bullir

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin bullīre (“to bubble, boil”), from bulla (“bubble”). Cognate with Catalan bullir, Occitan bolhir and French bouillir

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /buˈʎi(ɾ)/
• Syllabification: bu‧llir
• Rhymes: -i(ɾ)

Verb

bullir

1. to boil

Conjugation

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin bullīre (“to bubble, boil”), from bulla (“bubble”). Cognate with Aragonese bullir, Occitan bolhir and French bouillir

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [buˈʎi]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [buˈʎiɾ]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i(ɾ)
• Homophone: bullí (except Valencian)

Verb

bullir (first-person singular present bullo, first-person singular preterite bullí, past participle bullit)

1. to boil

Conjugation

    Conjugation of bullir (third conjugation, without -eix-)

infinitive			bullir
gerund			bullint
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		bullit		bullida
		plural		bullits		bullides
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	bullo	bulls	bull	bullim	bulliu	bullen
	imperfect	bullia	bullies	bullia	bullíem	bullíeu	bullien
	future	bulliré	bulliràs	bullirà	bullirem	bullireu	bulliran
	preterite	bullí	bullires	bullí	bullírem	bullíreu	bulliren
	conditional	bulliria	bulliries	bulliria	bulliríem	bulliríeu	bullirien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	bulli	bullis	bulli	bullim	bulliu	bullin
	imperfect	bullís	bullissis	bullís	bullíssim	bullíssiu	bullissin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	bull	bulli	bullim	bulliu	bullin
	negative (no)	—	no bullis	no bulli	no bullim	no bulliu	no bullin

Related terms

• bull
• bullabessa
• bullanga
• bullent
• bullícia
• bullida
• bullidera
• bullidor
• bulliment
• bullit
• bullor

Further reading

• “bullir”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “bullir”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “bullir” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “bullir” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Spanish

Alternative forms

• ebullir

Etymology

Inherited from Latin bullīre, present active participle of bulliō (“to bubble, boil”), from bulla (“bubble”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /buˈʝiɾ/ [buˈʝiɾ]

• IPA^(key): /buˈʝiɾ/ [buˈʝiɾ] (most of Spain and Latin America)
• IPA^(key): /buˈʎiɾ/ [buˈʎiɾ] (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /buˈʃiɾ/ [buˈʃiɾ] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /buˈʒiɾ/ [buˈʒiɾ] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Rhymes: -iɾ
• Syllabification: bu‧llir

Verb

bullir (first-person singular present bullo, first-person singular preterite bullí, past participle bullido)

1. (intransitive) to boil (to begin to turn into a gas)

   Synonym: hervir

2. (intransitive) to boil, to bubble, to churn (to be agitated like boiling water; to bubble; to effervesce)

   Synonym: borbotear

3. (intransitive) to bustle (to move busily and energetically)
4. (figurative) to bubble, to bubble up, to well up (to churn or foment, as if wishing to rise to the surface)
   • 1888, Roberto Payró, Novelas y fantasías, page 190:

     Los muros de su espléndida casa le parecian estrechos para las nuevas ideas que bullían en su mente, que para su desarrollo necesitaban aire, espacio, luz...

     The walls of her magnificent house seemed to her too narrow for the new ideas that bubbled in her mind, which for their development needed air, space, light...

5. (intransitive) to teem, to abound

   Synonyms: hervir, abundar

6. (transitive) to move, to budge (part of one's body)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of bullir (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			bullir
gerund			bullendo
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		bullido		bullida
		plural		bullidos		bullidas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	bullo	bullestú bullísvos	bulle	bullimos	bullís	bullen
	imperfect	bullía	bullías	bullía	bullíamos	bullíais	bullían
	preterite	bullí	bulliste	bulló	bullimos	bullisteis	bulleron
	future	bulliré	bullirás	bullirá	bulliremos	bulliréis	bullirán
	conditional	bulliría	bullirías	bulliría	bulliríamos	bulliríais	bullirían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	bulla	bullastú bullásvos2	bulla	bullamos	bulláis	bullan
	imperfect (ra)	bullera	bulleras	bullera	bulléramos	bullerais	bulleran
	imperfect (se)	bullese	bulleses	bullese	bullésemos	bulleseis	bullesen
	future1	bullere	bulleres	bullere	bulléremos	bullereis	bulleren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		bulletú bullívos	bulla	bullamos	bullid	bullan
	negative		no bullas	no bulla	no bullamos	no bulláis	no bullan

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

Derived terms

• bulla
• bullicio

Related terms

• rebullir

Further reading

• “bullir”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024