Greetings and Courtesy in Basque

Overview

Greetings and courtesy expressions are the very first things you will use in Basque. These set phrases allow you to interact politely from day one, even before you have mastered grammar rules. Basque has warm, distinctive greetings and courtesy expressions that reflect the culture of the Basque-speaking community.

The universal greeting is kaixo (hello), which works in any situation. Time-based greetings include egun on (good morning), arratsalde on (good afternoon), and gabon (good evening/night). For goodbyes, agur (goodbye) is the standard, while gero arte (see you later) is more casual.

Courtesy words like mesedez (please), eskerrik asko (thank you), and barkatu (excuse me/sorry) are essential for polite interaction. Mastering these phrases makes a strong impression and shows respect for the language and culture.

How It Works

Greetings:

Basque	English	When to use
Kaixo!	Hello!	Any time, informal
Egun on!	Good morning!	Until noon
Arratsalde on!	Good afternoon!	Afternoon
Gabon!	Good evening/night!	Evening/night
Zer moduz?	How are you?	Casual check-in
Nola zaude?	How are you?	Slightly more formal

Goodbyes:

Basque	English
Agur!	Goodbye!
Gero arte!	See you later!
Bihar arte!	See you tomorrow!
Ondo ibili!	Take care! (lit. Walk well!)

Courtesy:

Basque	English
Mesedez	Please
Eskerrik asko	Thank you very much
Mila esker	A thousand thanks
Ez horregatik	You're welcome (lit. Not for that)
Barkatu	Excuse me / Sorry

Common conversational exchanges:

Question	Response
Zer moduz? (How are you?)	Ondo, eta zu? (Fine, and you?)
Nola duzu izena? (What's your name?)	Nire izena ... da. (My name is ...)
Nongoa zara? (Where are you from?)	...koa naiz. (I am from ...)

Examples in Context

Basque	English	Note
Kaixo! Zer moduz?	Hello! How are you?	Casual greeting
Eskerrik asko.	Thank you very much.	Gratitude
Barkatu, non dago geltokia?	Excuse me, where is the station?	Polite question
Ez horregatik.	You're welcome.	Response to thanks
Egun on, zer nahi duzu?	Good morning, what would you like?	Shop greeting
Ondo nago, eskerrik asko.	I am well, thank you.	Responding to greeting
Mesedez, lagundu ahal didazu?	Please, can you help me?	Polite request
Agur, gero arte!	Bye, see you later!	Leaving
Ondo ibili!	Take care!	Warm farewell
Pozten naiz zu ezagutzeaz.	Nice to meet you.	Introduction

Common Mistakes

Using gabon as a greeting instead of farewell

• Wrong: Using gabon when arriving at an evening event
• Right: Gabon works both as a greeting (good evening) and farewell (good night), but arratsalde on is more common as an arrival greeting in the evening
• Why: Context matters. In many Basque-speaking areas, gabon leans more toward a farewell or late-night greeting.

Forgetting mesedez in requests

• Wrong: Ura eman! (Give me water!)
• Right: Ura, mesedez. or Ura eman, mesedez.
• Why: Adding mesedez (please) is essential for polite interaction, just as in English.

Responding to eskerrik asko incorrectly

• Wrong: Saying eskerrik asko back (thank you back)
• Right: Ez horregatik (you're welcome) or Ez da ezer (it's nothing)
• Why: The standard response to thanks is ez horregatik (not for that / don't mention it).

Practice Tips

1. Greet people in Basque whenever possible. Start each conversation with kaixo or the appropriate time-based greeting, and end with agur or gero arte.
2. Practice the full introduction exchange: Kaixo, nola duzu izena? — Nire izena ... da. Pozten naiz. — Ni ere, pozten naiz.

Related Concepts

• No directly related grammar concepts — this is a foundational communication topic.