Izan vs egon (quality vs state)
This is probably the trickiest distinction at A1 in Basque. It’s like English “to be” used for character vs. for a state, but with two important differences: (1) the adjectives change form and (2) some words are only used with one of the two verbs.
The rule in one line
| When you talk about… | Verb | Adjective takes -a |
|---|---|---|
| What someone is always like (quality, description) | izan | yes (alaia, altua) |
| How they are right now (state, moment) | egon | no (pozik, nekatuta) |
Examples in pairs
Look at how the chosen word changes depending on whether you talk about a quality or a state:
| Quality (izan) | State (egon) |
|---|---|
| Alaia da. (She is cheerful, that’s the way she is) | Pozik dago. (She is happy) |
| Urduria naiz. (I am nervous by character) | Urduri nago. (I am nervous today) |
| Lasaia da. (He is calm) | Lasai dago. (He is calm right now) |
| Ona da. (He is a good person) | Ondo dago. (He is well) |
| Gaixoa da. (He is sickly) | Gaixorik dago. (He is ill) |
Careful: alaia and pozik both translate as “cheerful/happy”, but they are not interchangeable. Alaia describes the character; pozik the mood of a particular moment.
Tricks to get it right
- Is it happening today or is it always so? If it’s a one-off moment → egon. If it’s the way they are → izan.
- Does the word end in
-ik,-ta, or is it an adverb (ondo,gaizki)? It almost always goes with egon. - Am I describing a permanent physical feature (tall, fat, young)? It goes with izan +
-a.
Typical A1 cases
- Ni langilea naiz, baina gaur nekatuta nago. — I am hard-working, but today I am tired.
- Egoitz oso jatorra da, baina haserre dago. — Egoitz is very friendly, but he is angry.
- Maialenen ama gaztea da. Pozik dago, gaur urtebetetzea da eta. — Maialen’s mother is young. She is happy because today is her birthday.
Ask correctly
- Nolakoa zara? → describe your character / looks (using izan).
- Nola zaude? or Zer moduz? → tell how you are today (using egon).
Note: in English you’d say “I am nervous” without changing the word. In Basque the word changes (urduria vs urduri). It’s hard at first; with daily practice it comes naturally. If you hesitate in a real conversation, a safe way out is to use egon with an invariable word: haserre nago, triste nago, nekatuta nago — they always work.
Ejercicios
To say "Maialen is cheerful (in general, that's the way she is)" we use…
To say "Today Maialen is cheerful / happy (it's a state)" we use…
My father is nervous (that's the way he is) = Nire aita urduria .
Today my father is nervous (today's state) = Gaur nire aita urduri .
We are tired = Nekatuta .