Basic words in Basque
82 words Basque words on the topic “basic words”: bai — yes, ez — no, ondo — well, gaizki — badly, oso ondo — very well.
82 words on the topic
- baiyesA calm yes with no booster. Basque dislikes a second yes in a row: answer 'bai, bai' and it lands like disbelief
- eznoOne word for 'no' and for verb negation alike: ez dut ulertzen — 'I don't understand'
- ondowellAn adverb: it answers 'how?'. The adjective 'good' is on, and with the article, ona
- gaizkibadlyThe partner of ondo. A bad THING takes txar: eguraldi txarra — the weather is foul
- oso ondovery wellOso is 'very' and stands before the word it boosts: oso goxoa — very tasty
- edoorA short connector: tea edo kafea — tea or coffee. Questions charged with doubt prefer ala; edo is a calm either/or
- eretoo, alsoStands right after the word it doubles: ni ere — me too, hura ere — him too. It never opens the sentence
- soilikonlyFrom soil — 'bare, plain': only here means 'one, nothing else'. It goes before the word it restricts
- dagoenekoalreadyLiterally 'since it already is': from egon 'be' + -keen. Already here = sooner than expected. Partner: oraindik — 'still'
- oraindikstillFrom orain 'now' + -dik: still here means 'up to this very moment'. With a negation it means 'not yet': oraindik ez
- gehiegitoo muchFrom gehi 'more' + -egi, the excess marker: too much here is 'beyond measure'. Same -egi as in luzeegia — 'too long'
- pixka bata littleLiterally 'one pinch': a little here fits between your fingertips. A relative: apur bat — 'a bit'
- elkarrekintogetherFrom elkar 'each other' + -kin, the 'with' marker: together literally means 'with each other'
- ezincannotez + in fused into one word for 'can't'. Ezin dut etorri — I can't come; on signs you'll meet sarrerik ez instead
- beharneed toCovers 'need' and 'must' at once: joan behar dut — I need to go. It keeps its root form before the verb; the auxiliary carries the person: dut, duzu, dugu
- niremyNire etxea — my house. It also stands alone with the article: nirea — mine (hau nirea da — this one is mine)
- zureyourYour singular and your polite in one: zure izena — your name, for both. Basque zu itself is both 'thou' and polite 'you'
- gureourGure auzoa — our neighborhood. It rhymes with zure: memorize one and the other follows
- zuenyour (plural)Your for zuek, you-many: zuen mahaia — your table. Careful: the same zuen also means 'he had' — position in the sentence tells them apart
- harenhis, herOne word for his and her — no gender. 'Their' is beren: beren etxea — their house. Both go before the noun, like nire and zure
- propioaownA loan from Spanish propio, openly admitted: own here means 'one's very own'. The native phrase is bere burua — oneself
- norberaoneselfLiterally 'who-who': nor + ber, who by themselves. Oneself here is a person on their own: norberaren lana — one's own work
- denaeverything'Everything' and 'all' in one: dena prest dago — everything is ready. Denbora — 'time' (this course) — shares the root den-
- horietako bakoitzaeach ofLiterally 'each of those': horietako — 'of those' + bakoitza — 'each'. The scheme is alive: guietako bakoitza — each of us
- edozeinanyFrom edo 'or' + zein 'which': any here is 'whichever you take'. Edozein ordu — at any hour
- diruamoneyMoney comes in the singular only: dirua. You know zenbat balio du? — 'how much is it' — from the basics; now you have the thing itself
- senarrahusbandA native word: senar. Partner of emaztea — 'wife'; in fairy tales senar-emazteak is husband and wife in one breath
- emazteawifeA native word, related to emakume — 'woman'. Partner of senarra — 'husband' (this lesson)
- abizenasurnameLiterally 'added-to-name': a- + izena. Basques carry two surnames — the father's and the mother's, and both go in the documents
- lekuaplaceA native word: leku. A relative: lekuko — 'witness' — the one who was on the spot
- herrialdeacountryLiterally 'people's side': herria — 'village, people' + aldea — 'side'. Country here is the state on the map
- jendeapeoplePeople comes in the singular, like 'crowd': jende asko — many people. The verb stays singular too: jendea dator — the people are coming
- bizitzalifeFrom bizi — 'to live' (this course): life here is 'living'. You've seen etxebizitza — 'housing', literally 'house-living'
- hurrengoathe next oneA native word: hurrengo — next, upcoming. Hurrengo biran — at the next turn, hurrengo astean — next week
- atzekopreviousFrom atze — 'back': previous here is literally 'the one behind'. Atzeko urtea — last year, atzeko eguna — the other day
- …tzekoso as toThe purpose glues onto the verb: irakurtzeko — in order to read. Ur edateko — to drink some water: verb root + -tzeko
- baldin etaifLiterally 'if and': baldin eta euria egiten badu — if it rains. The condition itself rides on the verb's -ba: badu — 'if there is'
- denbora bitarteanin the meantimeLiterally 'in the time between': bitartean — 'meanwhile'. While here = one action runs during another
- izan ereseeing thatLiterally 'being indeed': izan — 'be' + ere — 'indeed'. It introduces a reason already accepted: seeing that it's late, let's go
- besterik eznothing butLiterally 'there is no other': nothing but here means nothing else is wanted. Lo egitea besterik ez — nothing but sleep
- berazsoA native word: so, therefore. It opens the conclusion: berandu da, beraz joaten naiz — it's late, so I'm leaving
- … arteanbetweenLiterally 'in the interval': bi herrien artean — between two villages. A relative of arte — 'until': the same root of the in-between
- ingururoughlyLiterally 'the surroundings': roughly here is an estimate by eye. It follows the number: bost euro inguru — about five euros
- … ordezinstead ofFollows a genitive: kafearen ordez — instead of coffee. Nire ordez zu — you instead of me
- kontraagainstA loan from Latin contra, openly admitted. Against a person or a plan: haren kontra naiz — I'm against him
- … gabewithout'Without' glues to the end: gatzik gabe — without salt, kafearik gabe — without coffee. The -rik particle leaves not a crumb
- …rakofor'For' is the dative of purpose: zuretzako — for you, etxerako — for the house. Vowel seams tighten: nire + rako = niretzako
- buruzabout (a subject)Literally 'on the head': about here is 'concerning'. It follows the genitive: filmari buruz — about the film
- osteanafterLiterally 'in the track': after here is 'behind something'. A relative of ondoren: bazkaldu ostean — after lunch
- …n zeharduringLiterally 'along': during here is stretched across a span. Udan zehar — over the summer, neguan zehar — over the winter
- …gatikbecause of'Because of' glues to the end: euriagatik — because of the rain, lanagatik — because of work
- inguruanaroundLiterally 'in the district': around here is 'encircling the thing'. It follows the genitive: etxearen inguruan — around the house
- … barruwithinLiterally 'inside': within here is a deadline something will happen in. Ordu barru — in an hour, aste barru — within a week
- barrutikfrom insideLiterally 'from the inside': barruan — 'inside' + -tik, 'from'. They shut the door from the inside: atea barrutik itxi dute
- inguruetannearbyLiterally 'in the surroundings': inguru made plural — the outlying districts. Nearby here is close, but with no exact spot named
- soinu handialoud soundLiterally 'big sound': soinu — 'sound'. A loud sound is one you hear through the wall
- soinu txikiaquiet soundLiterally 'small sound': txikia — 'small' (this course). A quiet sound asks you to lean in
- sonoroasonorousA loan from Latin sonorus, openly admitted. Sonorous here is a voice or a bell: ahots sonoroa — a sonorous voice
- hitzawordA native word: hitz. You know hitzez hitz — 'word for word'. A word here is a single one, in the dictionary and in speech
- gauzamatterA native word: thing and matter in one. A matter here is something to be done: gauza asko ditut egiteko — 'I have many matters to do'
- moduaway, methodA native word: way and manner. Zein da modurik onena? — what's the best way? You know modu berean — 'in the same way'
- zatiapartThe same word as 'piece' — context splits them: part here is a share of the whole, not a chunk of bread. Zatirik handiena — the biggest part
- erdialdeamiddleLiterally 'the half's side': erdia — 'half' + aldea. The middle of the city, the room, the year: hiriaren erdialdea
- aldeasideThe same word as 'difference' — context splits them: side here is a flank of a thing or a street. Bi aldeak — both sides
- bideapathA native word: bide. You know bidean — 'on the way'. A path here is both the road and the method
- errepideahighwayLiterally 'repeated road': errepide is the road for wheels, the highway. Partner of bidea — 'path': one for feet, one for cars
- loasleepA native word: lo — sleep and doze. Loa hartzen du — 'sleep takes him': Basque takes sleep the way it takes rest
- aparteanseparatelyA loan from Spanish aparte, openly admitted. Separately here is both a separate bill and a separate house
- arretazcarefullyLiterally 'with attention': arreta — 'attention', a loan from Latin + -z. Carefully here is slowly and peering
- isilikquietlyLiterally 'in quietness': isil — 'quiet' + -ik. Quietly here covers 'hush' too: isilik egon! — sit still!
- zaratakaloudlyLiterally 'with noise': zarata — 'noise' + -ka, manner. Loudly here is so the walls can hear
- mutiksilentlyLiterally 'mute-ly': mutu — 'mute', a loan from Latin + -k. Silently here is without a single word: mutik egon — keep quiet
- nahikofairlyFrom nahi — 'want': fairly here is 'as much as needed and a bit more'. Nahiko ona da — fairly good
- apur bata bitLiterally 'one little piece': apur — 'a piece'. A bit here is less than pixka bat — 'a little'
- erabatcompletelyLiterally 'wholly': from erabaki — 'to decide', to carry to the end. Completely here is to the last drop: ez dut erabat ulertzen
- bete beteanto the fullLiterally 'in the full full': betea — 'full', doubled for force. Fully here is with nothing left, a glass filled to the brim
- askozby farLiterally 'by much': asko — 'much' + the instrumental -z. It lives next to a comparison: askoz hobea — much better
- baita ereevenLiterally 'and indeed too': a booster after the word. Ni baita ere — even I. Related to ere — 'too'
- batzuksome (people)Literally 'some ones': batzuk… beste batzuk — some… others. The pair lives together, as in English 'some… others'
- norbaitsomeoneLiterally 'who-I-hear': nor — 'who' + bait, like nonbait — 'somewhere'. Someone here knocks but doesn't open
- zeozeranythingLiterally 'what-I-hear': the conversational twin of zerbait. Zeozer edan? — will you have anything to drink? — the guest-room question
- bere buruaoneself (reflexive)Literally 'his very self': burua — 'head' (this course). Oneself here covers 'myself, himself': bere burua zaintzea — taking care of oneself
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Bai, noski egin dezaketYes, of course I can
- Ez, eskerrik asko, bazkaldua dutNo, thanks, I've already had lunch
- Ondo nago, eskerrik askoI'm doing well, thank you
- Gau osoan gaizki lo egin dutI slept badly that whole night
- Dena oso ondo, eskerrik asko galdatzeagatikEverything is very well, thanks for asking
- Tea edo kafea, mesedez?Tea or coffee, please?
What is worth knowing about these words
bai — yes. A calm yes with no booster. Basque dislikes a second yes in a row: answer 'bai, bai' and it lands like disbelief
ez — no. One word for 'no' and for verb negation alike: ez dut ulertzen — 'I don't understand'
ondo — well. An adverb: it answers 'how?'. The adjective 'good' is on, and with the article, ona
gaizki — badly. The partner of ondo. A bad THING takes txar: eguraldi txarra — the weather is foul
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “yes” in Basque?
A calm yes with no booster. Basque dislikes a second yes in a row: answer 'bai, bai' and it lands like disbelief
- How do you say “only” in Basque?
From soil — 'bare, plain': only here means 'one, nothing else'. It goes before the word it restricts
- How do you say “need to” in Basque?
Covers 'need' and 'must' at once: joan behar dut — I need to go. It keeps its root form before the verb; the auxiliary carries the person: dut, duzu, dugu
- How do you say “oneself” in Basque?
Literally 'who-who': nor + ber, who by themselves. Oneself here is a person on their own: norberaren lana — one's own work
- How do you say “surname” in Basque?
Literally 'added-to-name': a- + izena. Basques carry two surnames — the father's and the mother's, and both go in the documents
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “yes” in Basque?
«bai». A calm yes with no booster. Basque dislikes a second yes in a row: answer 'bai, bai' and it lands like disbelief. It is one of 82 words in the set “basic words” — the rest are in the table above.
How many basic words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 82 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.