biť

Slovak

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂-

Proto-Balto-Slavic *bī́ˀtei

Proto-Slavic *bìti

Slovak biť

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bìti. First attested in the 15th century.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bic/, [ˈbic]
Rhymes: -ic
Homophone: byť

Verb

biť impf (perfective zbiť (“to beat, to hit”) or prebiť (“to trump, to beat”))

(transitive) to beat, to hit, to strike (to inflict physical pain or punishment through blows)
Synonyms: udierať, tĺcť, rezať

biť niekoho hlava-nehlava ― to beat someone indiscriminately (literally, “to beat someone head-non-head”)

biť niekoho ako psa ― to beat someone mercilessly (literally, “to beat someone like a dog”)

kto chce psa biť, palicu si nájde ― if you want to find fault, you will (literally, “he who wants to beat a dog will find a stick”)

Rozzúrení pastieri bili palicami každého, kto sa im odvážil postaviť do cesty. ― The enraged shepherds beat everyone who dared to stand in their way with sticks.
(intransitive) to strike, to bang, to pound (to hit forcefully against something; of rain, waves, or wind) [with na (+ accusative) or o (+ accusative) or do (+ genitive) or po (+ locative)]
Synonyms: búchať, narážať, trieskať

biť do očí ― to be glaringly obvious (literally, “to beat into the eyes”)

Rozzúrené vlny vytrvalo bili o brehy ostrova. ― The raging waves persistently struck against the shores of the island.
(intransitive) to beat, to strike, to toll (to produce sound by striking; of hearts, clocks, or thunder)
Synonyms: odbíjať, tĺcť

biť na poplach ― to sound the alarm (literally, “to beat on the alarm”)

bije jeho posledná hodina ― his time is up (literally, “his last hour is beating”)

vedieť, koľko bije ― to know what is what (literally, “to know how much it beats”)

V celom dome bolo počuť len to, ako staré nástenné hodiny rytmicky bijú. ― In the whole house, one could only hear the old wall clock striking rhythmically.
(transitive, figurative) to bash, to attack, to criticize (to attack someone verbally or in writing)
Synonyms: kritizovať, napádať, pranierovať

Médiá ho celé týždne poriadne bili za jeho neúspešné pôsobenie vo funkcii. ― The media bashed him heavily for weeks for his unsuccessful tenure in office.
(transitive) to slay, to kill, to destroy (to cause death or to exterminate)
Synonyms: zabíjať, hubiť, ničiť

Vojaci museli biť nepriateľa šabľami, aby ubránili mesto. ― The soldiers had to slay the enemy with sabres to defend the city.
(transitive, card games) to trump, to beat (to play a higher card in a card game)
Synonyms: prebíjať, tromfovať

V tejto kartovej hre eso vždy bije kráľa. ― In this card game, the ace always beats the king.
(transitive, sports) to spike, to smash, to hit (to hit the ball forcefully downwards in sports like volleyball)
Synonym: smečovať

Volejbalový smečiar vyskočil vysoko nad sieť a prudko bil loptu do ihriska. ― The volleyball spiker jumped high above the net and smashed the ball into the court.
(reflexive with sa) to fight, to brawl, to scuffle (to exchange physical blows; to engage in a physical struggle) [with s (+ instrumental)]
Synonyms: zápasiť, bojovať, pasovať

mlynári sa bijú ― it is snowing heavily (literally, “the millers are beating each other”)

kde sa dvaja bijú, tretí víťazí ― when two quarrel, the third wins (literally, “where two are beating each other, the third wins”)

Na školskom dvore sa dve skupiny chlapcov zúrivo bili. ― Two groups of boys were fighting fiercely in the schoolyard.
(reflexive with sa, figurative) to strive, to fight for, to struggle (to put great effort into achieving a goal or overcoming obstacles) [with o (+ accusative) or za (+ accusative) or pre (+ accusative), along with s (+ instrumental)]
Synonyms: zápasiť, boriť

biť sa ako lev (za niečo) ― to fight like a lion (for something) (literally, “to beat oneself like a lion (for something)”)

Vedel, že je zbytočné biť sa o ten byt, tak to radšej vzdal. ― He knew it was useless to fight for that apartment, so he gave up.
(reflexive with sa, figurative) to clash, to mismatch, to conflict (not to be in harmony; of colors, ideas, or expressions)
Synonyms: nepristať, odporovať

Antonyms: ladiť, pasovať

Citlivejšiemu pozorovateľovi vše padlo do oka, že sa farby bijú. ― A more sensitive observer would always notice that the colors clash.

Conjugation

Conjugation of biť (imperfective; class IV, pattern žuť)

indicative		singular			plural
infinitive			biť
indicative		first	second	third	first	second	third
present		bijem	biješ	bije	bijeme	bijete	bijú

past	masculine	bil som	bil si	bil	bili sme	bili ste	bili
	feminine	bila som	bila si	bila
	neuter	bilo som	bilo si	bilo

past perfect	masculine	bol som bil	bol si bil	bol bil	boli sme bili	boli ste bili	boli bili
	feminine	bola som bila	bola si bila	bola bila
	neuter	bolo som bilo	bolo si bilo	bolo bilo

future		budem biť	budeš biť	bude biť	budeme biť	budete biť	budú biť
conditional		singular			plural
conditional		first	second	third	first	second	third
present	masculine	bil by som	bil by si	bil by	bili by sme	bili by ste	bili by
	feminine	bila by som	bila by si	bila by
	neuter	bilo by som	bilo by si	bilo by

past	masculine	bol by som bil	bol by si bil	bol by bil	boli by sme bili	boli by ste bili	boli by bili
	feminine	bola by som bila	bola by si bila	bola by bila
	neuter	bolo by som bilo	bolo by si bilo	bolo by bilo
imperative		singular			plural
imperative		first	second	third	first	second	third
present		—	bi	—	bime	bite	—
non-finite forms		participles				transgressive	verbal noun
		present active	past active	passive	l-participle	transgressive	verbal noun
		bijúci	—	bitý	bil, bila, bilo, bili	bijúc	bitie

Derived terms

References

^ Králik, Ľubor (2016), “biť”, in Stručný etymologický slovník slovenčiny [Concise Etymological Dictionary of Slovak] (in Slovak), Bratislava: VEDA; JÚĽŠ SAV, →ISBN, page 71