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

Once you know how to say “it’s in X”, the next step is to say exactly where: on, under, next to, behind… In Basque, these positions are always constructed with the pattern reference point + position.

The basic positions

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

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

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

Basque	English (literal)
mahaiaren gainean	on the table (lit. “of the table, on”)
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 the exact opposite of Spanish.

Complete examples

• Liburua mahaiaren gainean dago. — The book is on the table.
• Katua aulkiaren azpian dago. — The cat is under the chair.
• Eliza plazaren erdian dago. — The church is in the center 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, there are three distances, not two like in Spanish:

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 their long locative forms honetan / horretan / hartan (“in this / in that / in that one over there”).

Quick examples:

• Hemen taberna bat dago. — There is 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 these positions already include the -an suffix (aurr-ean, atz-ean, azp-ian…). You don’t need to add anything else.