LingoflyThe rental contract in Basque
Signing the rental contract in Basque. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Egun on. Pisua alokatu nahi dut: oraindik libre dago?» — Good afternoon. I want to rent the flat: is it still available?; «Bai. Jarri eta begira dezagun alokairu-kontratua.» — Yes. Have a seat, let us look at the rental contract. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: signing the rental contract. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Yes. Have a seat, let us look at the rental contract.
- How much is the rent? And the deposit?
- Six hundred euros a month, a deposit of two months. The lease is for a year.
Lines one by one
| Basque | Translation |
|---|---|
| Egun on. Pisua alokatu nahi dut: oraindik libre dago? | Good afternoon. I want to rent the flat: is it still available? |
| Bai. Jarri eta begira dezagun alokairu-kontratua. | Yes. Have a seat, let us look at the rental contract. |
| Hilabeteko alokairua zenbat da? Eta fidantza? | How much is the rent? And the deposit? |
| Seiehun euro hilabetean, fidantza bi hilabetekoa. Alokairu-epea urte batekoa da. | Six hundred euros a month, a deposit of two months. The lease is for a year. |
| Pisua altzariduna da? Ez dut altzaririk oraindik. | Is the flat furnished? I do not have furniture yet. |
| Bai, altzaridun pisua da: sofa, mahaia eta bi ohe daude. Larunbatean bertan sartu daiteke. | Yes, the flat is furnished: a sofa, a table and two beds. You can move in this very Saturday. |
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?
“Egun on. Pisua alokatu nahi dut: oraindik libre dago?” — Good afternoon. I want to rent the flat: is it still available? 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.