Talking about the language in Basque
52 words Basque words on the topic “talking about the language”: euskara — Basque (language), ikasi — learn, ikastaroak — courses, lineako ikastaroa — online course. 52 words can be played from recordings.
52 words on the topic
- euskaraBasque (language)The language's own name. Euskera is also in use, eskuara in the dialects: the language's name is alive. The country is Euskal Herria — 'the land of the Basque language'
- ikasilearnLearning it yourself is ikasi; teaching someone else is irakatsi — the split English makes with learn and teach. A student is ikasle, school is eskola
- ikastaroakcoursesLiterally 'learnings' goings': ikasi — 'to learn' + ibili — 'to go about'. A course is 'a learning walk', a path a season long
- lineako ikastaroaonline courseLiterally 'the line course': lineako — from linea — 'line', a loan, admitted. Lineako means 'through the net': from home, whenever
- entrenatzaileacoachA loan from the Spanish entrenador, openly admitted. The same person in the gym and on the conversation-practice course
- ikastaroan izena emanenroll in a courseLiterally 'on the course to give the name': izena eman — 'to give one's name'. To enroll is to hand the course your name
- hizkuntza-mailalanguage levelLiterally 'the language's step': hizkuntza — 'language' + maila — 'step, level'. The levels have names: A1, A2, B1… — like
- apunteaklecture notesA loan from the Spanish apuntes — 'notes', openly admitted. Always plural here: apunteak kopiatu — 'to copy out the notes'
- klasea galdumiss a classLiterally 'to lose the class': galdu — 'to lose'. Missing a class is losing it, like keys: it was — and it's gone
- bakarkaon one's ownLiterally 'single-ly': bakar — 'alone' + -ka, manner. Bakarka ikasi — to study by oneself: without a teacher, but not without a book
- doanfree of chargeA native word: for free. In shop windows and on doors it's written in capitals — DOAN — meaning: come in
- teoriatheoryA loan from Greek, like ours, openly admitted. Always in a pair with practice: teoria ikasi, praktikan jarri
- ahoskerapronunciationLiterally 'the mouth's leading': ahoa — 'mouth' + -kera, manner. Pronunciation here is the manner in which the mouth leads the words
- azentuaaccentA loan from the Spanish acento, openly admitted. Basque has many accents: every valley is audible — azentua bestelakoa da han
- hiztegiadictionaryLiterally 'the word-place': hitza — 'word' + -tegi, 'place'. A dictionary is 'a place of words': where one goes for a word as for water
- gramatikagrammarA loan from Greek, like ours, openly admitted. Basque grammar is agglutinative: words grow endings like icicles
- hizkialetter (of alphabet)From hitz — 'word' + -ki: a letter here is a 'little wordlet' — a small particle of the word. The special Basque ones: tx, ts, tz — triplets
- ama-hizkuntzamother tongueLiterally 'the mother's language': ama — 'mom' + hizkuntza. Named by the teacher: it's first because it's mom's
- esaldiasentence (phrase)A native word: from esan — 'to say'. The word hitza is one word; esaldia is already a whole thought
- hitzak ikasilearn wordsLiterally 'to learn the words': hitzak — words in the plural + ikasi. Words are learned in batches of ten here
- entzunez ulertuunderstand by earLiterally 'having-heard to understand': the instrumental -z answers 'how?' — understanding happens through the ears. Partner of reading: irakurriz ulertu
- jariotasunez hitz eginspeak fluentlyFrom jariotasun — 'flowingness': words here flow like water. To speak fluently is 'to speak with a stream of speech'
- talentuatalentA loan from Latin, like ours, openly admitted. Spoken of with du — 'he has it', like an object
- hasiberriabeginnerLiterally 'beginning-new': hasi — 'to begin' + berri — 'new'. A beginner here is not a verdict but the earliest stage of mastery
- profesionalaprofessionalA loan from Latin, like ours, openly admitted. Judged by the years: hamar urte daramatza lan honetan — 'he's carried ten years in this work'
- lortu dutI managed itLiterally 'I have achieved it': lortu — 'to achieve, obtain'. 'It worked' here with the result perfect: lortu dut — achieved and in hand
- azkar ikasten dutI learn fastLiterally 'quickly I learn': azkar — 'fast, lively'. Learning is described as motion: fast means nimble
- zail egiten zaitit's hard for meLiterally 'hard to-me it makes itself': zait — 'it happens to me', the same as in Ulertzen zaitut. The difficulty isn't mine — it happens to me
- teknika ulertuunderstand the techniqueLiterally 'to understand the technique': teknika — a loan from Greek, admitted. Understanding the workings, not only pressing buttons
- autoa gidatudrive a carLiterally 'to lead the car': gidatu — 'to lead, drive'; the driver is gidaria. Driving here is 'leading', like a horse
- gitarra joplay the guitarLiterally 'to strike the guitar': jo — 'to strike', the same verb that picks flowers. On strings one doesn't 'play' here, one strikes — short and to the point
- bere eskuz konpondufix with one's own handsLiterally 'with his own hand to fix': eskua — 'hand' + -z, the instrumental. What's made 'with one's own hand' is a special pride
- aurrerapenaprogressLiterally 'the forward-marching': aurrera — 'forward' + -pen, the action noun. Literally 'an advancing': steps forward that can be seen
- hutsegiteafailureFrom huts — 'empty' + -gite, the action noun: a failure here is 'an emptying'. Not a permanent fall — a place where nothing has grown yet
- oharranote (remark)A native word: a margin note; plural — oharrak. The teacher's remark here is a note you reread
- saiatutry hardA native word: to strive, attempt; the attempt is saioa. Saiatu berriro — 'try again' — the most common encouragement
- emaitza hobetuimprove the resultLiterally 'to improve the result': emaitza — 'the outcome' + hobetu — 'to make better', from hobe — 'better'. A result can be improved like firewood — split and stacked
- erdian utzigive up halfwayLiterally 'to leave in the middle': erdia — 'half' + utzi — 'to leave'. Abandoned halfway is left exactly in the middle
- urratsez urratsstep by stepLiterally 'by-step by-step': urratsa — 'step' + the instrumental -z twice. The formula of repetition: one step, then another — that's how a language is learned
- aldi bakoitzean hobebetter every timeLiterally 'in each time better': aldia — 'a time' + bakoitza — 'each' + hobe — 'better'. Progress here is counted in times, like recharge cycles
- ia ulertu dutI almost understoodLiterally 'almost I-understood it': ia — 'almost' + the perfect dut. 'Almost' is an honest mark: not understood — but almost
- praktika gehiago behar dutI need more practiceLiterally 'practice more to-me is-needed': praktika — a loan, admitted + behar — 'to need'. One's practice is asked for out loud here, without embarrassment
- urratsen ordenaorder of stepsLiterally 'the steps' order': urratsak — 'steps' + ordena — 'order' (a loan, admitted). An instruction is ordered steps
- etapastageA borrowing, like ours, openly admitted. The process is divided into them, like a road into stretches
- xehetasunezin detailFrom xehetasun — 'details, trifles' + the instrumental -z. In detail here is 'by the small things': a story taken apart into details
- bere hitzetanin one's own wordsLiterally 'in his/her words': hitza — 'word' + -etan, in the plural. In one's own words — the words of the speaker: a check of real understanding
- sinpleago esandasimply putLiterally 'more-simply having-said': sinple — 'simple' + -ago, the comparative, like garestiago + esanda — 'having said'. The simplification formula at half a word
- adibidea emangive an exampleLiterally 'to give the example': adibidea — the same as adibidez — 'for example'. An example here is a thing handed into your hands
- Erakutsi nola egiten denshow how it's doneLiterally 'to show how it-is-done': the same nola… den form. Showing beats words: hitzek ez didate nahiko — 'words aren't enough for me'
- Argi?clear? (got it?)Literally 'clear?': argi — 'light' and 'clarity' at once, the same argi as in 'crafty'. The short Argi? after an explanation — a pulse check
- Orain ulertzen dutnow I understandLiterally 'now I understand': ulertu — 'to understand' + the present. Understanding here is a process that just switched on
- nahastu egin naizI got confusedFrom nahastu — 'to mix' + egin naiz — 'I became': got confused is 'got mixed'. Steps, numbers and roads tangle identically
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.
- Nire euskara oraindik oso oinarrizkoa daMy Basque is still very weak
- Euskara ikasten dutI'm learning Basque
- Ikastaro berriak udazkenean hasiko diraThe new courses will start in autumn
- Lineako ikastaroak etxetik egin daitezke, noiznahiOnline courses can be taken from home, whenever
- Nire entrenatzaileak esan dit beti ondo egiten dudalaMy coach said I always do well
- Internet bidez ikastaroan izena eman dut gaurToday I enrolled in the course through the internet
What is worth knowing about these words
euskara — Basque (language). The language's own name. Euskera is also in use, eskuara in the dialects: the language's name is alive. The country is Euskal Herria — 'the land of the Basque language'
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
ikastaroak — courses. Literally 'learnings' goings': ikasi — 'to learn' + ibili — 'to go about'. A course is 'a learning walk', a path a season long
lineako ikastaroa — online course. Literally 'the line course': lineako — from linea — 'line', a loan, admitted. Lineako means 'through the net': from home, whenever
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is euskara — Basque (language).
- What is this word?
It is apunteak — lecture notes.
- What is this word?
It is hiztegia — dictionary.
- What is this word?
It is jariotasunez hitz egin — speak fluently.
- What is this word?
It is teknika ulertu — understand the technique.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “Basque (language)” in Basque?
The language's own name. Euskera is also in use, eskuara in the dialects: the language's name is alive. The country is Euskal Herria — 'the land of the Basque language'
- How do you say “lecture notes” in Basque?
A loan from the Spanish apuntes — 'notes', openly admitted. Always plural here: apunteak kopiatu — 'to copy out the notes'
- How do you say “dictionary” in Basque?
Literally 'the word-place': hitza — 'word' + -tegi, 'place'. A dictionary is 'a place of words': where one goes for a word as for water
- How do you say “speak fluently” in Basque?
From jariotasun — 'flowingness': words here flow like water. To speak fluently is 'to speak with a stream of speech'
- How do you say “understand the technique” in Basque?
Literally 'to understand the technique': teknika — a loan from Greek, admitted. Understanding the workings, not only pressing buttons
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
“I'm learning”, “I don't speak it”, “I understand a little”. Admitting that your command of the language is still poor almost always makes the other person more patient.
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.
- 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.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “Basque (language)” in Basque?
«euskara». The language's own name. Euskera is also in use, eskuara in the dialects: the language's name is alive. The country is Euskal Herria — 'the land of the Basque language'. It is one of 52 words in the set “talking about the language” — the rest are in the table above.
How many phrases about the language itself do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 52 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.
Is there audio?
Yes, 52 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.