Directions in the street

When someone asks you how to get somewhere — or when you get lost and ask yourself — you need a handful of imperative verbs and direction adverbs. In this lesson we gather the essentials.

Basic imperatives

In Basque, the affirmative imperative of motion verbs is very direct:

Form	Base verb	Meaning
Jo	jo	strike / head (jo ezkerrera = turn left)
Segi / Jarraitu	segitu / jarraitu	follow, continue
Hartu	hartu	take (hartu kale hau = take this street)
Igo	igo	go up
Jaitsi	jaitsi	go down
Sartu	sartu	go in
Irten	irten	go out
Zeharkatu	zeharkatu	cross
Iritsi / heldu	iritsi / heldu	arrive (… arte = “until…”)

Jo literally means “to strike”, but it is used metaphorically as “to head towards”: jo ezkerrera = “head to the left”.

Directional adverbs and references

Basque	English
ezkerra	the left
eskuina	the right
aurrera	forward
atzera	backward
zuzen	straight, right ahead
gora	upward
behera	downward

Note: to indicate direction towards the suffix -ra is used (which you will see in depth in lesson 03): ezkerre-ra (to the left), aurre-ra (forward), atze-ra (backward). The same applies to gora, behera.

Typical reference places

Basque	English
semaforoa	traffic light
bidegurutzea	crossroads, intersection
zebrabidea	zebra crossing
biribilgunea / errotonda	roundabout
aldapa	slope
eskailerak	stairs
zubia	bridge
errepidea	road
kalea	street

Sample sentences

• Jo ezkerrera bidegurutzean. — Turn left at the crossroads.
• Segi aurrera semaforora arte. — Go straight on until the traffic light.
• Zeharkatu zebrabidea. — Cross the zebra crossing.
• Igo eskailerak eta sartu eraikinean. — Go up the stairs and go into the building.
• Jaitsi aldapa, eta gero jo eskuinera. — Go down the slope, and then turn right.
• Egin atzera; gehiegi joan zara. — Turn back; you’ve gone too far.

Asking for and giving directions

— Barkatu, non dago udaletxea? — Excuse me, where is the town hall?

— Segi aurrera semaforora arte. Han jo eskuinera eta zeharkatu plaza. Udaletxea elizaren ondoan dago. — Go straight on until the traffic light. There turn right and cross the square. The town hall is next to the church.

— Eta gertu dago? — And is it near?

— Bai, oso gertu. Bost minutu oinez. — Yes, very near. Five minutes on foot.

Tip: many directions follow a fixed pattern: imperative (jo, segi, zeharkatu) + place with a suffix (ezkerrera, semaforora, zebrabidea). If you memorise the pattern, you can chain long instructions together by combining pieces.