Texts in Basque
Short texts in Basque with a translation alongside and comprehension questions, levels A1–B1. The first ones need two or three hundred everyday words; the B1 texts need about three thousand. The translation stands next to it whole, not word by word: stopping at every other word tears the sentence apart.
All texts
- 📖Egun normal batA1 · Hello. My name is Ane, and I live in Gernika. In the morning I drink coffee and eat…
- 📖AzokanA2 · On Saturdays I go to the market with my family. It is close to home, ten minutes on foot.…
- 📖Auzoko azokanA1 · Every Saturday I go to the neighborhood market. The seller knows me and weighs half a…
- 📖Alokairuko pisu berriaA2 · Last month I moved flats. The new one is on the fourth floor, with an elevator, but the…
- 📖Katarroz betetako asteaA1 · On Monday a cough and a runny nose started. On Tuesday my throat hurt and I had a…
- 📖Udazkeneko igande batA1 · On Sunday in Bilbao the weather is mild. In the morning fog, but at noon the sun comes…
- 📖Nire lanaA2 · I work in a small office in the center. On Monday and Thursday I go to the office, the…
- 📖DonostiaraA2 · Tomorrow morning I will fly to Donostia. The flight is at ten, but trains leave the…
- 📖Egun bat hondartzanA1 · It is summer, and we are at the beach. The sand is white, the water warm. Dad sunbathes…
- 📖Igandeko paseoaA1 · On Sunday I walk in the park. Many people: the young, the old, children. One man is tall…
- 📖Jon, nire lagunaA2 · Jon is my best friend. Clever and cheerful: he laughs a lot. Brave: he goes even to…
- 📖Igandeko bazkariaA1 · On Sunday I cook the lunch. First I cut the potatoes, then fry them. I put an onion and a…
- 📖TelefonoanA1 · Tomorrow is mom's birthday, and today I want to call her. But my phone will not turn on…
- 📖Hirira bidaiaA2 · Last week our whole family went to the city. In the morning we got on the bus at the stop…
- 📖Nire kirolaA1 · I love sport very much. On Mondays and Thursdays I run in the park. On Saturdays I play…
- 📖Jaiak GernikanA2 · Every year in August we go to the holidays in Gernika. In the village there is music and…
- 📖Nire familiaA1 · My family is small: my parents, my brother and me. Dad is a driver, and mom is a teacher.…
- 📖UnibertsitateanA2 · My sister is in her second year at the university. The faculty is far from the city, so…
- 📖Lehen banku-kontuaA2 · Last week I opened my first bank account. At the bank branch they explained everything to…
- 📖Medikuaren bisitaA1 · Yesterday I was at the doctor: my throat hurts and I have a high temperature. The doctor…
- 📖Lan berriaA2 · For a month I looked for a job and finally got through an interview at a company. I…
- 📖Pisuz aldatzeaA1 · In a month we will move into the new flat. This flat is furnished, and the rent is…
- 📖Autozko bidaiaA2 · Last Saturday we rented a car for a small trip. We paid for the car insurance and brought…
- 📖AlbisteakA2 · This morning I read an important news item in the paper. One journalist explained the…
- 📖EpaitegianB1 · On Tuesday I went to court as a witness. Last month there was a serious violation on the…
- 📖Iritzi desberdinakB1 · On the square three friends talked about the news. The first thinks social media give…
- 📖Egun beteaA2 · Today the day was full. First I went to the office and did a lot of work. After the…
- 📖Nire anaiaA2 · My brother Iker is twenty-two. He is tall, he has curly hair and a small mole on his…
- 📖Eztabaida eta bakeaB1 · One Saturday a small conflict happened between me and my friends: whose turn is it in the…
- 📖Igandeko bazkaria auzoanA2 · On Sundays we have lunch at grandma's. First grandma peels the vegetables, and then chops…
- 📖Itzulketak dendanB1 · At this shop returns are quite simple: the term is fifteen days, and you have to keep the…
- 📖Garbigailua hondatutaA2 · Yesterday the washing machine went wrong: it made a big noise and stopped in the middle…
- 📖Eguraldia mendianA2 · Yesterday we walked in the mountains all day. In the morning the sky was overcast, and…
- 📖Nola iritsi erdigunera oinezA2 · The city center is not far from the hotel: go out onto Kale Nagusia and walk straight…
- 📖Euskara ikastenB1 · For a month I have been going to Basque courses and I see progress. At first I learned…
- 📖Nire historia laburraB1 · My story is simple: I was born in a village and spent my childhood among the mountains.…
- 📖Zaila den elkarrizketaB1 · Phone conversations come hard: there is a lot of noise, and words are hard to hear. At…
- 📖Lanbide guztiakA2 · Every working person has a profession of their own: some work with their hands, others…
- 📖Mailegu bat negoziorakoB1 · My sister opened a shop this year. At first she lacked money, so she requested a loan at…
- 📖Boluntario lana hirianB1 · There are many volunteers in this city. Some help children after kindergarten; others…
- 📖Zineko gauaA2 · Yesterday I was at the movies with friends: it was a comedy. We chose that film after…
- 📖Korrika igandetanA2 · On Sundays we run in the park. At nine in the morning we gather at the start, by the…
- 📖Neurriak sukaldeanA2 · Today we measured the kitchen: three meters long, two meters wide and two and a half…
- 📖Prebentzioa eta osasunaB1 · Prevention is the basis of health: it means taking care before you fall ill. Washing…
- 📖Festa etxeanA2 · Today is grandma's birthday, and the party is at our home. In the morning we decorated…
- 📖Adostasunera iristeaB1 · The neighbors argued for a long time about the new park. In the opinion of some, the…
- 📖Zer gertatuko da?B1 · What will happen on Saturday? We are going to the mountains, but the forecast speaks of…
- 📖Formak eta neurriakA2 · Today at the shop we saw many things: square boxes, round cups and an oval cake. Every…
- 📖EspazioanA2 · Our room is spacious, and it has a lot of space. On the table stands a computer, and the…
- 📖Zenbat eta nolaB1 · Counting seems simple, but quantity needs many words. A group of ten people is not a…
- 📖Amaitutako proiektuaB1 · Last winter we began to renovate the old homestead: at first everything had to be done…
- 📖Jakitea eta ezagutzeaB1 · To know and to be acquainted are not the same thing. I know Basque a little, but only…
- 📖Pasa diren urteakB1 · It has been a decade in this village, and everything has changed in that time. In those…
- 📖Auzoko ingurumenaB1 · Our neighborhood has changed in recent years. The noise level of the road has dropped…
- 📖Nola egiten da gaztaA2 · Making cheese is long work, but simple. First the milk is heated in a big vat and soured.…
- 📖Aitonaren istorioaB1 · Grandpa told a story at dinner, and we all fell silent. When he was almost forty, he…
- 📖Jazarpena duten pertsonakB1 · There are people with a feeling of being persecuted: nobody has done anything to them…
- 📖Azokan eta kafetegianA1 · On Saturdays Marta goes to the market at nine. She buys pork to cook for lunch, chicken…
- 📖AuzoanA1 · Marta's quarter is quiet, next to the old town. In the middle there is a little park with…
- 📖Nire ordutegiaA2 · My routine is simple, but every day has its own order. At seven I wake up; I get up at…
- 📖Asteko erosketakA2 · On Thursdays Jon goes to the big shop with a shopping list in his hand. The list is long…
- 📖Etxeko konponketakA2 · Saturday in our house is the day of home repairs. In the morning the light went out in…
- 📖Gripe aste batA2 · This week the flu kept me at home. At first I only had a dry cough, but the next day the…
- 📖Paperak eta gutunakA2 · Mayalen wants to take courses at one of the universities of Ireland, and for a week now…
- 📖Alokatutako autoaA2 · On Saturday morning I rented a car at a small office, to visit grandma at the farm. The…
- 📖Amonaren errezetaA2 · Grandma's recipe book has moved from house to house for decades. On the first page there…
- 📖Beti konektatutaB1 · At seven in the morning the alarm on my phone wakes me, and my first look is at the…
- 📖Familiako bazkariaA2 · Every Sunday the kin gathers at our place for lunch. The father-in-law brings a bouquet…
How to read a text in a language you barely know
First pass — all the way through, without peeking at the translation. The goal is not to understand but to catch familiar words: there will be more of them than you expect, and that feeling matters more than any rule.
Second pass — with the translation beside you. Now it becomes clear what exactly was in the way: an unknown word, a construction you did not get, or just reading speed.
Third pass — all the way through again. The second pass brings noticeably more, and this step is what makes reading useful: it turns analysis into recognition.
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read texts in Basque?
A1–B1. For the first texts the letters and two or three hundred everyday words are enough; the B1 texts need about three thousand. The translation sits next to it, so an unknown word does not stop the reading.
How many times should you reread the text?
Three times: without the translation, with it, and without it again. The third pass is what all of this is for — the second time you recognize noticeably more.