Verbs of movement (joan, etorri, ibili)

Three basic verbs will come up all the time: joan (to go), etorri (to come), and ibili (to walk, “to move from one place to another”). All three have synthetic forms (without an auxiliary verb) that are used very frequently in the present tense — and it’s a good idea to learn them as a block.

Joan — to go

Person	Form	English
ni	noa	I go
zu	zoaz	you go
hura	doa	he/she/it goes
gu	goaz	we go
zuek	zoazte	you (pl.) go
haiek	doaz	they go

The key question: Nora zoaz? — Where are you going? We’ll work on this in lesson 03.

Etorri — to come

Person	Form	English
ni	nator	I come
zu	zatoz	you come
hura	dator	he/she/it comes
gu	gatoz	we come
zuek	zatozte	you (pl.) come
haiek	datoz	they come

The key question: Nondik zatoz? — Where do you come from? We’ll work on this in lesson 04.

Ibili — to walk, to move around

Person	Form	English
ni	nabil	I walk, I’m moving around
zu	zabiltza	you walk
hura	dabil	he/she/it walks
gu	gabiltza	we walk
zuek	zabiltzate	you (pl.) walk
haiek	dabiltza	they walk

Ibili is also used to ask “what are you up to”: Zer zabiltza? — How’s it going? / What are you up to? It’s a very common greeting between people who know each other.

Other useful verbs of movement

Basque	English	Example
sartu	to enter	Tabernan sartu naiz. — I have entered the bar.
irten	to leave, to go out	Etxetik irten naiz. — I have left the house.
igo	to go up, to climb	Eskailerak igo ditut. — I have gone up the stairs.
jaitsi	to go down	Aldapa jaitsi dut. — I have gone down the slope.
iritsi / heldu	to arrive	Iruñera iritsi naiz. — I have arrived in Pamplona.

Why synthetic forms matter

In Basque, most verbs are conjugated with an auxiliary verb: jan dut (I have eaten), ikusi dut (I have seen). But a few very common verbs — among them joan, etorri, egon, ibili, eduki, jakin — have their own “compact” (synthetic) conjugation that is used in the present tense. Since they appear so often, it’s easier to memorize the six forms than to use roundabout constructions.

Mini-conversation

— Aupa, nora zoaz? — Hey! Where are you going?

— Banketxera noa. Eta zu, nondik zatoz? — I’m going to the bank. And you, where are you coming from?

— Lanetik nator. — I’m coming from work.

— Eta Lide? Zer dabil? — And Lide? What is she up to?

— Enkargutan dabil, batetik bestera. — She’s running errands, from one place to another.

Note: the synthetic forms are a central building block of A1. Memorize them in blocks of 2 (ni/zu) or 3 (gu/zuek/haiek) by singing, writing, and repeating. The effort will pay off with practice.