bu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bu"

English

Noun

bu

Abbreviation of bushel. (a unit of weight or dry measure)
Clipping of bureau.

Anagrams

UB

Acehnese

Noun

bu

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

Aiwoo

Noun

bu

night

References

Ross, M. & Næss, Å. (2007), “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 46, issue 2. Cited in: "Äiwoo" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

Amanab

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mbu/

Noun

bu

water

References

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

Amasi

Noun

bú

dog (canine)

References

Africana Marburgensia (1973)

Azerbaijani

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bu/
Audio (file)

Determiner

bu

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

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

bu

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.
he, she

References

. 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

Noun

bu

water

References

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

Crimean Tatar

Pronoun

bu

this

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin bōs, bovem.

Noun

bu m (plural buč)

ox

Danish

Verb

bu

imperative of bue

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /by/
Audio (CAN) (file)
Homophones: bue, bues, bus, but, bût

Participle

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

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

Noun

bu

water

References

Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 111

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese vós. Cognate with Kabuverdianu bo.

Pronoun

bu

you (second person singular).

Indonesian

Etymology

Clipping of ibu.

Noun

bu (first-person possessive buku, second-person possessive bumu, third-person possessive bunya)

(slightly informal, between two speakers) mam

Italian

Etymology 1

From Japanese 歩 (bu).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

bu m (invariable)

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

Etymology 2

From Japanese 分 (bu).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

bu m (invariable)

a tenth (decimal) (分)

Jabem

Noun

bu

water

Japanese

Romanization

bu

Rōmaji transcription of ぶ
Rōmaji transcription of ブ

Kapauri

Noun

bu

water

References

Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 115

Kemtuik

Noun

bu

water

References

Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 111

Lower Sorbian

Verb

bu

second-person singular passive of byś
third-person singular passive of byś

Malay

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bu/

Noun

bu

mother

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic أَبُو‎ (ʾabū), construct state of أَب‎ (ʾab, “father”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /buː/

Noun

bu m (plural abwa or but, feminine omm)

(obsolete) father
Synonym: missier

Usage notes

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

bugħaddas
bugħarwien
bumellies
bumnieħer
bumunqar
bunemmiel
bunittien
bunixxiefa
buqarrieq
buqexrem
Buttiġieġ

Mandarin

Romanization

bu

Nonstandard spelling of bū.
Nonstandard spelling of bú.
Nonstandard spelling of bǔ.
Nonstandard spelling of bù.

Usage notes

English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Mekwei

Noun

bu

water

References

Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 111

Mlap

Noun

bu

water

References

Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 111

Nga La

Etymology

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

Noun

bu

nest

References

Matu (Chin) Dictionary by Ropna Saruum, Matupi 2007

Nias

Etymology

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

Noun

bu (mutated form mbu)

hair
fur
feather

References

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

Nimboran

Noun

bu

water

References

Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 110

Norman

Verb

bu

past participle of baithe

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bʉː/

Etymology 1

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

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

(intransitive) to live (have permanent residence), stay
(intransitive) to be, to dwell, to be in
(transitive) to prepare

Derived terms

-bu
buar
bubil
budd
buen
bufellesskap
buing
bukollektiv
bumiljø
bunad
buplass
buplikt
buutgift
førebu
hærbu
seglbu
vernebu

Etymology 2

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

Noun

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

an estate, belongings

Derived terms

akkordbu
budeie
budrått
bufar
bufast
bufe
buferd
buføre
buhund
bumann
bumerke
buorm
bureisar
bureising
burot
busetja
busetnad
busetta
bustad
butare
dødsbu
fallittbu
konkursbu
sambu
setja bu
setta bu

Related terms

bu (verb)
byggja, byggje, bygga, bygge (verb)

Etymology 3

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

Alternative forms

bud (non-standard since 1917)

Noun

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

booth, stall, small storage room or building

Declension

Declension of bu (strong ō-stem)

feminine	singular		plural
feminine	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	bu	bua	buer	buene
compound-genitive	―	―	―	―

Derived terms

brorbu
fiskarbu
fiskebu
fjølbu
fjølebu
handelsbu
høybu
kakebu
kjellarbu
krambu
kvilebu
loftbu
loftsbu
matbu
pakkbu
pølsebu
reiskapsbu
sengbu
sengebu
seterbu
sjøbu
stolpebu
stølsbu
tollbu
vaktbu
vedbu
veidebu

Etymology 4

From English boo.

Interjection

bu

boo! Used to indicate derision or disapproval.

Derived terms

bua, bue (verb)

References

“bu” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

-bu, ub.

Old French

Noun

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

chest; thorax

References

Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (bu)

Pa

Noun

bu

(woman's) breast

References

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

Noun

bu

fur

Pnar

Etymology

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

IPA^(key): /bu/

Verb

bu

to suck, to suckle

Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /buː/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -uː
Syllabification: bu

Interjection

bu

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

Portuguese

Interjection

bu!

boo (loud exclamation intended to scare someone)

Romagnol

Verb

bu

past participle of avér (“to have”)

Romanian

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

bu

sound made by an ox
hoot; sound made by an owl

Rukai

Noun

bu

bow (weapon for shooting arrows)

Salar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bu(-n).

Noun

bu (3rd person possessive [[{{{1}}}#Salar|{{{1}}}]], plural [[{{{2}}}#Salar|{{{2}}}]])

this

References

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 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary], 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /pu/
Hyphenation: bu

Verb

bu

past/conditional of is

Usage notes

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

References

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

Sentani

Noun

bu

water

References

H. K. J. Cowan, Grammar of the Sentani Language (1965, ’s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff)

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

bu (Cyrillic spelling бу)

(Kajkavian) third-person singular future of biti

Spanish

Interjection

bu

boo!

Swedish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bʉː/
Rhymes: -ʉː

Interjection

bu

boo; a loud exclamation intended to scare someone, usually a child.
boo; an exclamation used to indicate derision or disapproval of what has just occurred.

Derived terms

bua

Tabla

Noun

bu

water

References

Kenneth Gregerson, Margaret Hartzler, Towards a Reconstruction of Proto-Tabla-Sentani Phonology, Oceanic Linguistics, volume 26, numéro 1/2, 1987, pages 1-29, page 7

Tarao

Noun

bu

rice

Derived terms

bular (“famine”)

References

2002, Chungkham Yashwanta Singh, Tarao Grammar

Tedim Chin

Etymology

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

Noun

bu

nest

References

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

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish بو‎ (bu, “this”), from Old Anatolian Turkish [script needed] (bu, “this”), from Proto-Turkic *bu(-n) (“this”). Compare Old Turkic 𐰉𐰆‎ (b¹u /bu/, “this”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bu/

Pronoun

bu

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

Declension

Declension of bu

	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	bu	bunlar
definite accusative (belirtme)	bunu	bunları
dative (yönelme)	buna	bunlara
locative (bulunma)	bunda	bunlarda
ablative (ayrılma)	bundan	bunlardan
genitive (tamlayan)	bunun	bunların

Derived terms

bugün
bunca
bunlu
bunsuz

Uzbek

Other scripts
Cyrillic	бу (bu)‍
Latin	‍
Perso-Arabic

Pronoun

bu (plural bular)

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

Determiner

bu

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

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓu˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓʊw˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɓʊw˧˧]

Noun

(classifier cái) bu • (𥮉)

a cage (often dome-shaped and used for chickens)

Noun

bu • (𡜵)

(rare) mom; mother

Alternative forms

bâu

Verb

bu • (咆, 蚫)

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) to assemble, to gather into one place

Derived terms

ruồi bu kiến đậu

Wakhi

Etymology

From *dvu, related to Tajik ду (du).

Numeral

bu

two

Welsh

Pronunciation

(North Wales) IPA^(key): /bɨː/
(South Wales) IPA^(key): /biː/

Verb

bu

third-person singular preterite of bod

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
bu	fu	mu	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Westrobothnian

Noun

bu f (definite singular bua, definite plural buen)

(childish) ghost; nuisance, harm
bua i feingren
some sort of nuisance in the fingers

Woi

Noun

bu

knee

Zou

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bu˧/

Verb

bu

(transitive) to hide

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bu˧˥/

Noun

bú

nest
cottage, hut

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bu˧˩/

Noun

bù

cooked rice

References

Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, pages 62

[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

bu

English

Noun

Anagrams

Acehnese

Noun

Aiwoo

Noun

References

Amanab

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Amasi

Noun

References

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Pronunciation

Determiner

Usage notes

Pronoun

See also

References

Bukawa

Noun

References

Crimean Tatar

Pronoun

Dalmatian

Etymology

Noun

Danish

Verb

French

Pronunciation

Participle

Gresi

Noun

References

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

Pronoun

Indonesian

Etymology

Noun

Italian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Jabem

Noun

Further reading

Japanese

Romanization

Kapauri

Noun

References

Kemtuik

Noun

References

Lower Sorbian

Verb

Malay

Pronunciation

Noun

See also

Maltese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Derived terms

Mandarin

Romanization

Usage notes

Mekwei