Menu
English
РусскийEnglishEspañol

Greetings and goodbyes in Basque

18 words in Basque on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: kaixo — hi, egun on — good morning, arratsalde on — good afternoon, gabon — good night. 18 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

18 words on the topic

  • kaixo
    hi
    The all-hours greeting, morning or night. The natural next move is aupa — shouted in greeting and in approval alike
  • egun on
    good morning
    Literally 'good day'. Said until lunchtime; egun itself is 'day'
  • arratsalde on
    good afternoon
    For after lunch. Arratsalde is the second half of the day — the same word sits inside 'good evening'
  • gabon
    good night
    Both a late-evening hello and a wish for the night — from gau on, 'good night'. The g here is a plain hard g
  • agur
    goodbye
    The farewell for everyone and every occasion — the word that stays with you after your first walk around Bilbao
  • gero arte
    see you later
    Literally 'until later': gero is 'later', arte is 'until'. For someone you'll actually see again today
  • nola zaude?
    how are you?
    Literally 'how do you find yourself?': zaude is a form of egon, so the question is about your state right now
  • zer moduz?
    how's it going?
    Literally 'in what shape?'. Lighter and shorter than nola zaude — it suits anyone, any register
  • Zorionak!
    congratulations
    Literally 'with good omens': zori + onak. The universal 'congrats' — for the holiday and the new purchase alike
  • Zorionak urtebetetzearengatik!
    happy birthday
    Literally 'congratulations for the year-filling': urte + bete — to fill up, the way the month fills to a full moon. The suffix -engatik is 'on the occasion of'
  • Zorte on!
    good luck
    Literally 'good lot': zorte — 'lot, fate'. Said before an exam and before a journey alike
  • Oso ondo!
    well done
    The same oso ondo as 'very well', now as praise: 'well done'. Teachers say it a hundred times a day
  • Ez kezkatu!
    don't worry
    From kezka — 'worry': 'un-worry yourself!'. The imperative is the bare root
  • Barkatu atzeratzeagatik.
    sorry for being late
    Literally 'forgive for the being-late': atzeratu — 'to delay' + -zea + -gatik. Guilt here is 'because of the lateness'
  • Nahi gabe egin dut.
    I didn't mean to
    Literally 'I did it without wanting': nahi + gabe. Gabe — 'without' works with money too: dirurik gabe
  • Ez da ezer.
    no problem
    Literally 'it is nothing': ezer — 'anything' under negation. Forgiveness here is short, like 'it's fine, happens'
  • besarkatu
    hug
    Literally 'to take with the arms': beso — 'arm' + -arkatu. The hug here is 'taken into the arms', warm and simple
  • Ni naiz erruduna.
    it's my fault
    Literally «I am the guilty one»: errudun is «having blame», erru plus -dun. The confession uses «to be», plainly

Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet

The CSV contains spelling, reading guides, translations and links to word pages. Use the browser menu to save the printable sheet as a PDF.

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

kaixo — hi. The all-hours greeting, morning or night. The natural next move is aupa — shouted in greeting and in approval alike.

egun on — good morning. Literally 'good day'. Said until lunchtime; egun itself is 'day'.

arratsalde on — good afternoon. For after lunch. Arratsalde is the second half of the day — the same word sits inside 'good evening'.

gabon — good night. Both a late-evening hello and a wish for the night — from gau on, 'good night'. The g here is a plain hard g.

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?

  4. What is this word?

  5. What is this word?

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

  1. How do you say “hi” in Basque?

  2. How do you say “how's it going?” in Basque?

  3. How do you say “I didn't mean to” in Basque?

  4. How do you say “good night” in Basque?

  5. How do you say “good luck” in Basque?

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.

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 “hi” in Basque?

«kaixo». The all-hours greeting, morning or night. The natural next move is aupa — shouted in greeting and in approval alike. It is one of 18 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.

How many greetings do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 18 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, 18 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.

Next

Open the materialOpen the material