Basque Gender

Welcome to the fifth Basque lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Basque to help you practice your daily phrases.

man gizona

woman emakumea

husband senarra

wife emaztea

boy mutila

girl neska

father aita

mother ama

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules - Basque
my son is a student [masculine + noun] nire semea ikaslea da
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] bere alaba ikaslea da
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] anaia altu bat dauka
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] ahizpa altu bat dauka
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] bere anaiak gazteak dira
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] bere arrebak gazteak dira

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son semea

daughter alaba

brother anaia, neba

sister arreba, ahizpa

grandfather aitona

grandmother amona

child seme -alaba

children seme -alabak

Expressions in Basque

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Basque, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Basque
What do you mean? zer esan nahi duzu?
I don't understand ez dut ulertzen!
I don't know ez dakit!
What is that called in Basque? nola deitzen da hori euskaraz?
What is this? zer da hau?
What does that word mean in English? zer esan nahi du hitz horrek ingelesez?
Sorry (if you made a mistake) barkatu!

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