Wiktionary

bu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bu"
Languages (67)
English
Acehnese • Äiwoo • Amanab • Amasi • Azerbaijani • Bukawa • Crimean Tatar • Dalmatian • Danish • French • Gresi • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Gullah • Indonesian • Irish • Isoko • Italian • Jabem • Japanese • Kapauri • Kemtuik • Lower Sorbian • Makasar • Malay • Maltese • Mandarin • Mekwei • Middle High German • Middle Welsh • Mizo • Mlap • Nga La • Nias • Nimboran • Norman • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old English • Old French • Pa • Pangutaran Sama • Pnar • Polish • Portuguese • Romagnol • Romanian • Rukai • Salar • Scottish Gaelic • Senhaja de Srair • Sentani • Serbo-Croatian • Spanish • Swedish • Tabla • Talysh • Tarao • Tat • Tedim Chin • Turkish • Upper Sorbian • Uzbek • Vietnamese • Wakhi • Welsh • Woi • Zou
Page categories

English

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Noun

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bu

  1. Abbreviation of bushel, a unit of weight or dry measure.
  2. Clipping of bureau.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Anagrams

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Acehnese

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Noun

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bu

  1. rice
  2. food in general
    Ka lheuh pajôh bu?
    Have you eaten yet?

Äiwoo

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Noun

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bu

  1. night

References

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Amanab

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

References

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  • John R. Roberts, Namia and Amanab Grammar Essentials (1992, SIL)

Amasi

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Noun

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bú

  1. dog (canine)

References

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  • Africana Marburgensia (1973)

Azerbaijani

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Etymology

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From Proto-Turkic *bū (“this”)[1] Compare Old Turkic 𐰉𐰆 (b¹u /⁠bu⁠/, “this”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /bu/
  • Audio:(file)

Determiner

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bu

  1. this, these
    Bu uşaqlar məktəbə gedirlər. ― These kids are going to school.
    Mən bu uşağın atası deyiləm. ― I am not the father of this child.

Usage notes

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  • When used as a determiner modifying nouns, bu is not declined for case and number, as opposed to when it is used as a pronoun (see below).

Pronoun

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bu

  1. this
    Bunu bura kim gətirib? ― Who brought this here?.
    Ya bunlarla əməkdaşlıq etmək lazımdır, ya onlarla. Hamısı ilə yox.
    We should collaborate either with these or with those. Not with all.
  2. he, she

See also

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  • o (“that”)

References

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  1. ^ . Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*bu(-n)”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

Bukawa

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

References

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  • William Eckermann, A Descriptive Grammar of the Bukawa Language of the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea (2007)

Crimean Tatar

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From Proto-Turkic *bū (“this”).

Pronoun

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bu

  1. this

Dalmatian

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Etymology

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From Latin bōs, bovem.

Noun

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bu m (plural buč)

  1. ox

Danish

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Verb

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bu

  1. imperative of bue

French

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Pronunciation

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Participle

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bu (feminine bue, masculine plural bus, feminine plural bues)

  1. past participle of boire
    J'ai bu deux verres de vin. ― I have drunk two glasses of wine.
    As-tu bu? ― Have you been drinking?

Gresi

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

References

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Guinea-Bissau Creole

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Etymology

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From Portuguese vós. Cognate with Kabuverdianu bo.

Pronoun

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bu

  1. you (second person singular).

Gullah

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Etymology

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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bu

  1. dead

References

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  • Lorenzo Dow Turner, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect (1969)

Indonesian

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Etymology

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Clipping of ibu.

Noun

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bu (plural bu-bu)

  1. (slightly informal, between two speakers) mam

Irish

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Particle

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bu

  1. superseded spelling of ba

Mutation

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Mutated forms of bu
radical lenition eclipsis
bu bhu mbu

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Isoko

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Edoid *ɓu.

Verb

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bu

  1. to be plentiful, to be abundant.

Derived terms

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Italian

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Etymology 1

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From Japanese 歩 (bu).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈbu/
  • Rhymes: -u
  • Hyphenation: bù

Noun

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bu m (invariable)

  1. a unit of length equal to 1.818 metres (歩)
  2. a unit or area equal to 3.306 metres2 (歩)

Etymology 2

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From Japanese 分 (bu).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈbu/
  • Rhymes: -u
  • Hyphenation: bù

Noun

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bu m (invariable)

  1. a tenth (decimal) (分)

Jabem

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

Further reading

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  • Otto Dempwolff's Grammar of the Jabêm Language in New Guinea (published 2005)
  • J. F. Streicher; H. Zahn (1982), Jabêm-English dictionary, Canberra: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, →OCLC, page 63

Japanese

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Romanization

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bu

  1. The hiragana syllable ぶ (bu) or the katakana syllable ブ (bu) in Hepburn romanization.

Kapauri

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

References

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Kemtuik

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

References

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Lower Sorbian

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Verb

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bu

  1. second/third-person singular passive of byś

Makasar

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bubu, from Proto-Austronesian *bubu.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /bu/, [ɓu]
  • Hyphenation: bu

Noun

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bu (Lontara spelling ᨅᨘ)

  1. fish trap

Compounds

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Further reading

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  • A. A. Cense (2024), Makassaars-Nederlands woordenboek‎[1], Brill, →DOI

Malay

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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bu

  1. mother

See also

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Maltese

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Etymology

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From Arabic أَبُو (ʔabū), construct state of أَب (ʔab, “father”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bu m (plural abwa or but, feminine omm)

  1. (obsolete) father
    Synonym: missier

Usage notes

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  • The word had the same syntactic constraints as ħu (“brother”), which compare.
  • As in Arabic, the word was often used figuratively to associate a person with some object or activity. Therefore, in the remaining compounds bu typically means “the one with...”, “the one that is...”, “the one who always...”, rather than literally “father”.

Derived terms

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Mandarin

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Romanization

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bu

  1. nonstandard spelling of bū
  2. nonstandard spelling of bú
  3. nonstandard spelling of bǔ
  4. nonstandard spelling of bù

Usage notes

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  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mekwei

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

References

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Middle High German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old High German bū, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *būą. From būwen.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): (before 13th CE) /ˈbuː/

Noun

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bū m or n

  1. building
    Dem manne ist baʒ mit bouwe dan er mit swerten houwe ab den vînden ritters prîs.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Declension

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Declension of bū (strong masculine without umlaut)
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein dër bū die būwe
genitive eines dës būwes dër būwe
dative eime dëm būwe dën būwen
accusative einen dën bū die būwe
Declension of bū (strong neuter with null plural)
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein daȥ bū diu bū
genitive eines dës būwes dër būwe
dative eime dëm būwe dën būwen
accusative ein daȥ bū diu bū

Descendants

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  • German: Bau

References

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Middle Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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bu

  1. third-person singular preterite of bot

Mutation

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Mutated forms of bu
radical soft nasal aspirate
bu uu / vu mu unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Middle Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Mizo

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Etymology

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From Proto-Kuki-Chin *buu (“nest”).

Noun

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bu

  1. nest
  2. bunch

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Mlap

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

References

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Nga La

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Etymology

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From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ɓuu, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *pru(w).

Noun

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bu

  1. nest

References

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  • Matu (Chin) Dictionary by Ropna Saruum, Matupi 2007

Nias

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Etymology

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From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *buhək, from Proto-Austronesian *bukəS.

Noun

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bu (mutated form mbu)

  1. hair
  2. fur
  3. feather

References

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  • Sundermann, Heinrich. 1905. Niassisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. Moers: Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, p. 37.

Nimboran

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Noun

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bu

  1. water

References

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Norman

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Verb

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bu

  1. past participle of baithe

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse búa (“to prepare, finish, make preparations, equip”), from Proto-Germanic *būaną. Cognate with Old English būan, English buwa, Old Saxon būan and Old High German būan (whence German bauen).

Verb

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bu (present tense bur, past tense budde, past participle butt/budd, passive infinitive buast, present participle buande, imperative bu)

  1. (intransitive) to live (have permanent residence), stay
  2. (intransitive) to be, to dwell, to be in
  3. (transitive) to prepare
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Old Norse bú n, from Proto-Germanic *būą n (“building, dwelling”).

Noun

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bu n (definite singular buet, indefinite plural bu, definite plural bua)

  1. an estate, belongings
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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From Old Norse búð, from Proto-Germanic *bōþō. Akin to English booth.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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bu f (definite singular bua, indefinite plural buer, definite plural buene)

  2. booth, stall, small storage room or building
  3. (rare) a shop or a workshop
Declension
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Declension of bu (strong ō-stem)
feminine singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative bu bua buer buene
compound-genitive ― ― ― ―
Derived terms
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Etymology 4

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From English boo.

Interjection

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bu

  1. boo! Used to indicate derision or disapproval.
Derived terms
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References

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Anagrams

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Old English

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Pronunciation

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Determiner

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bū

  1. neuter nominative/accusative singular of beġen

Old French

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Noun

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bu oblique singular, m (oblique plural bus, nominative singular bus, nominative plural bu)

  1. chest; thorax

References

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Pa

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Noun

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bu

  1. (woman's) breast

References

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  • transnewguinea.org, citing McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970), Shaw (1973) and Shaw (1986)
  • Possible Cognates Between Kamula and Pa, chart 10, page 16, in Papers in New Guinea Linguistics, issues 17-20 (1990)

Pangutaran Sama

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Noun

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bu

  1. fur

Pnar

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Etymology

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From Proto-Khasian *buː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ʔbuuʔ; related to ymbu (“breast”). Cognate with Khmer បៅ (baw), Old Mon 'bow (whence modern Mon မဴ), Vietnamese bú.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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bu

  1. to suck, to suckle

Polish

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈbu/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -u
  • Syllabification: bu

Interjection

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bu

  1. an onomatopoeic interjection imitating the sound of crying, usually written with two or more 'u's

Further reading

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  • “bu”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[3] (in Polish)

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Interjection

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bu!

  1. boo (loud exclamation intended to scare someone)

Further reading

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Romagnol

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Verb

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bu

  1. past participle of avér (“to have”)

Romanian

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

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bu

  1. sound made by an ox
  2. hoot; sound made by an owl

Rukai

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Noun

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bu

  1. bow (weapon for shooting arrows)

Salar

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Etymology

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From Proto-Turkic *bū.

Noun

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bu (3rd person possessive [please provide], plural [please provide])

  1. this

References

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  • Ma, Chengjun; Han, Lianye; Ma, Weisheng (December 2010), “bu”, in 米娜瓦尔·艾比布拉 [Minavar Abibra], editor, 撒维汉词典 [Sā-Wéi-Hàn cídiǎn, Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary] (in Chinese), 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

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Etymology

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    From the older form budh, from Old Irish ba.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /pu/, /pə/
    • Hyphenation: bu

    Verb

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    bu

    1. past/conditional of is

    Usage notes

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    • Before a word beginning with a vowel or fh, the form b' is used.

    References

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    • Mark, Colin (2003), “bu”, in The Gaelic–English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 96

    Senhaja de Srair

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    Prefix

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    bu (Tifinagh spelling ⴱⵓ)

    1. alternative spelling of bu-

    Sentani

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    Noun

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    bu

    1. water

    References

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    • Cowan, H. K. J. (1965), Grammar of the Sentani Language‎[4]

    Serbo-Croatian

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    Verb

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    bu (Cyrillic spelling бу)

    1. (Kajkavian) third-person singular future of biti

    Spanish

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    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈbu/ [ˈbu]
    • Rhymes: -u
    • Syllabification: bu

    Interjection

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    bu

    1. boo!

    Further reading

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    Swedish

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    Pronunciation

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    Interjection

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    bu

    1. boo; a loud exclamation intended to scare someone, usually a child.
      Bu! Blev du rädd?
      Boo! Were you scared?
    2. boo; an exclamation used to indicate derision or disapproval of what has just occurred.

    Derived terms

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    References

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    Tabla

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    Noun

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    bu

    1. water

    References

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    Talysh

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    Etymology

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    Cognate with Persian بو (bu).

    Noun

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    bu

    1. smell

    Tarao

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    Noun

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    bu

    1. rice

    Derived terms

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    References

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    • Chungkham Yashwanta Singh (2002), Tarao Grammar (in Tarao)

    Tat

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    Etymology

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    Cognate with Persian بو (bu).

    Noun

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    bu

    1. smell

    Tedim Chin

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    Etymology

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    From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ɓuu, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *pru(w).

    Noun

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    bu

    1. nest

    References

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    • Zomi Ordbog based on the work of D.L. Haokip

    Turkish

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    Etymology

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    From Ottoman Turkish بو (bu, “this”), from Old Anatolian Turkish بو (bu, “this”), from Proto-Turkic *bū (“this”). Compare Old Turkic 𐰉𐰆 (b¹u /⁠bu⁠/, “this”).

    Pronunciation

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    Pronoun

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    bu

    1. this
      Bu bir ev. ― This is a house.
      Bunu sevmedim. ― I did not like this.
      Bunlar benim kitaplarım. ― These are my books.

    Declension

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    Declension of bu
    singular plural
    nominative bu bunlar
    definite accusative bunu bunları
    dative buna bunlara
    locative bunda bunlarda
    ablative bundan bunlardan
    genitive bunun bunların

    Determiner

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    bu

    1. this
      Bu kitaplar benim. ― These books are mine.

    Derived terms

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    See also

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    Upper Sorbian

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    Verb

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    bu

    1. second/third-person singular passive of być

    Uzbek

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    Other scripts
    Arabic Afghan Uzbek بو
    Yangi Imlo بۇ
    Cyrillic бу‍
    Latin bu‍

    Etymology

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    Inherited from Chagatai بو (bū /⁠bu⁠/, “this”), from Proto-Turkic *bū (“this”). Cognate with Uyghur بۇ / bu / бу; Turkish bu, etc.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /bu/, [bʊ]
    • Hyphenation: bu

    Pronoun

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    bu (plural bular)

    1. this (demonstrative pronoun used to indicate a thing in the immediate vicinity of the speaker)
      Antonym: u

    Determiner

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    bu

    1. this
      Antonym: u
      Bu sahifada hozircha hech qanday matn yoʻq.
      There is currently no text in this page. / This page currently has no text.

    Derived terms

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    Vietnamese

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Noun

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    (classifier cái) bu • (𥮉)

    1. kind of chicken coop

    Etymology 2

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    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Noun

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    bu • (𡜵, 哺, 󰊿)

    1. (uncommon, rustic Northern Vietnam) mom; mother
      • 1925, Nguyễn Lân, Cậu bé nhà Quê, page 21:
        Bỗng đâu thấy có tiếng trẻ vừa khóc vừa gọi ầm ỹ: «Bu ơi !, bu ơi !, bu dậy đi !, bu ơi !, khổ quá giời ơi !! làm sao bu tôi không thưa thế này, bu ơi !»
        Suddenly there was a loud child's wail: "Mom! Please wake up! Mom! Oh god! Why aren't you answering me mom!"
    See also
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    Etymology 3

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    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Alternative forms

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    • (Northern Vietnam) bâu (diphthongized)

    Verb

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    bu • (咆, 蚫)

    1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) to assemble, to gather into one place
    Derived terms
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    Wakhi

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    Etymology

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    From *dvu, related to Tajik ду (du).

    Numeral

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    bu

    1. two

    Welsh

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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      Inherited from Middle Welsh bu, from Proto-Brythonic *bʉ.

      Alternative forms

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      Noun

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      bu f (plural buaid or buon, diminutive buyn)

      1. cow, ox
        Synonyms: buwch, ych
      2. head (of cattle)
      Derived terms
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      Etymology 2

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      Verb

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      bu

      1. third-person singular preterite of bod

      Mutation

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      Mutated forms of bu
      radical soft nasal aspirate
      bu fu mu unchanged

      Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
      All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

      Further reading

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      • D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “bu”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
      • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “bu”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

      Woi

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      Noun

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      bu

      1. knee

      Zou

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      Bu.

      Etymology

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      From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ɓuʔ (“cooked rice”). Cognate with Mizo bùh.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): [bù]
      • Hyphenation: bù

      Noun

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      bù

      1. food; meal
      2. (specifically) cooked rice

      References

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      • Philip Thangliènmâng (2010), Minimal dictionary and Self-tutor Functional Grammar in Zo-English-Hindi, New Delhi: Zoculsin, →ISBN, page 25
      • Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou (PhD thesis), Canchipur: Manipur University, page 62
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