See be about in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "is about",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "being about",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "was about",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "been about",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "<is,being,was,been>"
},
"expansion": "be about (third-person singular simple present is about, present participle being about, simple past was about, past participle been about)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"about\"",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Greek translations",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
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}
],
"examples": [
{
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5,
7
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[
10,
12
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18,
23
]
],
"text": "What is this book about?",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To have (something) as a primary focus."
],
"id": "en-be_about-en-verb-KQ4Ey0nK",
"raw_glosses": [
"(transitive) To have (something) as a primary focus."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "know what one is about"
},
{
"word": "what someone is about"
}
],
"tags": [
"transitive"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"lang_code": "cmn",
"roman": "shì guānyú",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "是關於 /是关于"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"lang_code": "nl",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "gaan over"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"tags": [
"with-elative"
],
"word": "kertoa"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"tags": [
"with-partitive"
],
"word": "käsitellä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "s'agir de (e.g. \"il s'agit de ...\")"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "concerner"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "être au sujet de"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"note": "sich handeln um (e.g. \"es handelt sich um ...\")",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"note": "e.g. \"es geht um ...\"",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "gehen um"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "von ... sein"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "über ... sein"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"lang_code": "el",
"roman": "aforá",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "αφορά"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "chodzić o"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "być o"
},
{
"alt": "e.g. О чём эта книга? - copula is omitted in the present",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "bytʹ o",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "быть о"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "this is about ... (more abstract topics)",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "rečʹ idjót o ...",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"translation": "this is about ... (more abstract topics)",
"word": "речь идёт о ..."
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "rondar"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "tratar de"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "tratarse sobre"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "versar acerca de"
}
]
}
],
"word": "be about"
}
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "is about",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "being about",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "was about",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "been about",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "<is,being,was,been>"
},
"expansion": "be about (third-person singular simple present is about, present participle being about, simple past was about, past participle been about)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "know what one is about"
},
{
"word": "what someone is about"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English phrasal verbs",
"English phrasal verbs formed with \"about\"",
"English terms with usage examples",
"English transitive verbs",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
5,
7
],
[
10,
12
],
[
18,
23
]
],
"text": "What is this book about?",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To have (something) as a primary focus."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(transitive) To have (something) as a primary focus."
],
"tags": [
"transitive"
]
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"lang_code": "cmn",
"roman": "shì guānyú",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "是關於 /是关于"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"lang_code": "nl",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "gaan over"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"tags": [
"with-elative"
],
"word": "kertoa"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"tags": [
"with-partitive"
],
"word": "käsitellä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "s'agir de (e.g. \"il s'agit de ...\")"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "concerner"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "être au sujet de"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"note": "sich handeln um (e.g. \"es handelt sich um ...\")",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"note": "e.g. \"es geht um ...\"",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "gehen um"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "von ... sein"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "über ... sein"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"lang_code": "el",
"roman": "aforá",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "αφορά"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "chodzić o"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "być o"
},
{
"alt": "e.g. О чём эта книга? - copula is omitted in the present",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "bytʹ o",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "быть о"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "this is about ... (more abstract topics)",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "rečʹ idjót o ...",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"translation": "this is about ... (more abstract topics)",
"word": "речь идёт о ..."
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "rondar"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "tratar de"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "tratarse sobre"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to have (something) as a primary focus",
"word": "versar acerca de"
}
],
"word": "be about"
}
Download raw JSONL data for be about meaning in English (4.5kB)
{
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"path": [
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"section": "English",
"subsection": "verb",
"title": "be about",
"trace": ""
}
{
"called_from": "translations/609-20230504",
"msg": "Translation too long compared to word, so it is skipped",
"path": [
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"section": "English",
"subsection": "verb",
"title": "be about",
"trace": ""
}
{
"called_from": "page/2530",
"msg": "skipping string in the middle of translations: </table></div></div>\n\n",
"path": [
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"section": "English",
"subsection": "verb",
"title": "be about",
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}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.