bu-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bu"

Chichewa

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *bʊ̀-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɓu/

Prefix

bu-

1. (obsolete) Obsolete class 14 noun prefix.

References

• Steven Paas (2016), Oxford Chichewa-English/English - Chichewa Dictionary‎^[1], Oxford University Press, page 27

Fwe

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *bʊ̀-.

Prefix

bu-

1. Class XIV noun prefix

Japanese

Romanization

bu-

1. Rōmaji transcription of ぶ

Kongo

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-.

Noun

bu-

1. class 14 noun prefix
2. class 14 subject concord

Northern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-.

Prefix

bu-

1. it; class 14 subject concord.
2. it; class 14 object concord.

Oroqen

Verb

bu-

1. to die

Phuthi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-bʊ̀-.

Prefix

bu-

1. Class 14 noun prefix.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-.

Prefix

bu-

1. it; class 14 subject concord.
2. it; class 14 object concord.

Senhaja de Srair

Alternative forms

• bu

Etymology

Borrowed from Moroccan Arabic بو (bū), from Arabic أَبُو (ʔabū), construct state of أَب (ʔab, “father”).

Prefix

bu- (Tifinagh spelling ⴱⵓ-)

1. Used expressively to associate a person with some object, activity or trait: the one with, the one that is

Derived terms

Senhaja de Srair terms prefixed with bu-

buccɛar

buyifadden

See also

• mwalin
• sḥab

References

• Gutova, Evgeniya; Byler, Jonathan (2025), “Senhaja de Srair - English Dictionary”, in Webonary‎^[2], retrieved 2025
• Gutova, Evgeniya (2021) Senhaja Berber Varieties: Phonology, Morphology, and Morphosyntax (Thesis)‎^[3], Paris, France: HAL

Southern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-.

Prefix

bu-

1. it; class 14 subject concord.
2. it; class 14 object concord.

Swazi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-bʊ̀-.

Prefix

bu-

1. Class 14 noun prefix.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-.

Prefix

bu-

1. it; class 14 subject concord.
2. it; class 14 object concord.

Tooro

Alternative forms

• (before vowels) bw-

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /βu-/

Prefix

bu-

1. class 14 pronominal concord

   ‎bu- + ‎-nu (“this, these”) → ‎bunu (“this, these (class 14)”)

2. it, they; class 14 subject concord

   ‎bu- + ‎-kora (“to do”) → ‎bukora (“it (class 14) does, they (class 14 do”)

3. positive imperative form of -bu- (“it, them; class 14 object concord”)

   ‎bu- + ‎-ha (“to give”) → ‎buha (“give it (class 14), give them (class 14)”)

See also

Tooro personal pronouns

class	person	independent	possessive	subject concord	object concord	combined forms
						na	ni
class 1	first	nyowe, nye	-ange	n-	-n-	nanyowe, nanye	ninyowe, ninye
	second	iwe	-awe	o-	-ku-	naiwe	niiwe
	third	uwe	-e	a-	-mu-	nawe	nuwe
class 2	first	itwe	-aitu	tu-	-tu-	naitwe	niitwe
	second	inywe	-anyu	mu-	-ba-	nainywe	niinywe
	third	bo	-abo	ba-	-ba-	nabo	nubo
class 3		gwo	-agwo	gu-	-gu-	nagwo	nugwo
class 4		yo	-ayo	e-	-gi-	nayo	niyo
class 5		lyo	-alyo	li-	-li-	nalyo	niryo
class 6		go	-ago	ga-	-ga-	nago	nugo
class 7		kyo	-akyo	ki-	-ki-	nakyo	nikyo
class 8		byo	-abyo	bi-	-bi-	nabyo	nibyo
class 9		yo	-ayo	e-	-gi-	nayo	niyo
class 10		zo	-azo	zi-	-zi-	nazo	nizo
class 11		rwo	-arwo	ru-	-ru-	narwo	nurwo
class 12		ko	-ako	ka-	-ka-	nako	nuko
class 13		two	-atwo	tu-	-tu-	natwo	nutwo
class 14		bwo	-abwo	bu-	-bu-	nabwo	nubwo
class 15		kwo	-akwo	ku-	-ku-	nakwo	nukwo
class 16		ho	-aho	ha-	-ha-	naho	nuho
class 17		(kwo)	N/A	ha- (...-yo)	-ha-	N/A	nukwo
class 18		(mwo)	-amwo	ha- (...-mu)	-ha-	N/A	numwo
reflexive		-enyini, -onyini	—		-e-	—

• Bu-

References

• Kaji, Shigeki (2007), A Rutooro Vocabulary‎^[4], Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 414

Xhosa

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-.

Prefix

bu-

1. it; class 14 subject concord.
2. it; class 14 object concord.

Zulu

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ̀-.

Prefix

bu-

1. Class 14 simple noun prefix.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *bʊ́-.

Prefix

bú-

1. it; class 14 subject concord.
2. it; class 14 object concord.