Lingoflyhau, hori, hura: three kinds of "this"
Basque has three words for "this" and "that". hau — this, next to me; hori — this, next to you; hura — that, far from both of us. For example: “Hori ez dakit, barkatu” — That I do not know, sorry. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Basque has three words for "this" and "that". hau — this, next to me; hori — this, next to you; hura — that, far from both of us.
Hori is also used for what was just said: Hori ez dakit — that I do not know. Hori da! — exactly, that is it. It takes endings like any word: horrekin — with that, horretan — in that.
Beware of its twin: horia — yellow. Hori horia da — "that is yellow" — is not a mistake, just the language.
Table
| near me | near you | far away | |
|---|---|---|---|
| this, that | hau | hori | hura |
| with it | honekin | horrekin | harekin |
| in it | honetan | horretan | hartan |
By example
- That is my phone number
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
hau, hori, hura: how does it work in Basque?
Basque has three words for "this" and "that". hau — this, next to me; hori — this, next to you; hura — that, far from both of us.
What does it look like in a Basque example sentence?
“Hori ez dakit, barkatu” — That I do not know, sorry. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.