Lana eta lanbideak — work and job interview
A2 opens up the world of work for you, beyond “I’m a student / I’m a teacher”. Now you get to talk about:
- Types of jobs and workdays.
- Job interviews.
- Resumes and experience.
- Making a description of the job you have or want.
Professions — extended review
A1 covered the classics (medikua, ikaslea, irakaslea, sukaldaria). In A2, you’ll add:
| Spanish | Basque |
|---|---|
| Journalist | kazetaria |
| Programmer | programatzailea |
| Designer | diseinatzailea |
| Engineer | ingeniaria |
| Architect | arkitektoa |
| Lawyer | abokatua |
| Notary | notarioa |
| Entrepreneur | enpresari |
| Merchant | merkataria |
| Driver | gidaria |
| Firefighter | suhiltzailea |
| Civil servant | funtzionarioa |
| Assistant | laguntzailea |
| Salesperson | saltzailea |
| Bricklayer | igeltseroa |
| Plumber | iturgina |
| Electrician | elektrizista |
Tip: many professions end in -le, -tzaile or -ari: saltzaile, irakasle, gidari, sukaldari, kazetari. These are productive suffixes.
The suffix -dun (“one who has/carries”)
Remember this suffix from A1 — it’s productive for trades:
| Spanish | Basque |
|---|---|
| Basque speaker | euskalduna |
| Champion (one who has the txapela) | txapelduna |
| Truck driver | kamioiduna |
Talking about work
| Spanish | Basque |
|---|---|
| What do you do for a living? | Zertan egiten duzu lan? |
| I work in an office | Bulego batean lan egiten dut |
| I’m self-employed | Autonomoa naiz / Autoenplegatua naiz |
| I’m unemployed | Langabezian nago |
| I’m on leave | Bajan nago |
| I have a permanent contract | Kontratu mugagabea daukat |
| I have a temporary contract | Kontratu mugatua daukat |
| I work in shifts | Txandaka egiten dut lan |
Workday and schedule
| Spanish | Basque |
|---|---|
| Full-time | Lanaldi osoa |
| Part-time | Lanaldi erdia |
| Overtime hour | Aparteko ordua |
| To work from 9 to 5 | Bederatzietatik bostetara lan egin |
| Morning / afternoon / night shift | Goizeko / arratsaldeko / gaueko txanda |
| Vacation | Oporrak |
| Leave | Baimena |
The job interview
Typical steps and vocabulary:
| Spanish | Basque |
|---|---|
| Job offer | lan-eskaintza |
| Resume / CV | curriculuma |
| Cover letter | aurkezpen-gutuna |
| Job interview | lan-elkarrizketa |
| Experience | esperientzia |
| References | erreferentziak |
| Languages | hizkuntzak |
| Skills | trebetasunak |
| Education | ikasketak |
Typical phrases in an interview
| Spanish | Basque |
|---|---|
| Tell me something about yourself | Konta iezadazu zerbait zuri buruz |
| Why do you want this position? | Zergatik nahi duzu lanpostu hau? |
| What experience do you have? | Zer esperientzia daukazu? |
| I speak Basque, Spanish, and English | Euskaraz, gaztelaniaz eta ingelesez hitz egiten dut |
| I’m available from June onwards | Ekainetik aurrera nago eskuragarri |
| What salary do you want? | Zer soldata nahi duzu? |
Relative clauses with -(e)n
To describe your job in more complex terms, it’s useful to use the relative clause:
conjugated verb + -(e)n + noun
| Spanish | Basque |
|---|---|
| The job that I have | Daukadan lana |
| The company where I work | Lan egiten dudan enpresa |
| The colleagues that I know | Ezagutzen ditudan lankideak |
| The salary that I earn | Jasotzen dudan soldata |
| The course that I took | Egin nuen ikastaroa |
How it’s formed: verb in present or past tense + suffix -(e)n + noun.
dut → dudan, du → duen, zen → zen, zuen → zuen (when it already ends in -n, nothing extra is added).
This is a key resource for A2 that appears in unit 5 with several uses: in the interview (duzun esperientzia) and in presentations (ezagutzen dudan jendea). It’s explored more deeply in B1.
Mini-dialogue: lan-elkarrizketa
— Egun on. Eseri, mesedez. Konta iezadazu zertan lan egin duzun orain arte.
— Bai. Bost urtez lan egin dut Bilboko diseinu-enpresa batean. Han daukadan zeregina bezeroentzako proiektuak diseinatzea da.
— Ondo. Eta zergatik nahi duzu lanpostu hau?
— Iruditzen zait zuen enpresa interesgarriagoa dela, eta nire trebetasunak hobeto erabili ahal izango ditudala. Gainera, lanaldi erdiko modalitatea eskaintzen duzuelako, hori asko interesatzen zait.
Mini-text: job description
Lander kazetari lanetan dabil hamar urtetik hona. Bilboko egunkari batean lan egiten du, lanaldi osoan. Goizeko zortzietan hasten da eta bostetan amaitzen du. Berarentzat garrantzitsuena albisteak ondo kontatzea da. Soldata ez da oso handia, baina gustatzen zaion lana dauka, eta lankide jatorrak ditu.
Cultural note: in the Basque Country, many public sector job offers (Osakidetza, Basque Government, city councils) award points for Basque language proficiency through a system of “profiles” (PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4). Learning Basque isn’t just a cultural pursuit: for many public sector jobs, it gives you a competitive edge.
Ejercicios
"Lan-elkarrizketa" means…
"Soldata" means…
I work part-time = erdiko lana daukat.