Norekin bizi zara? — Who do you live with?

One of the basic questions to get to know someone is Norekin bizi zara? — “Who do you live with?”. The answer uses the suffix -(r)ekin, called the sociative, which is the “with” of company in Basque.

The -rekin suffix

It’s added to the noun, which already has its article:

Noun	+ -(r)ekin	Meaning
laguna (the friend)	lagunarekin	with the friend
ama (the mother)	amarekin	with the mother
anaia (the brother)	anaiarekin	with the brother
txakurra (the dog)	txakurrarekin	with the dog
bikotekidea (the partner)	bikotekidearekin	with the partner

With proper nouns and with bat, -(e)kin is added directly, without an article: Miren + ekin → Mirenekin (with Miren), lagun batekin (with a friend).

Plural

Plural	+ -ekin	Meaning
gurasoak (the parents)	gurasoekin	with the parents
lagunak (the friends)	lagunekin	with the friends
pisukideak (flatmates)	pisukideekin	with the flatmates
seme-alabak (the children)	seme-alabekin	with the children

Living alone

If you live by yourself, you don’t need to use -rekin:

• Bakarrik bizi naiz. — I live alone.
• Bakarrik bizi naiz, baina katu batekin. — I live alone, but with a cat.

Most common living arrangements

Situation	How to say it
Alone	Bakarrik bizi naiz.
With parents	Gurasoekin bizi naiz.
With a partner	Bikotekidearekin bizi naiz.
With a husband / wife	Senarrarekin / Emaztearekin bizi naiz.
With flatmates	Pisukideekin bizi naiz.
With children	Seme-alabekin bizi naiz.
With a friend / friends	Lagun batekin / Lagunekin bizi naiz.

Renting or owning

• Alokairuan bizi naiz. — I rent.
• Nire pisua da. — It’s my own flat.
• Errenta gora doa. — The rent is going up. (colloquial)

Sample conversation

— Kaixo Maialen! Norekin bizi zara?

— Bi pisukiderekin bizi naiz Iruñean. Eta zu?

— Ni bakarrik, baina txakur batekin. Etxea handia da?

— Ez, txikia. Hiru logela ditu.

Note: bikotekide is a modern and neutral word, valid for both married and unmarried couples, whether heterosexual or homosexual. For “husband” and “wife”, senarra and emaztea are still used.