Transport (oinez, autobusez, trenez…)

To wrap up the unit we are missing one piece: how you get around. In English we use “by + transport” (“by car”, “by bus”). In Basque the suffix -z is used (the instrumental case), which is added to the means of transport and, surprisingly, also to the word for “foot”.

The question

Question	English
Nola zoaz?	How are you going?
Zerez zoaz?	By what (means) are you going?
Nola doa Iruñera?	How is he/she going to Pamplona?

Both forms (Nola and Zerez) are valid and common. Nola is more general; zerez directly implies “by what means”.

The means of transport

Means	Form with -z	English
oin (foot)	oinez	on foot
kotxe / auto	kotxez / autoz	by car
autobus	autobusez	by bus
tren	trenez	by train
metro	metroz	by metro
taxi	taxiz	by taxi
bizikleta	bizikletaz	by bicycle
motor	motorrez	by motorbike
hegazkin	hegazkinez	by plane
itsasontzi	itsasontziz	by boat
furgoneta	furgonetaz	by van
zaldi (horse)	zaldiz	on horseback

The suffix is -z after a vowel and -ez after a consonant (autobus → autobusez). In practice, almost all transport names end in a vowel, so the basic formula is: means + z.

Full examples

• Oinez noa lanera. — I go to work on foot.
• Iruñera trenez goaz. — We go to Pamplona by train.
• Bilbora hegazkinez doaz. — They go to Bilbao by plane.
• Eskolara bizikletaz dator alaba. — The daughter comes to school by bicycle.
• Mendira oinez igotzen gara. — We climb up the mountain on foot.

Combining NONDIK + NORA + NOLA

A typical travel sentence usually has three pieces: where from + where to + how.

• Iruñetik Donostiara autobusez doa. — He/she goes from Pamplona to Donostia by bus.
• Bilbotik Madrilera trenez gatoz. — We come from Bilbao to Madrid by train.
• Etxetik euskaltegira oinez noa. — I go from home to the euskaltegi on foot.

Mini-conversation

— Aupa! Bihar Bilbora noa. — Hi! Tomorrow I’m going to Bilbao.

— Eta nola zoaz? — And how are you going?

— Trenez. Oso erosoa da. — By train. It’s very comfortable.

— Ni autoz noa beti, baina garestia da gasolina. — I always go by car, but petrol is expensive.

About “oinez”

At first glance oinez seems to be a special case (“with foot”), but it actually follows exactly the same pattern as the rest: oin (foot) + ez (the instrumental suffix). Basque treats “going on foot” like any other mode of transport: using the means that carries you.

Final review of the NORA / NONDIK / NOLA block

Question	Suffix	Question-type	Answer-type
Nora?	-ra	Where to?	Bilbora noa.
Nondik?	-tik	Where from?	Bilbotik nator.
Nola? / Zerez?	-z	How? / By what?	Trenez noa.

Tip: the three suffixes together form almost any travel sentence. For example: Bilbotik Donostiara autobusez goaz, lagun bat bisitatzera. — “We are going from Bilbao to Donostia by bus, to visit a friend.” If you master these three suffixes + the synthetic forms of joan and etorri, you can talk about any journey in your daily life.