zaila
“zaila” — difficult in Basque. Adjective, level A1, topic — home and things. The same word as 'hard' — context splits them: difficult here is a task, a choice. Partner of erraza — 'easy'. Erabakia zaila da — the decision is hard. In a live sentence: “Azterketa zaila izan da.” — The exam was difficult. One of 271 words in the set “home and things” in the Basque course.
In short
| Written in Basque | zaila |
| Translation | difficult |
| Part of speech | adjective |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The same word as 'hard' — context splits them: difficult here is a task, a choice. Partner of erraza — 'easy'. Erabakia zaila da — the decision is hard
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.
- Azterketa zaila izan da.The exam was difficult.
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 “difficult” in Basque?
The same word as 'hard' — context splits them: difficult here is a task, a choice. Partner of erraza — 'easy'. Erabakia zaila da — the decision is hard
- 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 “difficult” in Basque?
«zaila». In a live sentence: “Azterketa zaila izan da.” — The exam was difficult. Adjective, level A1, from the set “home and things”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
The same word as 'hard' — context splits them: difficult here is a task, a choice. Partner of erraza — 'easy'. Erabakia zaila da — the decision is hard. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.