Verbs of movement (joan, etorri, ibili)

Three basic verbs are going to 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) that are used a great deal in the present tense — and it’s worth learning them as a block.

Joan — to go

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

The key question: Nora zoaz? — Where are you going? We will work on it in lesson 03.

Etorri — to come

Person	Form	English
ni	nator	I come
zu	zatoz	you come
hura	dator	he/she 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 will work on it in lesson 04.

Ibili — to walk, to move around

Person	Form	English
ni	nabil	I walk, I’m moving about
zu	zabiltza	you walk
hura	dabil	he/she 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 very common as a greeting between people who know each other.

Other useful verbs of movement

Euskera	English	Example
sartu	to enter	Tabernan sartu naiz. — I’ve gone into the bar.
irten	to leave	Etxetik irten naiz. — I’ve left home.
igo	to go up	Eskailerak igo ditut. — I’ve gone up the stairs.
jaitsi	to go down	Aldapa jaitsi dut. — I’ve gone down the slope.
iritsi / heldu	to arrive	Iruñera iritsi naiz. — I’ve arrived in Pamplona.

Why the synthetic forms matter

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

Mini-conversation

— Aupa, nora zoaz? — Hi! 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 of 3 (gu/zuek/haiek) by chanting, writing, repeating. Fluency will come on its own with practice.