Laguna, bizilaguna and other relationships

In this unit we focus on the people around you: the bizilagunak (neighbours), the lagunak (friends), the people at work and the people in class. Basque has precise words to distinguish these types of relationship, and many of them share the suffix -kide (“companion/member”).

The key words

Basque	English	What kind of relationship
laguna	friend	personal trust
lagun mina	close friend	the highest trust
bizilaguna	neighbour	shares the building / entrance
auzokidea	neighbour	from the neighbourhood
ikaskidea	classmate	euskaltegi, secondary school, university
lankidea	workmate	from the office
ezaguna	acquaintance	familiar but little contact
ezezaguna	stranger	not familiar to you

The suffix -kide

Very productive in Basque. It means “member / companion”:

• ikaskidea = ikas- (to study) + kide → study companion
• lankidea = lan (work) + kide → workmate
• bikotekidea = bikote (couple) + kide → member of the couple
• bizikide = bizi (to live) + kide → cohabitant
• pisukidea = pisu (flat) + kide → flatmate

If you ever can’t remember the specific word, X-kidea works as an emergency solution: “member/companion of the X group”.

Bizilaguna vs auzokidea

Both translate as “neighbour”, but there is a nuance:

• bizilaguna → someone who lives in your same building / entrance. You see them in the lift, on the stairs.
• auzokidea → a neighbour from the area, in a broader sense.

In everyday conversation they get mixed up, but in formal contexts (residents’ meetings, notices in the building entrance) bizilaguna usually appears.

Koadrila — more than just a group of friends

The koadrila is a very Euskal Herria social institution: a closed group of friends that normally forms during adolescence and lasts for decades.

• Nire koadrilarekin afaltzera noa. — I’m going to have dinner with my gang.
• Bera nire koadrilakidea da. — He/she is from my gang.

Cultural note: the difference between “friends” and a “koadrila” is that the gang meets up regularly (week in, week out), has its own rituals (the Sunday meal, the village festivals, the rounds in particular bars) and is often inherited: sons and daughters get to know each other and form their own gang following their parents’.