Spatial positions (in front, behind, next to…)

Once you can say “it’s in X”, the next step is to say where exactly: on top, underneath, next to, behind… In Basque these positions are always built with the pattern reference place + position.

The basic positions

Basque	English
aurrean	in front
atzean	behind
ondoan	next to
gainean	on top, over
azpian	underneath
artean	between
ezkerrean	on the left
eskuinean	on the right
barruan	inside
kanpoan	outside
erdian	in the middle, in the centre

How to build them: -(r)en + position

The basic formula is (reference)-(r)en + position. The reference takes the genitive -(r)en (which corresponds to “of the” in English):

Basque	English (literal)
mahaiaren gainean	on top of the table (lit. “of the table, on top”)
etxearen aurrean	in front of the house
elizaren atzean	behind the church
parkearen ondoan	next to the park
kutxaren barruan	inside the box
bi mendien artean	between two mountains

Pattern: the reference comes first, then the position. It’s exactly the reverse of English.

Full examples

• Liburua mahaiaren gainean dago. — The book is on top of the table.
• Katua aulkiaren azpian dago. — The cat is underneath the chair.
• Eliza plazaren erdian dago. — The church is in the centre of the square.
• Botika eskolaren ondoan dago. — The pharmacy is next to the school.
• Ni Maiteren eta Anaren artean nago. — I am between Maite and Ana.

Adverbs of place: hemen / hor / han

To point things out quickly there are three adverbs — and watch out, they are three distances, not two as in English:

Basque	English	When
hemen	here	near the speaker
hor	there	near the listener
han	over there	far from both

These three adverbs correspond to the demonstratives hau / hori / hura and to their long locative forms honetan / horretan / hartan (“in this / in that / in that yonder”).

Quick examples:

• Hemen taberna bat dago. — There’s a bar here.
• Hor parkea dago. — The park is there.
• Han dago euskaltegia. — The euskaltegi is over there.

Mini-conversation: playing hide-and-seek

— Pilota mahaiaren azpian dago? — Is the ball under the table?

— Ez, pilota ez dago mahaiaren azpian. — No, the ball is not under the table.

— Aulkiaren atzean dago? — Is it behind the chair?

— Bai, hor dago! — Yes, there it is!

Tip: all the positions already have the suffix -an built in (aurr-ean, atz-ean, azp-ian…). You don’t have to add anything else.