See also: biên, biển, biến, biện, Bien, Bien., and Bień

Asturian edit

Etymology edit

From Latin bene (well).

Adverb edit

bien

  1. well

Related terms edit

Basque edit

Numeral edit

bien

  1. genitive plural of bi

Danish edit

Noun edit

bien c

  1. definite singular of bi

French edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Middle French bien, from Old French bien, from Latin bene (well).

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /bjɛ̃/
  • Rhymes: -jɛ̃
  • (file)

Adjective edit

bien (invariable, comparative meilleur)

  1. good, all right, great
  2. good looking, nice

Adverb edit

bien (comparative mieux, superlative le mieux)

  1. well
    Ça va bien ?How's it going? (literally, “It goes well?”)
    Il joue vraiment bien au football.
    He plays soccer really well.
  2. indeed; so
    Synonym: alors
    Bien, on peut partir maintenant ?
    So, can we leave now?
  3. (followed by de, des, or du) a lot (of)
    Macy Gray a traversé bien des épreuves.
    Macy Gray got through a lot of ordeals.
  4. very; really
    C’est bien aimable à vous.it's very considerate of you.
    C’est bien beau, mais...It's all very well, but...
    Je te trouve bien silencieux aujourd’hui.You seem very quiet today.
    Il est bien moche, ce type. Ce type est vraiment moche.That guy is really ugly.
    • 2018, Zaz, On s'en remet jamais:
      Est-ce que les parfums s’évaporent, ou restent-ils dans notre tête comme ces étoiles qui brillent encore, mais qui sont bien loin de la fête ?
      Do the perfumes evaporate, or do they stay in our heads like these stars which still shine, but which are very far from the party?
  5. (in comparisons) much (more, less, better, etc.)
    Jérémie est bien plus fort que moi.
    Jérémie is much stronger than me.
    bien meilleur que []
    much better than []

Usage notes edit

  • The sense "very" is of restricted use; bien cannot be used interchangeably with très or fort in all contexts.

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Noun edit

bien m (plural biens)

  1. good as opposed to evil
  2. a commodity, a good
  3. a possession

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Further reading edit

Anagrams edit

Japanese edit

Romanization edit

bien

  1. Rōmaji transcription of びえん

Ladino edit

Alternative forms edit

byén

Etymology edit

From Old Spanish from Latin bene (well), from Latin bonus (good).

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

bien m (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling ביין, plural bienes)

  1. good
  2. conforming to duty

Adverb edit

bien (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling ביין)

  1. good, well

Derived terms edit

Middle French edit

Etymology edit

From Old French bien.

Adverb edit

bien

  1. well (in a positive way; in a way that meets or exceeds expectations)

Related terms edit

Descendants edit

  • French: bien

References edit

  • bien on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)
  • Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (bien, supplement)

Norwegian Bokmål edit

Alternative forms edit

Noun edit

bien m or f

  1. definite masculine singular of bie

Old French edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Latin bene.

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

bien (comparative and superlative mielz or miex)

  1. well
  2. indeed (used for emphasis)

Noun edit

bien oblique singularm (oblique plural biens, nominative singular biens, nominative plural bien)

  1. possession; object of value
  2. good (as opposed to evil)

Related terms edit

Descendants edit

  • Middle French: bien
    • French: bien (adverb and noun)
  • Norman: bein (Jersey), byin (France)
  • Walloon: bén

Spanish edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Old Spanish, from Latin bene (well).

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈbjen/ [ˈbjẽn]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -en
  • Syllabification: bien

Adverb edit

bien

  1. well (adverbial form of bueno)
    Antonym: mal
    Toca bien el piano.
    He plays the piano well.
  2. well, fine, okay (state of being satisfied with the status quo)
    hasta aquí todo bienso far so good
  3. properly
  4. willingly
  5. (colloquial) very
    Ya es bien tarde.
    It's so late already.
  6. as well
    Bien podrías acabar con ello temprano.
    You might as well get it over with early.

Derived terms edit

Adjective edit

bien m or f (masculine and feminine plural bienes)

  1. (postpositive, colloquial) well-to-do; affluent; wealthy; upper-class
    Amanda y Carlos vienen de una familia bien.
    Amanda and Carlos come from a well-to-do family.
  2. (postpositive, colloquial) exclusive; upscale; high-class
    Las colonias bienes están en las afueras de la ciudad.
    The upscale neighborhoods are in the city suburbs.

Derived terms edit

Noun edit

bien m (plural bienes)

  1. good (as opposed to evil)
    Antonym: mal
    Es por el bien de toda la comunidad.
    It's for the good of the whole community.
  2. goodness
  3. good, better (substantive)
    para bien o para malfor better or for worse
    He vuelto para bien esta vez.
    I'm back for good this time.
  4. welfare, benefit
  5. (in the plural) goods, property, possessions, assets, wealth, estate
  6. (dated) darling
    Despierta, mi bien.
    Wake up, my darling.

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Further reading edit

Volapük edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from German Biene, English bee.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bien (nominative plural biens)

  1. bee
    • 1959, “Lak drenas”, in Volapükagased, number 2, page 7:
      Böd nonik kanitonöv / us lidi in yof e fred; / kriks, biens us vegonsöv / in seil de bled lü bled.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension edit

Derived terms edit

See also edit

West Frisian edit

Etymology edit

From Old Frisian bēn, from Proto-Germanic *bainą.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bien n (plural biennen, diminutive bientsje)

  1. bone
  2. leg

Further reading edit

  • bien”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011