodatkowy

   Unia Europejska bis ― repeat European Union

   PRL bis ― repeat Polish People's Republic

Derived terms

adjective

• bisowy

verb

• bisować impf

Further reading

• “bis”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “bis”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbis/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbis/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈbiʃ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbiʃ/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -is, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -iʃ
• Hyphenation: bis

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin bis (“twice”).

Adverb

bis (not comparable)

1. bis (shows that something is to be repeated)

Noun

bis m (invariable)

1. encore (brief extra performance)
2. (by extension, informal) a second serving of something

Derived terms

• bisar

Interjection

bis!

1. encore! (used by an audience to request a second performance)

Etymology 2

Noun

bis m or f

1. plural of bi

Further reading

• “bis”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “bis”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French bis.

Noun

bis n (plural bisuri)

1. bis, encore, repeat

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin bis (“two times”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbis/ [ˈbis]
• Rhymes: -is
• Syllabification: bis

Noun

bis m (plural bises)

1. encore

Coordinate terms

• cuáter
• quater
• quáter
• ter

Related terms

• bisar

See also

• otra vez
• otras tres

Further reading

• “bis”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “bis”, in Diccionario del español actual [Dictionary of Current Spanish] (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA
• bis | Diccionario de la lengua española (2001) | RAE - ASALE

Swedish

Noun

bis

1. indefinite genitive singular of bi

Vietnamese

Etymology

Borrowed from French bis, from Latin bis (“twice”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓit̚˧˦ səː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓit̚˦˧˥ səː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɨt̚˦˥ səː˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: bít xơ

Adverb

bis

1. (in street numbering) a; designating a second thing with the same number.

See also

• ter
• kép

References

• Đỗ Phi Hùng (13 February 2012), “Vẫn loay hoay trong "mê hồn trận" số nhà”, in Tuổi Trẻ‎^[4] (in Vietnamese), Ho Chi Minh City, retrieved 12 March 2022

Western Apache

Etymology

Cognate with Navajo bis (“clay”), Chiricahua bis (“cliff”), Mescalero bis ("river bank"), Jicarilla bis, Lipan bis, Plains Apache bis.

Noun

bis

1. river bank, bluff, embankment

Synonyms

• tábąąyú
• túbąąyú

Derived terms

• bis nán'áá = "bluff"
• Biszáhé = "Adobe cut bank clan, Edge of cliff dwelling clan" (of White Mountain group origin)
• Biszáhą́ = "Adobe cut bank clan, Edge of cliff dwelling clan" (of White Mountain group origin)
• Bis ténódǫ́ǫ́z = "Calva, Arizona" (lit. 'Striped river bank goes into the water')

Yucatec Maya

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɓis/

Verb

bis (transitive)

1. to take, to carry

Conjugation

Conjugation of bis

	singular			plural
	1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
imperfective	kin bisik	ka bisik	ku bisik	k bisik	ka bisikeʼex	ku bisikoʼob
perfective	tin bisaj	ta bisaj	tu bisaj	t k bisaj	ta bisajeʼex	tu bisajoʼob
subjunctive	ka in bisej	ka a bisej	ka u bisej	ka k bisej	ka a biseʼex	ka u bisoʼob
imperative	—	bisej	—	—	biseʼex	—

References

• Gómez Navarrete, Javier Abelardo (2009), Diccionario Introductorio Español-Maya, Maya-Español‎^[5] (in Spanish), Chetumal: Universidad de Quintana Roo, archived from the original on 30 January 2025, page 119: “BIS”