To put on and to unfasten: jantzi / deskontatu
Clothes in Basque are "put on and then had": jantzi — to put on, and the wearer "has" the thing. Praka jantzi ditut — I put the trousers on, word for word "trousers put-on I have". One thing takes du/dut, many take ditu/ditut: jaka jantzi du — he put the jacket on. For example: “Praka jantzi ditut eta botoia egin dut” — I put on the trousers and fastened the button. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on…
How it works
Clothes in Basque are "put on and then had": jantzi — to put on, and the wearer "has" the thing. Praka jantzi ditut — I put the trousers on, word for word "trousers put-on I have". One thing takes du/dut, many take ditu/ditut: jaka jantzi du — he put the jacket on.
The reverse goes with a prefix: desjantzi — to undress, deslotu — to untie, deskontatu — to unbutton. Botoiak deskontatu ditu — he undid the buttons. To fasten is "to make a button": botoia egin.
Table
| the action | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| to put on | jantzi + dut/ditut | praka jantzi ditut |
| to fasten | botoia egin | botoia egin dut |
| to unfasten / untie | des- + verb | deskontatu, deslotu |
By example
- Praka jantzi ditut eta botoia egin dutI put on the trousers and fastened the button
- Jaka deskontatu du, bero dagoelakoHe unbuttoned the jacket, because he is hot
- Gorbata deslotu dut etxera iritsi ondorenI untied the tie after arriving home
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 put on and to unfasten: how does it work in Basque?
Clothes in Basque are "put on and then had": jantzi — to put on, and the wearer "has" the thing. Praka jantzi ditut — I put the trousers on, word for word "trousers put-on I have". One thing takes du/dut, many take ditu/ditut: jaka jantzi du — he put the jacket on.
What does it look like in an example sentence Basque?
“Praka jantzi ditut eta botoia egin dut” — I put on the trousers and fastened the button. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.