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Verbs in Basque

53 words in Basque on the topic “verbs”: naiz — I am, nahi dut — I want, joan — go, jan — eat. 53 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

53 words on the topic

  • naiz
    I am
    The 'I am' of izan — being by essence: origin, profession, character. Errusiarra naiz, medikua naiz. For state and place there is the second verb, egon: ondo nago, etxean nago
  • nahi dut
    I want
    Literally 'want-it-I-have': desire goes through the auxiliary verb. To soften it, nahi nuke — 'I would like'
  • joan
    go
    A strong verb with its own short forms: «noa» (I go), «zoaz», «doa», «goaz». It covers both walking and riding
  • jan
    eat
    Food is janari — same root. Having lunch is bazkaldu: lunch has a name of its own, bazkaria
  • edan
    drink
    Drinking, the literal sense. Zerbait hartuko dugu? — 'shall we have something?': the soft invitation goes through hartu — 'take'
  • irakurri
    read
    A reader is irakurle, a newspaper is egunkaria — literally 'dayly'. Reading on the metro is the national sport
  • hitz egin
    speak
    Literally 'to make a word'. Basque builds whole verb classes this way: lan egin — work, lo egin — sleep, barka egin — forgive
  • lan egin
    work (verb)
    Literally 'to make work': a noun plus egin — and the verb is ready. Working on something: ...tan lan egin
  • bizi
    live
    Bizi naiz — I live. Bizitza is both 'life' and 'living': Bilbon bizi da — he lives in Bilbao, zaila da bizitzea — living is hard
  • dut
    have
    A form of ukan, 'to have': what you have is put before dut — 'I-it-have'. Age, hunger and cold go through it too: hogeita hamar urte ditut, gosea dut, hotza dut
  • dago
    there is (located)
    The impersonal 'is located': it doesn't change by person. Plural: daude — ura dago, bi kafe daude. Also the one in non dago? — 'where is?'
  • gustatzen zait
    I like it
    The verb agrees with the thing liked, not the liker: kafea gustatzen zait, but liburuak gustatzen zaizkit. Built on the same logic as Spanish gustar
  • ikasi
    learn
    Learning it yourself is ikasi; teaching someone else is irakatsi — the split English makes with learn and teach. A student is ikasle, school is eskola
  • hartu
    take
    A native word: hartu covers take and receive alike. Eguzkia hartu — 'take the sun', to sunbathe: even rest is 'taken'
  • eman
    give
    A native word: give and hand over. The receiver takes the -ri to-whom form: eman didate — they gave (to) me. Present: ematen dut
  • erosi
    buy
    A native word: erosi. Present: erosten dut; what you bought drops its article: ogia erosi dut — I bought bread
  • ordaindu
    pay
    A native word: pay, and answer-with-what. Nola ordaintzen duzu? — what are you paying with? Present: ordaintzen dut, the d tightens
  • jarri
    put down
    The same word as 'put up' — context splits them: here it's lowering a thing into place. Present: jartzen dut
  • bilatu
    look for
    A native word. Partner of aurkitu — 'find': looked and found — bilatu eta aurkitu
  • aurkitu
    find
    A native word, literally 'bring before the eye'. To the finder they say: aurkitu duzu! — you found it!
  • erakutsi
    show
    From «ikusi», to see, with era-, «make»: to show is to «make see». To whom: «erakutsi didate» — they showed me
  • nahi
    want (noun sense)
    A native word: desire. The auxiliary stays plain: nahi dut — I want; what you want goes before it: kafea nahi dut
  • ahal izan
    be able to
    The same pairing as 'manage to' — context splits them: here it's can in the present and in general. The workhorse form is -dezaket: egin dezaket — I can do it
  • etorri
    come
    A native word: come, arrive. Where from takes -tik: Madrildik etorri da — he came from Madrid. Partner of joan — 'go'
  • joan
    leave
    The same word as 'go' — context splits them: leave here is 'away from here'. Joan behar dut — I have to leave
  • hasi
    start
    A native word: to start, both doing and happening. Zer ordutan hasten da? — at what time does it start? Present: hasten da
  • amaitu
    finish
    A native word: to finish, complete. Partner of hasi — 'start': hasi eta amaitu — beginning and end
  • jarraitu
    continue
    To continue, to follow someone: «Jarraitu, mesedez» — go on, please; on the road, «keep going»
  • gelditu
    stop
    The same word as 'halt something' — context splits them: stop here is coming to a stand yourself. The bus gelditzen da — stops
  • presaka ibili
    hurry
    Literally 'to walk in haste': presa — 'haste' + -ka, manner. Hurrying here is walking in haste, not running
  • berandutu
    be late
    From berandu — 'late' + -tu: to be late is 'to become late'. Barkatu, berandutu egin dut — sorry, I'm late
  • garaiz iritsi
    make it on time
    The same pairing as 'manage to arrive' — context splits them: making it here is arriving on time every time. garaiz — 'on time' + iritsi — 'arrive'
  • atera
    turn out
    The same word as 'come out' — context splits them: turn out here is what a result does: the bread comes out, the bill comes out
  • sartu
    enter
    The same word as «drive in» — the sense differs: here it is going inside on foot. Where to takes -ra: «gelara sartu naiz» — I went into the room
  • irten
    go out
    A native word: to go out. Where from takes -tik: etxetik irten naiz — I came out of the house. Partner of sartu — 'enter'
  • igo
    climb
    The same word as 'rise' — context splits them: climb here is with your legs, up stairs and uphill. A relative: igogailua — 'lift'
  • jaitsi
    descend
    The same word as 'go down / drop' — context splits them: descend here is the body going down. Partner of igo — 'climb'
  • zeharkatu
    to go across
    Literally 'to walk through': zehar — 'across'. Crossing here is cutting a street or a river at right angles
  • inguratu
    to circle around
    The same word as 'circle something' — context splits them: going around here is the usual motion about. From inguru — 'the district'
  • itzuli
    return
    A native word: to return (and also 'to translate', literally 'turn back'). Noiz itzuliko zara? — when will you be back?
  • alde egin
    drive away
    Literally 'to make to the side': aldea — 'side'. Leaving here is off the yard: lanetik alde egin dut — I left work
  • hegan etorri
    fly in
    Literally 'to come flying': hegan — 'in flight'. Flying in covers planes and wings alike
  • hegan joan
    fly out
    Literally 'to go flying': partner of hegan etorri. Where to takes -ra: Bilbaora hegan joango da — he'll fly to Bilbao
  • esnatu
    wake up
    A native word. The morning begins with it: zazpietan esnatzen naiz — I wake up at seven
  • altxatu
    get up
    The same word as 'lift something' — context splits them: getting up here is lifting yourself out of bed. The family calls: altxatu! — get up!
  • garbitu
    wash up
    The same word as 'wash (things)' — context splits them: washing up here is the face with water. Say what you wash: aurpegia garbitzen dut — I wash my face
  • orraztu
    comb one's hair
    From «orrazi», comb: to comb is to «run the comb». «Ilea orraztu» — comb your hair
  • bizarra egin
    shave
    Literally 'to do the beard': bizar — 'beard' + egin. Shaving happens in front of the mirror, with a razor: ispiluaren aurrean
  • jantzi
    get dressed
    The same word as «put on», and it also means «clothing»: here, to get dressed yourself. The pair to «jantziak kendu» — undress
  • jantziak kendu
    undress
    Literally 'to take off the clothes': kendu — 'to take off, remove'. Undressing happens at home, by the door: etxean jantziak kendu
  • eseri
    sit down
    The same word as 'sit' — context splits them: sitting down here is the move into the chair. Eser zaitez — have a seat
  • oheratu
    go to bed
    From ohe — 'bed': to go to bed is 'to head for the bed'. Hamaiketan oheratzen naiz — I go to bed at eleven
  • etzan
    lie down
    A native word: to lie, stretch out. Lying down here is a posture, not a task: sofian etzanda — lying on the sofa

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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.

What is worth knowing about these words

naiz — I am. The 'I am' of izan — being by essence: origin, profession, character. Errusiarra naiz, medikua naiz. For state and place there is the second verb, egon: ondo nago, etxean nago.

nahi dut — I want. Literally 'want-it-I-have': desire goes through the auxiliary verb. To soften it, nahi nuke — 'I would like'.

joan — go. A strong verb with its own short forms: «noa» (I go), «zoaz», «doa», «goaz». It covers both walking and riding.

jan — eat. Food is janari — same root. Having lunch is bazkaldu: lunch has a name of its own, bazkaria.

Test yourself

First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.

  1. What is this word?

  2. What is this word?

  3. What is this word?

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Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.

  1. How do you say “I am” in Basque?

  2. How do you say “work (verb)” in Basque?

  3. How do you say “give” in Basque?

  4. How do you say “want (noun sense)” in Basque?

  5. How do you say “stop” in Basque?

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

I want, I can, I am going, I know. The verb holds a sentence together: a few of the most frequent ones cover more everyday talk than a long list of nouns.

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.

Frequently asked

How do you say “I am” in Basque?

«naiz». The 'I am' of izan — being by essence: origin, profession, character. Errusiarra naiz, medikua naiz. For state and place there is the second verb, egon: ondo nago, etxean nago. It is one of 53 words in the set “verbs” — the rest are in the table above.

How many verbs do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 53 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.

Is there audio?

Yes, 53 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.

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