metroa
“metroa” — metro in Basque. Noun, level A1, topic — transport. Bilbao's metro is Metro Bilbao: you recognize the glass entrances from afar. The word is the same as the measure of length. In a live sentence: “Puntako orduan metroa taxiak baino azkarragoa da” — At rush hour the metro is faster than a taxi. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 14 words in the set “transport” in the Basque course.
In short
| Written in Basque | metroa |
| Translation | metro |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- metroametro
Why it looks that way
Bilbao's metro is Metro Bilbao: you recognize the glass entrances from afar. The word is the same as the measure of length
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.
- Puntako orduan metroa taxiak baino azkarragoa daAt rush hour the metro is faster than a taxi
Nearby words: transport
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
- geltokiastationGeltoki + a, and the two i's fuse into one. Both the metro station and the train station: one word for both
- autobusabusThe long-distance bus has a different name — autokarra: city and intercity are kept apart, as elsewhere
- taxiataxiTaxis are taken at the rank — taxi geltokia — not hailed by waving. Geltokia here isn't the station but the 'stand': the same word as 'stop'
- autobus-gidariabus driverLiterally 'the bus's driver': gidaria — 'driver'. The same gidari serves the chauffeur and the train driver
- azken geltokialast stopLiterally 'the last station': azken — 'last' + geltokia — 'station'. The terminus here is simply 'the most that one'
- ibilbide-zenbakiaroute numberLiterally 'the route's number': ibilbidea — 'route' + zenbakia — 'number'. Looked at before entering, not after
- puntako orduarush hourLiterally 'the peak's hour': puntako — from punta — 'the point, the top'. The city stands on the peak of hurry
- autobus-ordutegiabus timetableLiterally 'the buses' timetable': ordutegia. It hangs at the stop, glued like the city's note to itself
- txartela ordaindupay the fareLiterally 'to pay the ticket': ordaindu — 'to pay'. The fare is paid through the ticket: buy it — and the ride is paid
- eserlekua hartutake a seatLiterally 'to take the seat': eserlekua — from eseri — 'to sit' + hartu — 'to take'. A seat here isn't 'occupied', it's taken into the hands
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “transport”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “metro” in Basque?
Bilbao's metro is Metro Bilbao: you recognize the glass entrances from afar. The word is the same as the measure of length
- How do you say “rush hour” in Basque?
Literally 'the peak's hour': puntako — from punta — 'the point, the top'. The city stands on the peak of hurry
- How do you say “taxi” in Basque?
Taxis are taken at the rank — taxi geltokia — not hailed by waving. Geltokia here isn't the station but the 'stand': the same word as 'stop'
- How do you say “take a seat” in Basque?
Literally 'to take the seat': eserlekua — from eseri — 'to sit' + hartu — 'to take'. A seat here isn't 'occupied', it's taken into the hands
- How do you say “route number” in Basque?
Literally 'the route's number': ibilbidea — 'route' + zenbakia — 'number'. Looked at before entering, not after
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 “metro” in Basque?
«metroa». In a live sentence: “Puntako orduan metroa taxiak baino azkarragoa da” — At rush hour the metro is faster than a taxi. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “transport”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Bilbao's metro is Metro Bilbao: you recognize the glass entrances from afar. The word is the same as the measure of length. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how this sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.