Weather and Feelings in Basque

In Brief

Basque weather expressions often use a weather noun plus egiten du: euria egiten du means “it is raining,” while beroa egiten du means “it is hot.” Feelings and temporary conditions commonly use a describing word plus a form of egon, as in pozik nago (“I am happy”). Some bodily states are learned with izan, especially gose naiz (“I am hungry”).

Overview

Weather and feelings belong among the most useful A1 topics. They let you make small talk, describe the day, and answer Zer moduz? (“How are things?”). The individual words are short, but the Basque sentence patterns differ from English. English relies heavily on “it is” and “I am”; Basque divides these meanings among several constructions.

For weather, many everyday phrases contain egin (“to do” or “to make”): hotza egiten du, literally built like “cold makes/does,” is natural Basque for “it is cold.” Other weather events have their own verb: eguzkia ateratzen da means “the sun comes out.” There is no need to insert an equivalent of the empty English subject “it.”

For personal states, the key choice is often between egon and izan, two verbs that English translates as “be.” Egon normally presents a location or current condition, so it works with pozik (“happy”), triste (“sad”), and nekatuta (“tired”). A few common physical states follow established patterns with izan, including gose naiz (“I am hungry”). Learn each expression as a complete phrase rather than translating “am” on its own.

How It Works

Weather with egiten du

The most productive beginner pattern is:

weather noun or condition + egiten du

Here egiten is a form of egin (“do/make”), and du is an auxiliary, a helping verb that carries grammatical information. Basque auxiliaries become detailed later; at A1, it is practical to learn egiten du as a unit in these impersonal weather statements.

Basque expression	Natural English meaning
euria egiten du	it is raining / it rains
elurra egiten du	it is snowing / it snows
hotza egiten du	it is cold
beroa egiten du	it is hot
haizea egiten du	it is windy

The ending -a on euria, elurra, hotza, beroa, and haizea is the Basque definite article, roughly comparable to English “the.” Although English does not say “the rain makes” in these sentences, the forms with -a belong to the normal Basque expressions. Memorize the whole chunks.

Time words can be placed before the expression:

• Gaur euria egiten du. — It is raining today.
• Neguan hotza egiten du. — It is cold in winter.
• Hemen haizea egiten du. — It is windy here.

Weather with other verbs

Not every weather statement uses egin. When something visibly begins or changes, Basque can name it as the subject (the person or thing the sentence is about) and use a suitable verb.

Pattern	Meaning	What to notice
Eguzkia ateratzen da.	The sun comes out.	atera means “come/go out.”
Ekaitza dator.	A storm is coming.	dator is a form of etorri, “come.”
Lainotuta dago.	It is cloudy.	egon describes the current condition.
Eguraldi ona dago.	The weather is good.	Literally, good weather “is present.”

The general noun for “weather” is eguraldi. Useful questions include Zer eguraldi egiten du? (“What is the weather like?”) and Nolako eguraldia dago? (“What kind of weather is there?”). For a first conversation, you can answer with one familiar chunk: Eguraldi ona dago or Euria egiten du.

Feelings and current conditions with egon

Use egon for many states that describe how somebody is at the moment. The describing word usually comes before the verb:

feeling or condition + form of egon

Person	Form of egon	Example	English
I	nago	Pozik nago.	I am happy.
you (singular)	zaude	Nekatuta zaude.	You are tired.
he / she / it	dago	Triste dago.	He/she is sad.
we	gaude	Lasai gaude.	We are calm.
you (plural)	zaudete	Pozik zaudete.	You are happy.
they	daude	Nekatuta daude.	They are tired.

Basque often omits an explicit personal pronoun because the verb form already identifies the person. Ni pozik nago is possible, especially when contrasting “I” with somebody else, but plain Pozik nago is the neutral beginner sentence.

The form of the describing word does not change for gender. Pozik dago can mean either “he is happy” or “she is happy”; context supplies the identity. This is easier than English pronoun choice in one respect, though the listener may need context to know who is meant.

Hunger and other learned expressions with izan

English encourages learners to build every state with the same verb “be.” Basque does not. Gose (“hunger/hungry”) is conventionally used with forms of izan:

Person	Example	English
I	Gose naiz.	I am hungry.
you (singular)	Gose zara.	You are hungry.
he / she	Gose da.	He/she is hungry.
we	Gose gara.	We are hungry.
you (plural)	Gose zarete.	You are hungry.
they	Gose dira.	They are hungry.

Do not turn this into an absolute rule that all bodily states take izan. Basque expressions have their own customary grammar. For now, keep two reliable sets separate: pozik/triste/nekatuta + egon, but gose + izan.

Negatives and questions

To make a simple negative, put ez immediately before the finite verb form (the verb element that carries person or tense):

• Ez nago triste. — I am not sad.
• Ez du euririk egiten. — It is not raining.
• Ez naiz gose. — I am not hungry.

Notice euririk in the negative rain expression. The ending -rik is commonly used with an indefinite amount or absence: here it has the sense “no rain.” At the very beginning, learn ez du euririk egiten as the standard negative counterpart of euria egiten du.

Yes/no questions can have the same word order as statements; your voice or the question mark signals the question:

• Nekatuta zaude? — Are you tired?
• Gose zara? — Are you hungry?
• Hotza egiten du? — Is it cold?

Examples in Context

Basque	English	Note
Gaur euria egiten du.	It is raining today.	Core egin weather pattern
Mendian elurra egiten du.	It is snowing in the mountains.	Place phrase before the weather expression
Goizean hotza egiten du.	It is cold in the morning.	hotza, “cold”
Udan beroa egiten du.	It is hot in summer.	beroa, “hot/heat”
Kostaldean haizea egiten du.	It is windy on the coast.	Another fixed egiten du phrase
Orain eguzkia ateratzen da.	The sun is coming out now.	Weather event with atera
Bihar eguraldi ona egingo du.	The weather will be good tomorrow.	A common future form, previewed here
Pozik nago gaur.	I am happy today.	Current state with egon
Zergatik zaude triste?	Why are you sad?	zergatik means “why”
Lanaren ondoren nekatuta gaude.	We are tired after work.	Plural gaude
Haurrak pozik daude.	The children are happy.	Plural daude
Lasai nago etxean.	I am relaxed at home.	State and location both fit egon
Gose naiz, baina ez nago nekatuta.	I am hungry, but I am not tired.	Contrasts izan and egon
Gose zarete?	Are you hungry?	Plural “you” with izan
Ez du euririk egiten.	It is not raining.	Negative weather pattern

Common Mistakes

Translating English “it is” word for word

• Wrong: Euria da. (for “It is raining.”)
• Right: Euria egiten du.
• Why: Rain is normally expressed with the established euria egiten du pattern. English “it” has no separate counterpart here.

Using izan for a temporary feeling

• Wrong: Pozik naiz. (as the basic expression for “I am happy now”)
• Right: Pozik nago.
• Why: Egon is the normal beginner choice for a current emotional state. Learn pozik nago as one unit.

Using egon with gose

• Wrong: Gose nago.
• Right: Gose naiz.
• Why: In the standard pattern taught here, gose combines with izan, not egon. This lexical choice must be memorized.

Leaving off the article in core weather phrases

• Wrong: Euri egiten du.
• Right: Euria egiten du.
• Why: The familiar weather noun appears as euria, with -a. The same applies to elurra, hotza, beroa, and haizea in these expressions.

Mixing up the person forms of egon

• Wrong: Nekatuta dago. when you mean “I am tired.”
• Right: Nekatuta nago.
• Why: dago means “he/she/it is” in this pattern; nago marks “I.” English always shows the person with a pronoun, while Basque often lets the verb form do that work.

Usage Notes

Weather comments are conventional conversation openers just as they are in English. Eguraldi ona dago! (“The weather is good!”) sounds like a general assessment, while Beroa egiten du! (“It is hot!”) names a particular condition. Adding gaur (“today”), orain (“now”), or a place makes a short phrase more informative.

Feelings can be softened or intensified with simple adverbs. Oso pozik nago means “I am very happy,” and pixka bat nekatuta nago means “I am a little tired.” The state word remains unchanged; the person marking stays in nago, zaude, dago, and the other forms of egon.

Basque has regional varieties, and weather speech shows variation. You may encounter alternatives to the egin patterns, particularly forms built with ari for ongoing activity. These are genuine Basque, not mistakes. For broad beginner communication, the expressions in the core tables are dependable forms to recognize and use.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master this section at A1, but several later patterns explain forms that appear in forecasts and natural conversation.

First, weather expressions can move into other times. Bihar eguraldi ona egingo du means “The weather will be good tomorrow”; egingo du is a future form related to egin. Past descriptions likewise require past auxiliaries. The weather vocabulary stays familiar even as the verb system expands.

Second, an event in progress can be expressed with ari, a structure used for an action under way. For rain, you may hear euria ari du (“it is raining”). Usage varies geographically, so it is best to recognize both this and euria egiten du rather than declaring one universal in every Basque-speaking area.

Third, the contrast between izan and egon is more subtle than “permanent versus temporary.” That shortcut helps at first, but it does not predict every expression. Identity and classification generally point toward izan; location and current condition generally point toward egon; established combinations such as gose izan must be learned on their own. As your vocabulary grows, record the accompanying verb with every new state word.

Finally, Basque can describe a state with several different endings, including -ik and -ta/-da in familiar words such as pozik and nekatuta. At this stage they are best treated as parts of the words you use. Later study will show how these endings participate in broader patterns of manner, condition, and result.

Practice Tips

1. Build three small phrase sets. Keep separate cards for weather + egiten du, feeling + egon, and gose + izan. Say the whole phrase aloud, not just the vocabulary item.
2. Change the person, not the feeling word. Turn Pozik nago into Pozik zaude, Pozik dago, and Pozik gaude. Then repeat with triste and nekatuta.
3. Give a daily two-line report. Each morning write one weather sentence and one personal-state sentence, such as Gaur hotza egiten du. Nekatuta nago. Add a negative or question once the basic forms feel automatic.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Verb “To Be Located” (egon) — provides nago, zaude, dago, gaude, zaudete, daude for feelings and current conditions.