LingoflyWhat is true? in Basque
Arguing about rumors in the village: what is true and what is not in Basque. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Entzun duzu? Esaten dute denda zaharra itxiko dela hilabete honetan.» — Have you heard? They say the old shop will close this month; «Ez dut sinesten: hura gezurra da, beti bezala. Non irakurri duzu hala?» — I do not believe it: it is a lie, as always. Where did you read that? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: arguing about rumors in the village: what is true and what is not. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Have you heard? They say the old shop will close this month.
Lines one by one
| Basque | Translation |
|---|---|
| Entzun duzu? Esaten dute denda zaharra itxiko dela hilabete honetan. | Have you heard? They say the old shop will close this month. |
| Ez dut sinesten: hura gezurra da, beti bezala. Non irakurri duzu hala? | I do not believe it: it is a lie, as always. Where did you read that? |
| Ez dut irakurri: ahoz aho heldu zait. Susmoa dut jabea beste hiri batera joango dela. | I did not read it: it came by word of mouth. I have a guess that the owner will move to another city. |
| Susmoak ez dira froga. Niri arrazoi bat eman behar didazu hori sinetsi aurretik. | Guesses are not proof. You have to give me a reason before I believe it. |
| Ondo: atzo jabea ikusi nuen denda erdian, kartelak biltzen. Arrastoa hor dago. | Good: yesterday I saw the owner in the middle of the shop, he was collecting the signs. There is the clue. |
| Hori sinesgarriagoa da, onartzen dut. Baina egiaztatu egingo dut: bihar berari galdetuko diot, argi eta garbi. | That is more convincing, I admit. But I will double-check: tomorrow I will ask him himself, straight out. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Basque in this situation?
“Entzun duzu? Esaten dute denda zaharra itxiko dela hilabete honetan.” — Have you heard? They say the old shop will close this month. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.