LingoflyTo know and to be acquainted: dakit and ezagutzen dut
"To know" in Basque is two verbs. Jakin is to know a fact, a rule, an answer: Euskara pixka bat dakit — I know a little Basque. Its past is its own: nekien — I knew, Ez nekien — I did not know. For example: “Euskara pixka bat dakit” — I know Basque a little. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
"To know" in Basque is two verbs. Jakin is to know a fact, a rule, an answer: Euskara pixka bat dakit — I know a little Basque. Its past is its own: nekien — I knew, Ez nekien — I did not know.
Ezagutu is to be acquainted with a person or a place: Iban ezagutzen dut — I know Iban. Both live in one sentence: Herria ezagutzen dut, baina historia ez dakit ondo — I know the town, but not its history.
Table
| the meaning | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| to know (a fact) | dakit, past nekien | Euskara pixka bat dakit |
| to be acquainted | …ezagutzen dut | Iban ezagutzen dut |
| not to know (a fact) | ez dakit | ez dakit non dagoen |
By example
- Iban ezagutzen dut haurtzarotikI have known Iban since childhood
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
To know and to be acquainted: how does it work in Basque?
"To know" in Basque is two verbs. Jakin is to know a fact, a rule, an answer: Euskara pixka bat dakit — I know a little Basque. Its past is its own: nekien — I knew, Ez nekien — I did not know.
What does it look like in a Basque example sentence?
“Euskara pixka bat dakit” — I know Basque a little. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.