Basque (Euskara)
Basque — a language isolate: it has no relatives and predates every neighbour it has, about 750 thousand active speakers (estimate, sociolinguistic surveys of the Basque Country). Script: the Latin alphabet, 27 letters; h is always written and almost never heard.
Where to start
A young course: the words, the lessons and the recordings are all here, but a native speaker has not read it end to end yet. Spot a rough edge — tell us and we will fix it.
First words
Every conversation starts with them — and so does the first impression: one greeting in the local language and you stop being a stranger within a second.
- kaixohiThe all-hours greeting, morning or night. The natural next move is aupa — shouted in greeting and in approval alike
- egun ongood morningLiterally 'good day'. Said until lunchtime; egun itself is 'day'
- arratsalde ongood afternoonFor after lunch. Arratsalde is the second half of the day — the same word sits inside 'good evening'
- gabongood nightBoth a late-evening hello and a wish for the night — from gau on, 'good night'. The g here is a plain hard g
- agurgoodbyeThe farewell for everyone and every occasion — the word that stays with you after your first walk around Bilbao
- gero artesee you laterLiterally 'until later': gero is 'later', arte is 'until'. For someone you'll actually see again today
- eskerrik askothank youLiterally 'many thanks': esker is gratitude. To turn it up, mila esker — a thousand thanks
- mesedezplease (when asking)Polite request that lands at the END of the phrase: kafe bat, mesedez. The reply 'don't mention it' is ez dago zergatik
About the language
| Native name | Euskara · euskara |
| Other name | Euskara — that is the name the language carries in references and in ISO 639 |
| Official in | Spain (the Basque Country) and part of Navarre |
| Also spoken in | France (the Northern Basque Country) |
| How many speakers | about 750 thousand active speakers (estimate, [sociolinguistic surveys of the Basque Country](https://www.euskara.euskadi.eus/)) |
| Family | a language isolate: it has no relatives and predates every neighbour it has |
| Writing | the Latin alphabet, 27 letters; h is always written and almost never heard |
| Writing direction | left to right |
Hard: an isolate: not one word you already know, the verb at the end, and cases glued onto the noun.
Easy: reading is almost letter-for-letter, there is no gender at all, and five vowels that never blur.
What Russian speakers most often take it up for: work in the Basque Country, the EGA exam for public service, roots and the language of the place.
How lessons work
A lesson is up to half an hour a day, split into three to five short sessions. A word comes back not on the course's schedule but at the moment you are about to forget it: the interval is computed by an algorithm from your own answers.
- The longer you want to keep a word, the rarer its repetitions should be. To hold it for a week, review every day; to hold it for a year, about once a month.checked many timesCepeda et al., 2008, Psychological Science 19(11) · Over 1,350 participants, tested after delays of up to a year. The best gap is about 20% of the target interval on a horizon of weeks, and 5–10% on a horizon of a year.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Pay someone to study and they study less, not more. Praise and a clear explanation of their mistakes do the opposite — they help.checked many timesDeci, Koestner & Ryan, 1999, Psychological Bulletin 125(6) · 128 experiments. Material reward: d = −0.40 for taking part, −0.36 for finishing. Praise and feedback: +0.33.
Frequently asked
Where to start learning Basque?
With the first everyday words and rescue phrases: the script is already familiar to you.
How many people speak it in Basque?
About 750 thousand active speakers — an estimate from sociolinguistic surveys of the Basque Country. Nobody runs an exact census of languages, and sources disagree by noticeable amounts.
Is Basque hard?
An isolate: not one word you already know, the verb at the end, and cases glued onto the noun. At the same time, reading is almost letter-for-letter, there is no gender at all, and five vowels that never blur.
Where is it spoken in Basque?
An official language in: Spain (the Basque Country) and part of Navarre. Noticeable communities: France (the Northern Basque Country).
Are Euskara and Basque the same thing?
Yes, they are two names of one language. The native name is Euskara · euskara; under “Euskara” it stands in references and in ISO 639. The familiar name Basque comes from the country where it is official: Spain (the Basque Country).
Is Basque in Duolingo?
No. As of September 18, 2026, Duolingo’s catalogue has no such course at all, from any language. We have Basque in full: 3960 words, a phrasebook and grammar in plain words.
Is Basque in Ling?
No. As of September 18, 2026, Ling’s catalogue has no such course at all, from any language. We have Basque in full: 3960 words, a phrasebook and grammar in plain words.