Basic Questions in Basque

In Brief

Basque normally places a question word directly before the verb or verbal expression: Nor zara? (“Who are you?”), Non bizi zara? (“Where do you live?”). The essential question words are zer (what), nor (who), non (where), noiz (when), nola (how), zergatik (why), and zenbat (how many/how much). Yes/no questions can use ordinary statement words with questioning intonation, or the particle al.

Overview

Basic questions are an A1 skill that immediately makes Basque useful: they let you ask someone’s name, find a place, check a price, and keep a conversation moving. English often begins a question with an auxiliary such as do, does, or is. Basque does not insert an equivalent of English do: “Where do you live?” is Non bizi zara?, literally closer to “Where live are-you?”

The most important beginner pattern is question word + verb. Basque word order is flexible, but the element being asked about is normally placed in the focused position immediately before the verb. A focus is simply the information presented as the main new or contrasted point. In Non dago komuna?, “where” is the missing information, so non stands before dago.

You will see both simple finite verbs such as da (“is”) and verbal expressions containing a main verb plus an auxiliary (a helping verb). In Zer egiten duzu? (“What do you do?”), zer comes before the main verb egiten, while duzu carries person and agreement information. You do not need to analyse the whole Basque verb system to start using this pattern.

How It Works

The core question words

Basque	Basic meaning	Typical use
zer	what	things, actions, definitions
nor	who	a person who is or does something
non	where	location: where something is or happens
noiz	when	time or occasion
nola	how	manner, condition, or method
zergatik	why	reason or cause
zenbat	how many / how much	number, quantity, price

These forms do not distinguish singular and plural in the way English what and who sometimes imply through the rest of the sentence. The verb and surrounding words provide the necessary information.

Put the question word before the verb

For a simple verb, use this beginner template:

other context + question word + finite verb + other information?

A finite verb is a verb form marked for the people or things involved, such as da (“is”), zara (“you are”), or dago (“is located”).

• Hau zer da? — What is this?
• Zu nor zara? — Who are you?
• Bilera noiz da? — When is the meeting?

The topic can come first: Hau zer da? literally sets up “this” and then asks “what is it?” The shorter Zer da hau? is also normal. What matters for the basic pattern is that zer is immediately before da.

With a main verb and an auxiliary, the question word usually comes immediately before the main verb:

• Non bizi zara? — Where do you live?
• Zer egiten duzu? — What do you do?
• Nola joaten zara lanera? — How do you go to work?

Do not copy English by adding a separate word for do. In the last examples, zara or duzu is part of the Basque verb structure, not a question-only auxiliary.

Asking about people and things

Use nor when the answer is a person:

• Nor da hura? — Who is that?
• Nor etorri da? — Who has come?

Use zer when the answer is a thing, idea, or activity:

• Zer da hau? — What is this?
• Zer ikasten duzu? — What are you studying?

Basque question words can change form when they play a different role in the sentence. This is case marking: an ending shows what a noun or pronoun is doing. At beginner level, learn common forms as whole expressions:

Form	Meaning	Example
nor	who	Nor etorri da? — Who came?
nork	who (the doer of certain transitive verbs)	Nork egin du? — Who did it?
nori	to whom	Nori eman diozu? — To whom did you give it?
zer	what	Zer nahi duzu? — What do you want?

The contrast between nor and nork belongs to the wider Basque case and verb-agreement system. For now, notice the complete pattern rather than assuming English who always equals nor.

Asking where

Non asks about a location: “where at?”

• Non dago geltokia? — Where is the station?
• Non lan egiten duzu? — Where do you work?

English uses where for location, destination, and origin. Basque normally distinguishes them with endings:

Basque	Meaning	Example
non	where; at/in what place	Non zaude? — Where are you?
nora	where to	Nora zoaz? — Where are you going?
nondik	where from / by which route	Nondik zatoz? — Where are you coming from?

This three-way contrast is worth learning early because Non zoaz? is a common learner error when the intended meaning is “Where are you going?”

Asking when, how, and why

Noiz asks for a time: Noiz hasten da? (“When does it start?”). Nola asks about manner or condition: Nola zaude? can mean “How are you?” and Nola egiten da? means “How is it done?”

Zergatik asks for a reason. It is one word:

• Zergatik ikasten duzu euskara? — Why are you learning Basque?
• Zergatik dago itxita? — Why is it closed?

A common direct answer uses -lako, roughly “because”: Gustatzen zaidalako (“Because I like it”). That answer structure requires verb forms beyond this A1 question pattern, so it is fine to begin with short reasons or memorised answers.

Asking about quantity and price

Put zenbat before the noun whose quantity you are asking about. The noun normally appears without the definite plural ending -ak:

• Zenbat urte dituzu? — How old are you? (literally, “How many years do you have?”)
• Zenbat pertsona daude? — How many people are there?
• Zenbat kafe nahi dituzu? — How many coffees do you want?

Without a following noun, zenbat can mean “how much?” In a shop, Zenbat da? asks “How much is it?” The common expression Zenbat balio du? literally asks “How much value does it have?” and means “How much does it cost?”

Yes/no questions

The simplest yes/no question can have the same words as a statement, distinguished in speech by intonation and in writing by a question mark:

• Euskalduna zara. — You are Basque / a Basque speaker.
• Euskalduna zara? — Are you Basque / a Basque speaker?

The particle al can explicitly mark a yes/no question. It is placed before the finite verb or auxiliary:

• Prest al zaude? — Are you ready?
• Kafea nahi al duzu? — Do you want coffee?

You do not have to use al in every yes/no question. Its frequency varies by region and style, and intonation alone is very common. Answers often begin with bai (“yes”) or ez (“no”): Bai, prest nago (“Yes, I’m ready”); Ez, eskerrik asko (“No, thank you”).

Examples in Context

Basque	English	Note
Zer da hau?	What is this?	zer before da
Nor zara zu?	Who are you?	zu may be stated for emphasis or clarity
Non dago komuna?	Where is the bathroom?	asks for a location
Nora zoaz orain?	Where are you going now?	destination takes nora
Nondik zatoz?	Where are you coming from?	origin takes nondik
Noiz hasten da filma?	When does the film start?	asks for a time
Nola zaude gaur?	How are you today?	asks about someone’s condition
Nola joaten zara lanera?	How do you go to work?	asks about method or transport
Zergatik ikasten duzu euskara?	Why are you learning Basque?	asks for a reason
Zenbat balio du?	How much does it cost?	asks for a price
Zenbat pertsona daude hemen?	How many people are here?	zenbat modifies pertsona
Zer egiten duzu asteburuan?	What do you do at the weekend?	question word before the main verb
Nork egin du ogia?	Who made the bread?	nork, not nor, marks the doer here
Kafea nahi al duzu?	Would you like coffee?	yes/no question with al
Bihar etorriko zara?	Will you come tomorrow?	yes/no question without al

Common Mistakes

Copying English question order

• Wrong: Non zara bizi?
• Right: Non bizi zara?
• Why: In the neutral question, non stands before the main verb bizi. English “do you live” order is not a Basque template.

Adding an English-style “do”

• Wrong idea: trying to translate every word in “What do you want?” separately
• Right: Zer nahi duzu?
• Why: Basque does not add a question-only equivalent of English do. duzu belongs to the Basque verbal expression itself.

Using non for every kind of “where”

• Wrong: Non zoaz? for “Where are you going?”
• Right: Nora zoaz?
• Why: non asks about position, nora about destination, and nondik about origin or route.

Treating nor as the only translation of “who”

• Wrong: Nor egin du hau?
• Right: Nork egin du hau?
• Why: Basque marks the role of the questioned person. With this transitive pattern, the doer takes -k: nork.

Giving the noun a definite plural ending after zenbat

• Wrong: Zenbat pertsonak daude?
• Right: Zenbat pertsona daude?
• Why: After zenbat, the counted noun normally does not take definite plural -ak. Be careful: -k can also mark a grammatical role in other sentences, so learn the full pattern.

Putting al at the beginning

• Wrong: Al kafea nahi duzu?
• Right: Kafea nahi al duzu?
• Why: al is not placed like English sentence-initial do. It goes immediately before the finite auxiliary or verb.

Usage Notes

Basque does not require the subject pronoun every time. Nor zara? is complete; adding zu in Nor zara zu? can make the subject explicit or give it more emphasis. In natural conversation, speakers often omit information already clear from the situation.

There can also be more than one natural way to arrange the material around the focused question word. Zer da hau? and Hau zer da? both ask “What is this?”, but the second more clearly sets up hau (“this”) as the topic. For beginner production, keep the question word directly before the verb and imitate phrases you hear from proficient speakers.

The particle al is part of Standard Basque, but actual use differs across regions. A question without it is not incomplete. Intonation does important work in speech, while the question mark makes the function clear in writing.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these details at A1, but they explain forms you will soon encounter.

Basque question words take many of the same case endings as other noun phrases. From nor come forms such as nork (“who” as the marked doer), nori (“to whom”), norekin (“with whom”), and noren (“whose”). Place questions similarly form a family: non, nora, nondik, and forms such as nongo (“from/of which place”). This is a productive system, not a list of unrelated words.

English which and what overlap, but Basque often uses zein when choosing or identifying from a set: Zein nahi duzu? (“Which one do you want?”). Zer asks more openly what something is. In everyday speech the boundary can depend on context, so start with the useful contrast “open question” versus “choice from known options.”

Question words can also introduce embedded questions—questions contained inside a larger sentence: Ez dakit non dagoen (“I don’t know where it is”). Notice that the verb form changes from the direct question Non dago? This subordinate-clause grammar belongs to a later stage; do not copy a direct question unchanged into every longer sentence.

For nuance, you may meet ote, a particle expressing uncertainty, wondering, or speculation: Non ote dago? (“Where could it be, I wonder?”). It is not needed for a neutral request for information. Likewise, rhetorical questions may look like ordinary questions but function as comments rather than genuine requests for an answer.

Finally, “why?” and “because” are structurally linked in Basque. Answers commonly attach -lako to a subordinate verb: Nekatuta nagoelako (“Because I’m tired”). The exact form changes with the verb, which is why it is best studied after present-tense auxiliaries and subordinate clauses.

Practice Tips

1. Build seven personal questions. Write one realistic question with each core word: zer, nor, non, noiz, nola, zergatik, zenbat. Say each aloud until the question word naturally falls before the verb.
2. Practise location as a three-part set. Point to a map and ask Non dago?, Nora zoaz?, and Nondik zatoz? This prevents English where from hiding the Basque distinction.
3. Turn statements into yes/no questions. Read Prest zaude first as a statement, then as Prest zaude?, and finally as Prest al zaude? Listen for how intonation changes while the core verb remains the same.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Verb “To Be” (izan) — Present — forms such as da, zara, and dira appear in many first questions.
• Next steps: Basque case marking — explains contrasts such as nor/nork/nori and non/nora/nondik.
• Next steps: Basque subordinate clauses — needed for embedded questions and full -lako “because” answers.