Where do you come from? — the NONDIK case

If in the previous lesson we learned NORA (where you are going), now comes its partner: NONDIK — from where you come. The suffix is -tik. By itself it’s not difficult; the important thing is not to mix it up with NORA.

The question: Nondik?

Question	English
Nondik zatoz?	Where do you come from?
Nondik dator?	Where does he/she come from?
Nondik gatoz?	Where do we come from?
Nondik datoz?	Where do they come from?

The natural verb with NONDIK is etorri (to come): nator, zatoz, dator, gatoz, zatozte, datoz. The basic question that will open up conversations all the time is Nondik zatoz?.

The suffix: -tik

It’s added to the place of origin. The pattern adapts according to the ending:

Ending of the place	Pattern	Example
-a (organic, eskola)	+ tik	eskola → eskolatik
Vowel without a final -a (Bilbo, etxe)	+ tik	Bilbo → Bilbotik, etxe → etxetik
Consonant (Madril, lan)	+ (e)tik or + dik	Madril → Madriletik / Madrildik; lan → lanetik

Note: after a consonant, both variants (Madriletik / Madrildik) exist and are accepted. The form with -etik is more standard and safer when writing.

Examples

Etxetik nator. — I come from home.
Lanetik dator. — He/She comes from work.
Eskolatik gatoz. — We come from school.
Tabernatik datoz. — They come from the bar.
Bilbotik etorri da. — He/She has come from Bilbao.
Iruñetik Donostiara doa. — He/She is going from Pamplona to Donostia.

NORA and NONDIK together: nondik nora?

It’s very common to combine both in a single sentence: “from where to where”.

Hegazkina Bilbotik Madrilera doa. — The plane goes from Bilbao to Madrid.
Autobusa Iruñetik Tutera doa. — The bus goes from Pamplona to Tudela.
Idoia bankutik supermerkatura doa. — Idoia goes from the bank to the supermarket.

The general question is Nondik nora?: “from where to where?”.

Quick tip: the three basic questions of place are: Non? (to be), Nora? (to go), Nondik? (to come). And the three corresponding suffixes are: -an / -ra / -tik. Almost everything you’ll say about places fits into this trio.

Summary table NON / NORA / NONDIK

Question	Suffix	Typical verb	Example
Non? (where?)	-an	egon (to be)	Etxean nago. — I am at home.
Nora? (where to?)	-ra	joan (to go)	Etxera noa. — I am going home.
Nondik? (from where?)	-tik	etorri (to come)	Etxetik nator. — I come from home.

NONDIK Adverbs and Demonstratives

The three distances also have their NONDIK form:

NON	NORA	NONDIK	Meaning
hemen	hona	hemendik	from here
hor	horra	hortik	from there
han	hara	handik	from over there

Hemendik gertu dago. — It’s near here.
Handik nator. — I come from over there.
Hortik aurrera, jo eskuinera. — From there on, turn right.

Mini-conversation

— Aupa, nondik zatoz? — Hi! Where are you coming from?

— Lanetik nator. Eta zu, nora zoaz? — I’m coming from work. And you, where are you going?

— Supermerkatura noa, afaria erostera. — I’m going to the supermarket, to buy dinner.

— Ni ere supermerkatura noa! Goazen elkarrekin. — I’m going to the supermarket too! Let’s go together.

Typical mistakes to avoid: confusing Bilbon (in Bilbao) with Bilbora (to Bilbao) or Bilbotik (from Bilbao). And, within NONDIK, don’t forget that after a vowel it’s -tik and after a consonant an -e- is inserted or -dik is allowed. Practice chaining the three suffixes with the same word: etxean / etxera / etxetik; Bilbon / Bilbora / Bilbotik. When it becomes automatic, you’ve got it.