Laguna, bizilaguna and other relationships

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

Key words

Basque	English	What kind of relationship
laguna	friend	personal trust
lagun mina	close friend	maximum trust
bizilaguna	neighbor	shares a building / entrance
auzokidea	neighbor	from the neighborhood
ikaskidea	classmate	euskaltegi, high school, university
lankidea	coworker	from the office
ezaguna	acquaintance	you know them but not well
ezezaguna	stranger	you don’t know them

The -kide suffix

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

• ikaskidea = ikas- (to study) + kide → study partner
• lankidea = lan (work) + kide → coworker
• bikotekidea = bikote (couple) + kide → partner (in a couple)
• bizikide = bizi (to live) + kide → housemate
• pisukidea = pisu (apartment/flat) + kide → flatmate / roommate

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

Bizilaguna vs auzokidea

Both translate to “neighbor”, but there’s a nuance:

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

In daily conversation they are used interchangeably, but in formal contexts (homeowners’ association meetings, notices in the building entrance) bizilaguna is usually used.

Koadrila — more than just a group of friends

The koadrila is a social institution very typical of the Basque Country: a close-knit group of friends that usually forms during adolescence and is maintained for decades.

• Nire koadrilarekin afaltzera noa. — I’m going to have dinner with my koadrila.
• Bera nire koadrilakidea da. — He/She is a member of my koadrila.

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