ビー
bī[bʲiː]
To say the letter b in Japanese, use ビー (bī), the Japanese name of the Latin letter B.
ビー is how Japanese speakers read the letter B aloud, for example in abbreviations and names that use Latin letters.
Meaning: byte (symbol)
How does it change in a sentence?
ビー is written in katakana, the script used for borrowed words. The long vowel is shown by the bar after the first character.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as bī, with a long ee sound.
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the letter 'B' is often used as a shorthand for 'blood type B' in social conversations, as blood types are popularly believed to determine personality traits.
- Because the Japanese alphabet consists of syllables rather than single consonants, Japanese speakers cannot say 'b' without adding a vowel sound like 'ī' or 'u'.
- While the letter is pronounced ビー ('bī'), if you are talking about a 'byte' in computing, it is more common to say バイト ('baito').
Examples in context
- Ｂ－バスター・ドレイクB-Buster DrakeIn this name the letter is written as a full width B but read aloud as bee.
- 彼女は ビジネス を勉強しています。She is studying business.
- ベルリン はドイツの首都です。Berlin is the capital of Germany.
- ベスト フレンドと一緒にいるよ！I'm with my best friend!
- ビジネス が好きだから、勉強しているんだ。I love business, so I'm studying it.
Example conversation
Misaki and Yota are checking a multiple-choice test.
- 美咲 Misaki陽太、３番の答えは何？Yōta, san-ban no kotae wa nani?Yota, what is the answer to number 3?
- 陽太 Yota僕はビーを選んだよ。Boku wa bī o eranda yo.I chose B.
- 美咲 Misakiえっ、本当にビーなの？E, hontō ni bī nano?What, is it really B?
- 陽太 Yotaうん、教科書に書いてあったよ。Un, kyōkasho ni kaite atta yo.Yeah, it was written in the textbook.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ビー, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
