zabor-ontzia
“zabor-ontzia” — garbage can in Basque. Noun, level A2, topic — home and things. Literally 'the trash's bin': zabor — 'trash', related to zakarra, ontzi — 'vessel'. Taken out in the evening so the truck takes it in the morning. In a live sentence: “Zabor-ontzia atean uzten dute arratsaldez” — The garbage can is left by the door in the evening. One of 271 words in the set “home and things” in the Basque course.
In short
| Written in Basque | zabor-ontzia |
| Translation | garbage can |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
Literally 'the trash's bin': zabor — 'trash', related to zakarra, ontzi — 'vessel'. Taken out in the evening so the truck takes it in the morning
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Zabor-ontzia atean uzten dute arratsaldezThe garbage can is left by the door in the evening
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- etxeahouseEtxean — at home: the one suffix -n does all the placing. The Basque surname Etxeberri — 'new house': houses grew into family names here
- etxebizitzahousingLiterally 'house-living': etxe + bizi. The bookish word from the listings; the concrete flat is pisua
- gelaroomA short word for every room: gela bikoitz — a room for two, the hotel-listing phrase
- sukaldeakitchenFrom sukalde, literally 'the fire's side': su + alde. Kitchen and cuisine in one: euskal sukaldaritza — Basque cuisine
- bainugelabathroomLiterally 'bathing room': bainu + gela. In the listings: bi bainugelako pisua — a flat with two bathrooms
- balkoiabalconyA borrowing, as elsewhere. Balkoian loreak daude — flowers on the balcony: a classic of Basque streets
- solairuafloor (story)Beheko solairua — the ground floor, literally 'the lower one'. In the lift, the buttons 1…5 are solairuak
- igogailualiftLiterally 'the raiser': igo — 'to climb' + -gailu, 'device'. Old houses don't have one — igogailurik gabe they write, honestly
- eskailerastaircaseFrom eskaila — 'step'. The stairwell in Basque is eskailerak — 'stairs' in the plural: the stairs ARE the entryway
- mahaiatableMahaira! — 'to the table!': the call to dinner. Mahai gainean — on the table, literally 'on the table's top'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “garbage can” in Basque?
Literally 'the trash's bin': zabor — 'trash', related to zakarra, ontzi — 'vessel'. Taken out in the evening so the truck takes it in the morning
- How do you say “floor (story)” in Basque?
Beheko solairua — the ground floor, literally 'the lower one'. In the lift, the buttons 1…5 are solairuak
- How do you say “room” in Basque?
A short word for every room: gela bikoitz — a room for two, the hotel-listing phrase
- How do you say “table” in Basque?
Mahaira! — 'to the table!': the call to dinner. Mahai gainean — on the table, literally 'on the table's top'
- How do you say “balcony” in Basque?
A borrowing, as elsewhere. Balkoian loreak daude — flowers on the balcony: a classic of Basque streets
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “garbage can” in Basque?
«zabor-ontzia». In a live sentence: “Zabor-ontzia atean uzten dute arratsaldez” — The garbage can is left by the door in the evening. Noun, level A2, from the set “home and things”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally 'the trash's bin': zabor — 'trash', related to zakarra, ontzi — 'vessel'. Taken out in the evening so the truck takes it in the morning. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.