in Basque texts
Short in Basque texts with a translation alongside and comprehension questions. Levels A1–A2: a stock of two or three hundred everyday words is already enough. The translation stands next to it whole, not word by word — a dictionary is still too early at this level: stopping at every other word tears the sentence apart.
All texts
- 📖Egun normal batA1 · Hello. My name is Ane, and I live in Gernika. In the morning I drink coffee and eat…
- 📖AzokanA2 · On Saturdays I go to the market with my family. It is close to home, ten minutes on foot.…
- 📖Auzoko azokanA1 · Every Saturday I go to the neighborhood market. The seller knows me and weighs half a…
- 📖Alokairuko pisu berriaA2 · Last month I moved flats. The new one is on the fourth floor, with an elevator, but the…
- 📖Katarroz betetako asteaA1 · On Monday a cough and a runny nose started. On Tuesday my throat hurt and I had a…
- 📖Udazkeneko igande batA1 · On Sunday in Bilbao the weather is mild. In the morning fog, but at noon the sun comes…
- 📖Nire lanaA2 · I work in a small office in the center. On Monday and Thursday I go to the office, the…
- 📖DonostiaraA2 · Tomorrow morning I will fly to Donostia. The flight is at ten, but trains leave the…
- 📖Egun bat hondartzanA1 · It is summer, and we are at the beach. The sand is white, the water warm. Dad sunbathes…
- 📖Igandeko paseoaA1 · On Sunday I walk in the park. Many people: the young, the old, children. One man is tall…
- 📖Jon, nire lagunaA2 · Jon is my best friend. Clever and cheerful: he laughs a lot. Brave: he goes even to…
- 📖Igandeko bazkariaA1 · On Sunday I cook the lunch. First I cut the potatoes, then fry them. I put an onion and a…
- 📖TelefonoanA1 · Tomorrow is mom's birthday, and today I want to call her. But my phone will not turn on…
- 📖Hirira bidaiaA2 · Last week our whole family went to the city. In the morning we got on the bus at the stop…
- 📖Nire kirolaA1 · I love sport very much. On Mondays and Thursdays I run in the park. On Saturdays I play…
- 📖Jaiak GernikanA2 · Every year in August we go to the holidays in Gernika. In the village there is music and…
- 📖Nire familiaA1 · My family is small: my parents, my brother and me. Dad is a driver, and mom is a teacher.…
- 📖UnibertsitateanA2 · My sister is in her second year at the university. The faculty is far from the city, so…
- 📖Lehen banku-kontuaA2 · Last week I opened my first bank account. At the bank branch they explained everything to…
- 📖Medikuaren bisitaA1 · Yesterday I was at the doctor: my throat hurts and I have a high temperature. The doctor…
- 📖Lan berriaA2 · For a month I looked for a job and finally got through an interview at a company. I…
- 📖Pisuz aldatzeaA1 · In a month we will move into the new flat. This flat is furnished, and the rent is…
- 📖Autozko bidaiaA2 · Last Saturday we rented a car for a small trip. We paid for the car insurance and brought…
- 📖AlbisteakA2 · This morning I read an important news item in the paper. One journalist explained the…
- 📖EpaitegianB1 · On Tuesday I went to court as a witness. Last month there was a serious violation on the…
- 📖Iritzi desberdinakB1 · On the square three friends talked about the news. The first thinks social media give…
- 📖Egun beteaA2 · Today the day was full. First I went to the office and did a lot of work. After the…
- 📖Nire anaiaA2 · My brother Iker is twenty-two. He is tall, he has curly hair and a small mole on his…
- 📖Eztabaida eta bakeaB1 · One Saturday a small conflict happened between me and my friends: whose turn is it in the…
- 📖Igandeko bazkaria auzoanA2 · On Sundays we have lunch at grandma's. First grandma peels the vegetables, and then chops…
- 📖Itzulketak dendanB1 · At this shop returns are quite simple: the term is fifteen days, and you have to keep the…
- 📖Garbigailua hondatutaA2 · Yesterday the washing machine went wrong: it made a big noise and stopped in the middle…
- 📖Eguraldia mendianA2 · Yesterday we walked in the mountains all day. In the morning the sky was overcast, and…
- 📖Nola iritsi erdigunera oinezA2 · The city center is not far from the hotel: go out onto Kale Nagusia and walk straight…
- 📖Euskara ikastenB1 · For a month I have been going to Basque courses and I see progress. At first I learned…
- 📖Nire historia laburraB1 · My story is simple: I was born in a village and spent my childhood among the mountains.…
- 📖Zaila den elkarrizketaB1 · Phone conversations come hard: there is a lot of noise, and words are hard to hear. At…
- 📖Lanbide guztiakA2 · Every working person has a profession of their own: some work with their hands, others…
- 📖Mailegu bat negoziorakoB1 · My sister opened a shop this year. At first she lacked money, so she requested a loan at…
- 📖Boluntario lana hirianB1 · There are many volunteers in this city. Some help children after kindergarten; others…
- 📖Zineko gauaA2 · Yesterday I was at the movies with friends: it was a comedy, a premiere. We chose that…
- 📖Korrika igandetanA2 · On Sundays we run in the park. At nine in the morning we gather at the start, by the…
- 📖Neurriak sukaldeanA2 · Today we measured the kitchen: three meters long, two meters wide and two and a half…
- 📖Prebentzioa eta osasunaB1 · Prevention is the basis of health: it means taking care before you fall ill. Washing…
- 📖Festa etxeanA2 · Today is grandma's birthday, and the party is at our home. In the morning we decorated…
- 📖Adostasunera iristeaB1 · The neighbors argued for a long time about the new park. In the opinion of some, the…
- 📖Zer gertatuko da?B1 · What will happen on Saturday? We are going to the mountains, but the forecast speaks of…
- 📖Formak eta neurriakA2 · Today at the shop we saw many things: square boxes, round cups and an oval cake. Every…
- 📖EspazioanA2 · Our room is spacious, and it has a lot of space. On the table stands a computer, and the…
- 📖Zenbat eta nolaB1 · Counting seems simple, but quantity needs many words. A group of ten people is not a…
- 📖Amaitutako proiektuaB1 · Last winter we began to renovate the old homestead: at first everything had to be done…
- 📖Jakitea eta ezagutzeaB1 · To know and to be acquainted are not the same thing. I know Basque a little, but only…
- 📖Pasa diren urteakB1 · It has been a decade in this village, and everything has changed in that time. In those…
- 📖Auzoko ingurumenaB1 · Our neighborhood has changed in recent years. The noise level of the road has dropped…
- 📖Nola egiten da gaztaA2 · Making cheese is long work, but simple. First the milk is heated in a big vat and soured.…
- 📖Aitonaren istorioaB1 · Grandpa told a story at dinner, and we all fell silent. When he was almost forty, he…
- 📖Jazarpena duten pertsonakB1 · There are people with a feeling of being persecuted: nobody has done anything to them…
- 📖Azokan eta kafetegianA1 · On Saturdays Marta goes to the market at nine. She buys pork to cook for lunch, chicken…
- 📖AuzoanA1 · Marta's quarter is quiet, next to the old town. In the middle there is a little park with…
- 📖Nire ordutegiaA2 · My routine is simple, but every day has its own order. At seven I wake up; I get up at…
- 📖Asteko erosketakA2 · On Thursdays Jon goes to the big shop with a shopping list in his hand. The list is long…
- 📖Etxeko konponketakA2 · Saturday in our house is the day of home repairs. In the morning the light went out in…
- 📖Gripe aste batA2 · This week the flu kept me at home. At first I only had a dry cough, but the next day the…
- 📖Paperak eta gutunakA2 · Mayalen wants to take courses at one of the universities of Ireland, and for a week now…
- 📖Alokatutako autoaA2 · On Saturday morning I rented a car at a small office, to visit grandma at the farm. The…
- 📖Amonaren errezetaA2 · Grandma's recipe book has moved from house to house for decades. On the first page there…
- 📖Beti konektatutaB1 · At seven in the morning the alarm on my phone wakes me, and my first look is at the…
- 📖Familiako bazkariaA2 · Every Sunday the kin gathers at our place for lunch. The father-in-law brings a bouquet…
How to read a text in a language you barely know
First pass — all the way through, without peeking at the translation. The goal is not to understand but to catch familiar words: there will be more of them than you expect, and that feeling matters more than any rule.
Second pass — with the translation beside you. Now it becomes clear what exactly was in the way: an unknown word, a construction you did not get, or just reading speed.
Third pass — all the way through again. The second pass brings noticeably more, and this step is what makes reading useful: it turns analysis into recognition.
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read texts in Basque?
A1–A2: you know the letters and have a stock of everyday words — about two or three hundred. The translation sits next to it, so an unknown word does not stop the reading.
How many times should you reread the text?
Three times: without the translation, with it, and without it again. The third pass is what all of this is for — the second time you recognize noticeably more.