Verbs in Valencian
13 words Valencian words on the topic “verbs”: soc — to be (by essence), vull — I want, anar — to go, menjar — to eat.
13 words on the topic
- socto be (by essence)The I-form of ésser — to be by essence: origin, profession, character. For states and places there is the second link, estar: estic bé, estic a casa
- vullI wantFrom voler, to want. A bare vull sounds blunt; people soften it to volia — I would like
- anarto goThe most irregular verb of them all: vaig, vas, va, anem. And it builds the future too: demà vaig — tomorrow I'll go
- menjarto eatBoth to eat and to have lunch: mengem a les dos? — lunch at two? The we-form with g is a hallmark of the norm; central Catalan says menjem. The noun for food is the same word
- beureto drinkDrinking plain and simple. Softer and wider is prendre: prenguem alguna cosa? — shall we have something?
- llegirto readThe I-form is llig, one syllable: a Valencian hallmark where the central norm says llegeixo. Same letters, different syllables — the norms differ at once by ear
- parlarto speakTo speak and to talk. I speak is parle, through e: the Valencian hallmark instead of the central parlo. Saying something concrete is dir: diu que sí
- treballarto workTo work on something is treballar en; to work as someone is treballar de
- viureto liveTo live somewhere and to be alive. Viure a — live in a place, viure de — live on something
- tenirto haveThe I-form is tinc. Age, hunger and cold are had with it: tinc trenta anys, tinc gana, tinc fred
- hi hathere is (there are)Impersonal: it never changes for person or number — hi ha un cafè, hi ha dos cafès. The same word lives in no hi ha de què — don't mention it
- m'agradaI like itThe verb agrees with the thing liked, not the liker: m'agrada el cafè, but m'agraden els llibres
- aprendreto learnTo learn yourself — aprendre; to teach somebody else — ensenyar
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
soc — to be (by essence). The I-form of ésser — to be by essence: origin, profession, character. For states and places there is the second link, estar: estic bé, estic a casa
vull — I want. From voler, to want. A bare vull sounds blunt; people soften it to volia — I would like
anar — to go. The most irregular verb of them all: vaig, vas, va, anem. And it builds the future too: demà vaig — tomorrow I'll go
menjar — to eat. Both to eat and to have lunch: mengem a les dos? — lunch at two? The we-form with g is a hallmark of the norm; central Catalan says menjem. The noun for food is the same word
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to be (by essence)” in Valencian?
The I-form of ésser — to be by essence: origin, profession, character. For states and places there is the second link, estar: estic bé, estic a casa
- How do you say “to work” in Valencian?
To work on something is treballar en; to work as someone is treballar de
- How do you say “I want” in Valencian?
From voler, to want. A bare vull sounds blunt; people soften it to volia — I would like
- How do you say “to live” in Valencian?
To live somewhere and to be alive. Viure a — live in a place, viure de — live on something
- How do you say “to go” in Valencian?
The most irregular verb of them all: vaig, vas, va, anem. And it builds the future too: demà vaig — tomorrow I'll go
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred 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.
- 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 “to be (by essence)” in Valencian?
«soc». The I-form of ésser — to be by essence: origin, profession, character. For states and places there is the second link, estar: estic bé, estic a casa. It is one of 13 words in the set “verbs” — the rest are in the table above.
How many verbs do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 13 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.