The partitive -rik: some and none at all
The suffix -rik turns a thing into "some amount" of the thing: ogirik nahi? — do you want (some) bread? The article -a disappears in the process: ogia → ogirik, gatza → gatzik. For example: “Ogirik nahi?” — Do you want some bread?. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The suffix -rik turns a thing into "some amount" of the thing: ogirik nahi? — do you want (some) bread? The article -a disappears in the process: ogia → ogirik, gatza → gatzik.
In negation -rik is obligatory: ez dut ogirik — I have no (any) bread, ez dago gatzik — there is no salt at all. This was already seen in wave 1: xaboirik ez dago, komisiorik gabe.
With gabe, "without", the same shift: dirurik gabe — without money, literally "without any money". English manages with "any"; Basque manages with one suffix.
Table
| the meaning | the usual form | the partitive |
|---|---|---|
| bread | ogia | ogirik |
| salt | gatza | gatzik |
| I want some | ogi bat nahi dut | ogirik nahi dut |
| none at all | ogia ez dago | ez dago ogirik |
By example
- Ogirik nahi?Do you want some bread?
- Ez dut ogirik, baina irina dagoThere is no bread, but there is flour
- Gatzik gabe, mesedezWithout salt, please
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
The partitive -rik: how does it work in Basque?
The suffix -rik turns a thing into "some amount" of the thing: ogirik nahi? — do you want (some) bread? The article -a disappears in the process: ogia → ogirik, gatza → gatzik.
What does it look like in an example sentence Basque?
“Ogirik nahi?” — Do you want some bread?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.