LingoflyPut on and take off, button and unbutton
To put on is jantzi, and the clothes are then "had": one item — dut, several — ditut. Jaka jantzi dut — I put on the jacket, Prakak jantzi ditut — I put on the trousers: trousers are always plural in Basque. To take off is erantzi: jaka erantzi du — he took off the jacket. For example: “Prakak jantzi ditut eta botoiak lotu ditut” — I put on the trousers and did up the buttons. A rule from the Basque course: worked…
How it works
To put on is jantzi, and the clothes are then "had": one item — dut, several — ditut. Jaka jantzi dut — I put on the jacket, Prakak jantzi ditut — I put on the trousers: trousers are always plural in Basque. To take off is erantzi: jaka erantzi du — he took off the jacket.
To button up is literally "to tie the buttons": botoiak lotu. To unbutton is "to let go": botoiak askatu. Laces and ties are undone with the same askatu.
Table
| the action | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| put on / take off | jantzi / erantzi | prakak jantzi ditut |
| button up | botoiak lotu | botoiak lotu ditut |
| unbutton, untie | askatu | botoiak askatu ditu |
By example
- I put on the trousers and did up the buttons
- Jakaren botoiak askatu ditu, beroa duelakoHe unbuttoned the jacket, because he is hot
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
Put on and take off, button and unbutton: how does it work in Basque?
To put on is jantzi, and the clothes are then "had": one item — dut, several — ditut. Jaka jantzi dut — I put on the jacket, Prakak jantzi ditut — I put on the trousers: trousers are always plural in Basque. To take off is erantzi: jaka erantzi du — he took off the jacket.
What does it look like in a Basque example sentence?
“Prakak jantzi ditut eta botoiak lotu ditut” — I put on the trousers and did up the buttons. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.