Natura — the mountains, the sea, and the landscape

New unit: the outdoors. We’ll start with the scenery—mountains, forest, river, and sea—which in the Basque Country isn’t just decoration: it’s a Sunday plan, a secular religion, and an endless topic of conversation.

The mountains

English	Basque
The mountain	mendia
The summit / peak	gailurra
The slope / mountainside	magala
The forest	basoa
The tree	zuhaitza
The path / trail	bidezidorra
The rock / crag	harkaitza
The valley	harana

Bidezidorretik gora, bi ordutan gailurrera iritsiko gara. — Up the path, we’ll reach the summit in two hours.

Basoan barrena ibili ginen, eta ez genuen inor ikusi. Bakea. — We walked through the forest and didn’t see anyone. Peace.

Water

English	Basque
The river	ibaia
The reservoir / dam	urtegia
The waterfall	ur-jauzia
The sea	itsasoa
The beach	hondartza
The waves	olatuak
The cliff	labarra

Uda honetan ibaian bainatuko gara, hondartzan jende gehiegi dago eta. — This summer we’ll swim in the river, since there are too many people at the beach. (The -egi suffix and the causal eta, hard at work.)

Describing the landscape

Hemendik bista ikusgarria dago: harana, basoa eta urrutian itsasoa. — From here there’s an impressive view: the valley, the forest, and in the distance, the sea.

Udazkenean basoa kolore ederrekoa da: horia, gorria, marroia. — In autumn, the forest has beautiful colors.

Zuhaitz hori oso zaharra da — ehun urte baino gehiago ditu. — That tree is very old: more than a hundred years. (Comparatives from unit 04.)

Dialogue: the Sunday plan

— Igandean mendira joango gara? Anbotora, adibidez.

— Anboto? Hori gogorra da niretzat! Zerbait errazagoa, mesedez…

— Ados: Urkiolara igoko gara, bidezidor lasai batetik. Gailurrean hamaiketakoa.

— Hamaiketakoarekin konbentzitu nauzu. 😄

Note: mendizaletasuna (love for the mountains) is pure identity: each town has its ‘own’ mountain and its summit with a mailbox. The word hamaiketakoa—the eleven o’clock meal—is the real reason many people climb. Don’t say it too loud.