Lanbideak — Professions (extension)

This lesson expands on the professions you already saw in the personal description unit. Here is a larger list, focusing on those that appear in stories and daily conversations about neighbors.

Quick review

Basque	English
ikaslea	student
irakaslea	teacher
medikua	doctor
langilea	worker
jubilatua	retired
langabea	unemployed

Extension

Basque	English
erizaina	nurse
sukaldaria	cook / chef
kazetaria	journalist
idazlea	writer
abokatua	lawyer
arkitektoa	architect
polizia	police officer
suhiltzailea	firefighter
dendaria	shop assistant
zerbitzaria	waiter / waitress
mekanikaria	mechanic
igeltseroa	bricklayer
nekazaria	farmer
arrantzalea	fisher
gidaria	driver
administrazioko langilea	administrative worker

Suffixes that reveal the profession

If you pay attention, many professions have typical suffixes:

• -ari / -lari → “the one who is dedicated to…”: kazetari, dantzari, mekanikari, sukaldari.
• -le → “the one who does…”: irakasle, idazle, ikasle, arrantzale.
• -zain / -zai → “guardian of…”: erizain (carer of the sick = nurse), atezaina (doorman).
• -tzaile → productive form: saltzailea (seller), suhiltzailea (firefighter).

Knowing how to identify these suffixes helps you guess new professions without a dictionary.

”To be profession X”

You already know the pattern from the first units:

• Ni medikua naiz. — I am a doctor.
• Bera kazetaria da. — He/she is a journalist.
• Gu ikasleak gara. — We are students.

Important: to name a profession in general, it takes the article -a: medikua, kazetaria. (In spoken language, you will also hear mediku naiz, without the article; both forms are valid, but in this course, we use the form with -a.)

Asking about professions

Question	English
Zer da zure lanbidea?	What is your profession?
Zertan egiten duzu lan?	What do you do for work?
Non egiten duzu lan?	Where do you work?
Zer da bere lana?	What is his/her job?

And to answer about yourself or someone else:

• Ikaslea naiz, baina dendari moduan ere lan egiten dut. — I am a student, but I also work as a shop assistant.
• Bera erizaina da, ospitalean lan egiten du. — He/she is a nurse, he/she works at the hospital.

Note: in Basque, saying “I am a male nurse” or “I am a female nurse” is said the same way: erizaina naiz. There are no gender markers on nouns. You clarify it with context or the person’s name.