Verbs in Valencian
13 words in Valencian on the topic “verbs”: soc — to be (by essence), vull — I want, anar — to go, menjar — to eat. 13 words can be played from recordings.
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? Before e the j turns into g: mengem, mengeu. 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
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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
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? Before e the j turns into g: mengem, mengeu. The noun for food is the same word.
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 soc — to be (by essence).
- What is this word?
It is treballar — to work.
- What is this word?
It is vull — I want.
- What is this word?
It is viure — to live.
- What is this word?
It is anar — to go.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, 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. 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.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins 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?
The whole set on this page is 13 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, 13 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.