Asking the way in Basque
18 words Basque words on the topic “asking the way”: non dago? — where is it?, eskuin — right, ezker — left, zuzen — straight.
18 words on the topic
- non dago?where is it?Literally 'where is it situated?' — through egon, the place verb. 'What is it?' is asked differently: Zer da? — through izan. The two 'be's split the work here too
- eskuinrightEskuinetara — 'to the right'. The same eskuin in eskuin-esku — 'right hand', the one you offer and shake
- ezkerleftEzkerrerantz — 'to the left'. The political 'left' is ezkerra: the same word, heard more often on election night
- zuzenstraightBoth 'straight' and 'fair': bide zuzena is the straight road and the righteous path in one
- gertucloseGertu — close; ...tik gertu — near something: etxetik gertu — not far from the house
- urrunfarUrrun — far; ...tik urrun — far from something. Partner of gertu
- hemenhereHemen — here by me. The h is silent but mandatory in writing: emen is a mistake
- hanthereThe far 'there'. The nearer 'over there' is hor: three steps, like English 'here — there — way over there'
- aurre aurreanfacing each otherLiterally 'front-to-front': aurrea — 'front', doubled for mutuality. Aurre aurrean daude — they stand facing each other, like two shop windows
- atzeanbehind (place)From atzera — 'backward', the same kin as the rearview mirror and atzera egin. Behind here is the place left at the back
- kalean zeharalong the streetLiterally 'through the street': zehar — 'through, along'. Walking along here is walking the street like a tunnel: start to end
- izkinanon the cornerFrom izkina — 'corner', a native word. Izkinan dago — it stands on the corner; from the corner flat — izkinako — two streets are visible at once
- semaforoaren ondoannext to the traffic lightLiterally 'by the traffic light': semaforoa (a loan, admitted) + ondoan — 'beside'. The orientation phrase for giving directions
- bidearen beste aldeanacross the roadLiterally 'on the road's other side': beste aldean — 'on the other side'. Simply 'on the side that isn't this one'
- kalearen amaierarato the end of the streetLiterally 'to the street's end': amaiera — 'end' + the direction case -ra. Motion with an address in it
- Urruti al dago hortik?is it far from here?Literally 'far is it from there?': urrun — 'far' + the question particle al. The question every request for directions begins with
- erakutsi mapanshow on the mapLiterally 'to show on the map': erakutsi — 'to show' + mapa (a loan, admitted). The request that saves when the words have run out
- hamar minutu oinezten minutes on footLiterally 'ten minutes on foot': after a number the article vanishes — hamar minutu, not minutuak. Distance here is measured by the legs' time
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.
- Non dago metroa?Where is the metro?
- Farmazia eskuinetara geratzen daThe pharmacy is on the right
- Biratu ezkerretara semaforoanTurn left at the traffic light
- Zuzen jarraituGo straight
- Azoka etxetik gertu dagoThe market is close to the house
- Ez dago urrun, hamar minutu oinezIt's not far, ten minutes on foot
What is worth knowing about these words
non dago? — where is it?. Literally 'where is it situated?' — through egon, the place verb. 'What is it?' is asked differently: Zer da? — through izan. The two 'be's split the work here too
eskuin — right. Eskuinetara — 'to the right'. The same eskuin in eskuin-esku — 'right hand', the one you offer and shake
ezker — left. Ezkerrerantz — 'to the left'. The political 'left' is ezkerra: the same word, heard more often on election night
zuzen — straight. Both 'straight' and 'fair': bide zuzena is the straight road and the righteous path in one
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is it?” in Basque?
Literally 'where is it situated?' — through egon, the place verb. 'What is it?' is asked differently: Zer da? — through izan. The two 'be's split the work here too
- How do you say “there” in Basque?
The far 'there'. The nearer 'over there' is hor: three steps, like English 'here — there — way over there'
- How do you say “to the end of the street” in Basque?
Literally 'to the street's end': amaiera — 'end' + the direction case -ra. Motion with an address in it
- How do you say “straight” in Basque?
Both 'straight' and 'fair': bide zuzena is the straight road and the righteous path in one
- How do you say “along the street” in Basque?
Literally 'through the street': zehar — 'through, along'. Walking along here is walking the street like a tunnel: start to end
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
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 “where is it?” in Basque?
«non dago?» Literally 'where is it situated?' — through egon, the place verb. 'What is it?' is asked differently: Zer da? — through izan. The two 'be's split the work here too. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 18 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.