Ordinals and Quantities in Basque

In Brief

Basque normally forms ordinal numbers with -(g)arren: bi “two” becomes bigarren “second,” and hiru “three” becomes hirugarren “third”; “first” is the special form lehen. Most quantity words follow the noun—liburu asko “many books,” denbora gutxi “little time,” liburu gehiegi “too many books”—but zenbait normally comes before it: zenbait liburu “some books.”

Overview

Ordinal numbers tell you an item’s position in a sequence: first, second, third, and so on. Quantity expressions tell you not an exact number but an approximate or complete amount: many, few, enough, too many, some, or all. Both are everyday A2 tools. You need them for floors, dates, repeated events, shopping, time, work, and describing groups.

Basque makes distinctions that English often hides. An ordinal used before a noun commonly appears without the final article: bigarren eguna, “the second day.” Used on its own as a definite noun phrase (a group of words functioning like “the second one”), it takes the article: bigarrena, “the second one.” Quantity words also have their own preferred position. English puts “many” before “books,” while Basque puts asko after the noun: liburu asko.

This topic builds directly on cardinal numbers such as bat, bi, hiru, and hogei. At beginner level, focus on the basic ordinal pattern and the usual position of each quantifier. Later sections explain how case endings and the definite article attach to the whole phrase.

How It Works

Forming ordinal numbers

Most ordinals are made from a cardinal number plus -garren. This suffix means roughly “the one occupying position number …” The first ordinal is irregular: use lehen, not a form built regularly from bat. Some stems meet the suffix with minor spelling adjustments, as in hiru → hirugarren.

Cardinal	Ordinal before a noun	Definite standalone form	Meaning
bat	lehen	lehena	first / the first one
bi	bigarren	bigarrena	second / the second one
hiru	hirugarren	hirugarrena	third / the third one
lau	laugarren	laugarrena	fourth / the fourth one
bost	bosgarren	bosgarrena	fifth / the fifth one
sei	seigarren	seigarrena	sixth / the sixth one
zazpi	zazpigarren	zazpigarrena	seventh / the seventh one
zortzi	zortzigarren	zortzigarrena	eighth / the eighth one
bederatzi	bederatzigarren	bederatzigarrena	ninth / the ninth one
hamar	hamargarren	hamargarrena	tenth / the tenth one
hogei	hogeigarren	hogeigarrena	twentieth / the twentieth one
hogeita bat	hogeita batgarren	hogeita batgarrena	twenty-first / the twenty-first one

The final -a in lehena and bigarrena is the definite article, not part of the ordinal stem. Compare:

• lehen eguna — the first day
• lehenengo eguna — the first day (a common expanded form)
• lehena — the first one
• bigarren aukera — the second option
• bigarrena — the second one

An ordinal normally comes before the noun, unlike an ordinary descriptive adjective, which generally follows it. Compare bigarren etxea “the second house” with etxe handia “the big house.”

Ordinals inside a larger phrase

Basque is an agglutinative language: it builds grammatical information by adding suffixes. A case ending (a suffix showing a phrase’s role, such as “in,” “to,” or “from”) normally appears at the end of the noun phrase, not separately on every word.

• lehen solairu-a-n — on/in the first floor
• bigarren gel-a-ra — to the second room
• hirugarren etxe-tik — from the third house

You do not need to analyze every ending to use the common phrases. Learn lehen solairuan and bigarren aldiz as useful patterns. With aldiz, “time” in the sense of an occurrence, the ordinal expresses “for the first/second/third time”: lehen aldiz, bigarren aldiz, hirugarren aldiz.

Core quantity words

A quantifier is simply a word that answers “how much?” or “how many?” Basque does not have grammatical gender, so these words do not change for masculine or feminine nouns. The main challenge is word order.

Quantifier	Basic meaning	Usual pattern	Example
asko	much, many, a lot	noun + asko	jende asko — many people
gutxi	little, few	noun + gutxi	denbora gutxi — little time
nahikoa	enough	noun + nahikoa	janari nahikoa — enough food
gehiegi	too much, too many	noun + gehiegi	lan gehiegi — too much work
zenbait	some, several	zenbait + noun	zenbait galdera — some questions
guzti	all, whole	noun + form of guzti	ikasle guztiak — all the students

After an exact number or an indefinite quantity, the noun normally appears in the indefinite form—that is, without the definite endings -a or -ak: hiru liburu, liburu asko, zenbait liburu. This is a major contrast with English: plurality may be clear from the number or quantifier even though the Basque noun itself has no plural -ak.

Much, many, and a lot: asko

Basque uses one word where English divides “much” and “many.” Use asko after both countable nouns (things you can count) and mass nouns (substances or ideas normally measured as an amount):

• lagun asko — many friends
• ur asko — a lot of water
• asko ikasten dut — I study a lot

When there is no noun, asko can function as an adverb, a word describing the degree or amount of an action: asko gustatzen zait, “I like it a lot.”

Little and few: gutxi

Likewise, gutxi covers both English “few” and “little”:

• auto gutxi — few cars
• diru gutxi — little money
• gutxi lo egin dut — I have slept little

On its own, gutxi often presents the amount as small, not merely smaller than another amount. Context tells you whether English needs “few,” “little,” or “not much.”

Enough and too much: nahikoa and gehiegi

Nahikoa marks an amount that meets a need: Denbora nahikoa dugu, “We have enough time.” It can stand alone in the fixed and very common expression Nahikoa da!, “That is enough!” You will also meet nahiko before adjectives or in other constructions, often meaning “quite/rather” or “sufficiently”: nahiko erraza, “quite easy.” For a beginner, keep noun + nahikoa as the safe model for an adequate amount.

Gehiegi marks excess, so it includes the negative idea conveyed by English “too much” or “too many.” Do not add a separate word corresponding to “too”:

• kafe gehiegi — too much coffee
• mezu gehiegi — too many messages
• gehiegi hitz egiten du — he/she talks too much

Some: zenbait

Unlike the previous quantity words, zenbait normally comes before the noun: zenbait egun, “some/several days.” The exact number is unspecified and usually small enough to be understood as a limited set. The noun remains indefinite.

English “some” has several jobs, so it does not always map to zenbait. It can mean an unspecified quantity, an indefinite singular item (“some person”), or an unstressed amount of a substance (“some water”). Use zenbait most confidently with a plural countable sense: zenbait arazo, “some/several problems.”

All and the whole: guzti

Guzti follows the noun phrase. Its ending reflects whether the complete set is singular or plural:

• liburu guztia — the whole book / all of the book
• liburu guztiak — all the books
• ikasle guztiak — all the students

This contrast matters: guztia presents one whole entity or an uncounted whole, while guztiak presents all members of a plural set. As a standalone pronoun, guztiak can mean “all of them” or “everyone,” depending on context.

Examples in Context

Basque	English	Note
Lehen solairuan bizi naiz.	I live on the first floor.	Lehen comes before the noun.
Bigarren aldiz etorri da.	He/She has come for the second time.	Ordinal + aldiz counts occurrences.
Hirugarren egunean euria egin zuen.	It rained on the third day.	The location/time ending closes the phrase.
Ane izan da lehena.	Ane was the first one.	Standalone lehena has the article -a.
Bigarren aukera nahi dut.	I want the second option.	No article is attached directly to bigarren.
Jende asko dago plazan.	There are many people in the square.	Asko follows the noun.
Denbora gutxi daukagu.	We have little time.	Gutxi works with an uncountable amount.
Nahikoa da!	That’s enough!	Common standalone expression.
Denbora nahikoa dugu lana bukatzeko.	We have enough time to finish the work.	The amount meets the need.
Liburu gehiegi erosi ditut.	I have bought too many books.	Gehiegi already includes “too.”
Kafe gehiegi edaten duzu.	You drink too much coffee.	The same form works with a mass noun.
Zenbait galdera egin dizkidate.	They have asked me some questions.	Zenbait precedes an indefinite noun.
Ikasle guztiak garaiz iritsi dira.	All the students arrived on time.	Guztiak refers to the complete plural group.
Liburu guztia irakurri dut.	I have read the whole book.	Guztia refers to one complete item.
Asko gustatzen zait, baina gehiegi kostatzen da.	I like it a lot, but it costs too much.	Both quantity words function without a noun.

Common Mistakes

Putting asko before the noun

• Wrong: asko liburu
• Right: liburu asko
• Why: Unlike English “many books,” ordinary Basque places asko after the noun.

Treating zenbait like asko

• Wrong: galdera zenbait
• Right: zenbait galdera
• Why: Zenbait is an important exception to the noun-first pattern: it normally precedes the noun.

Adding plural -ak after an indefinite quantity

• Wrong: liburuak asko for “many books”
• Right: liburu asko
• Why: The quantifier already supplies the quantity, and the noun normally uses its indefinite form. Liburuak is a definite form and belongs to a different structure.

Using bigarrena directly before a noun

• Wrong: bigarrena eguna
• Right: bigarren eguna
• Why: Before a noun, use the ordinal stem. Use bigarrena when it stands alone: Bigarrena nahi dut, “I want the second one.”

Translating “too many” word for word

• Wrong: adding another intensifier to gehiegi merely to represent English “too”
• Right: arazo gehiegi — too many problems
• Why: Excess is already part of the meaning of gehiegi.

Confusing “all the books” with “the whole book”

• Wrong: liburu guztia when you mean several books
• Right: liburu guztiak — all the books
• Why: Guztia points to one whole; guztiak points to every member of a plural set.

Usage Notes

Ordinals are frequent in labels, rankings, chapters, floors, and repeated events. In everyday speech, lehen may also mean “before” or “earlier,” so the noun and context matter: lehen eguna is “the first day,” while lehen etorri da can mean “he/she came earlier/first.” The expanded adjective lehenengo is also common for “first,” especially when making the ordering explicit.

Asko and gutxi are neutral and extremely common. Gehiegi expresses a judgment that the amount exceeds what is acceptable or useful. Compare lan asko daukat “I have a lot of work” with lan gehiegi daukat “I have too much work.” Nahikoa marks the threshold in the other direction: there is as much as needed.

With people, jende asko means “many people.” With a clearly identified complete group, use guzti: langile guztiak, “all the workers.” English speakers should resist using one Basque pattern for both: “many” selects an indefinite amount, while “all the” identifies the complete set.

Beyond the Basics: Case Endings and Scope

You do not need to master this at A2, but you will soon see quantity phrases carrying case endings. Scope means which words a grammatical marker applies to. In Basque, the noun and quantifier form one phrase, and the relevant ending generally appears at its right edge:

• etxe askotan — in many houses
• lagun askorekin — with many friends
• ikasle guztiei — to all the students
• hirugarrenetik — from the third one

The surface form of a quantifier can therefore change when a case ending is added. Do not insert an English-style preposition into the middle of the phrase; learn the entire Basque phrase as a unit.

You may also meet ordinal adverbs ending in -ik, especially in organized explanations: lehenik “first/firstly,” bigarrenik “secondly,” and azkenik “finally.” These organize points in a discussion rather than directly modifying a noun. They are related to ordinals but have a different sentence function:

• Lehenik, araua irakurri. — First, read the rule.
• Bigarrenik, adibideak aztertu. — Secondly, examine the examples.

Finally, be careful with guzti and words translated as English “everything.” Guztiak can stand for all members of an understood set, but dena is also a very common way to say “everything” or “the whole thing”: Dena prest dago, “Everything is ready.” These forms overlap in translation but are not interchangeable in every phrase.

Practice Tips

1. Build two versions of each ordinal phrase. Say lehen eguna → lehena, bigarren aukera → bigarrena, and hirugarren etxea → hirugarrena. This trains the contrast between “the second noun” and “the second one.”
2. Sort quantity words by position. Make one card reading “noun first” for asko, gutxi, nahikoa, and gehiegi, and another reading “quantifier first” for zenbait. Add a separate card for the pattern noun + guzti.
3. Change only the amount. Start with liburu asko erosi ditut and replace asko with gutxi, nahikoa, and gehiegi. Notice how the grammar stays stable while the speaker’s judgment changes.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers and Counting — provides the cardinal numbers used to build regular ordinals.
• Related foundation: Indefinite Declension — explains why nouns after numbers and many quantifiers lack definite -a/-ak.
• Related A2 topic: Partitive Structure — shows another way Basque expresses an unspecified amount, especially in questions and negative statements.
• Next step: Comparatives and Superlatives — extends quantity and degree into “more,” “less,” and “the most.”