Adyghe

Letter

бы • ‎(bə) ‎(lower case, upper case Бы)

1. The second of the Adyghe Cyrillic alphabet.

Noun

бы • ‎(bə)

1. den
2. haunt
3. nest

Declension

Russian

Alternative forms

• б ‎(b) (abbreviation, especially after vowels)

Etymology

The word was the third-person singular aorist of быть ‎(bytʹ, “to be”), an otherwise obsolete Russian tense (see Old Church Slavonic бꙑти ‎(byti)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bɨ]

Particle

бы • ‎(by)

1. A verbal particle used to render conditional and subjunctive patterns

   Я говори́л‎ ― Ja govoríl ― I spoke

   Я бы говори́л‎ ― Ja by govoríl ― I would (should) have spoken; I would speak; I might speak

Usage notes

• The particle бы is often shortened to б ‎(b).
• The particle бы may come after or precede the verb it is targeting.
• The particle бы is often omitted in colloquial settings. For example:

• словно бы → словно (бы)

Related terms

• е́сли бы то́лько ‎(jésli by tólʹko)
• ка́к бы не ‎(kák by ne)
• сло́вно бы ‎(slóvno by)
• что́бы ‎(štóby)