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Esperanto basics: word endings, affixes and first words

Learn how Esperanto works: greetings, the regular word endings, question words like kio and kie, and affixes that build new words, such as mal- and -ej-.

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saluton

Greeting, for any time of day

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  1. 1
    saluton
    Greeting, for any time of day
    hello; hi
    Saluton, kiel vi fartas? — Hello, how are you?
  2. 2
    bonan matenon
    Greeting
    good morning
    Bonan matenon al ĉiuj. — Good morning, everyone.
  3. 3
    bonan nokton
    Farewell before sleep
    good night
    Bonan nokton kaj dormu bone. — Good night, and sleep well.
  4. 4
    ĝis revido
    Farewell; ĝis alone is the short form
    goodbye
    Ĝis revido, kara amiko. — Goodbye, dear friend.
  5. 5
    dankon
    Phrase
    thank you; thanks
    Dankon pro via helpo. — Thank you for your help.
  6. 6
    bonvolu
    Followed by a verb in -i
    please
    Bonvolu paroli malrapide. — Please speak slowly.
  7. 7
    ne dankinde
    Reply to dankon; literally “not worth thanking”
    you’re welcome
    Ne dankinde, estis plezuro. — You’re welcome, it was a pleasure.
  8. 8
    pardonu
    From pardoni, “to forgive”
    sorry; excuse me
    Pardonu, kie estas la stacidomo? — Excuse me, where is the train station?
  9. 9
    Kiel vi fartas?
    Question
    How are you?
    Mi fartas bone, dankon. Kaj vi? — I’m fine, thanks. And you?
  10. 10
    Mi ne komprenas
    Phrase
    I don’t understand
    Mi ne komprenas. Ĉu vi povas ripeti? — I don’t understand. Can you repeat that?
  11. 11
    Mia nomo estas…
    Phrase; also mi nomiĝas…
    My name is…
    Mia nomo estas Klara. Kaj via? — My name is Klara. And yours?
  12. 12
    -o
    Word ending
    noun: hundo (dog), domo (house)
    La hundo dormas en la domo. — The dog is sleeping in the house.
  13. 13
    -a
    Word ending
    adjective: bona (good), granda (big)
    La nova libro estas interesa. — The new book is interesting.
  14. 14
    -e
    Word ending
    adverb: bone (well), rapide (quickly)
    Ŝi parolas rapide. — She speaks quickly.
  15. 15
    -i
    Verb ending
    infinitive, the dictionary form of a verb: paroli (to speak)
    Mi ŝatas legi. — I like to read.
  16. 16
    -as
    Verb ending, the same for every person
    present tense: mi parolas (I speak), ŝi parolas (she speaks)
    Mi loĝas en Berlino. — I live in Berlin.
  17. 17
    -is
    Verb ending
    past tense: mi parolis (I spoke)
    Hieraŭ ni vizitis la muzeon. — Yesterday we visited the museum.
  18. 18
    -os
    Verb ending
    future tense: mi parolos (I will speak)
    Morgaŭ mi vojaĝos al Parizo. — Tomorrow I’ll travel to Paris.
  19. 19
    -u
    Verb ending
    commands and wishes: parolu (speak)
    Atendu momenton, mi petas. — Wait a moment, please.
  20. 20
    -us
    Verb ending
    conditional: mi parolus (I would speak)
    Se mi havus tempon, mi venus. — If I had time, I would come.
  21. 21
    -j
    Word ending; it comes before -n
    plural, on nouns and adjectives: bonaj amikoj (good friends)
    Miaj amikoj loĝas en Italio. — My friends live in Italy.
  22. 22
    -n
    Word ending; it also shows direction: hejmen (homeward)
    the direct object (accusative): mi havas hundon (I have a dog)
    Mi vidas la katon. — I see the cat.
  23. 23
    la
    Article
    the (there is no word for “a”)
    La libro estas sur la tablo. — The book is on the table.
  24. 24
    ĉu
    Question word, at the start of the sentence
    turns a sentence into a yes/no question; whether
    Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton? — Do you speak Esperanto?
  25. 25
    mi, vi, li, ŝi, ĝi, ni, ili
    Pronouns
    I, you, he, she, it, we, they (add -a for “my”, “your”…: mia, via)
    Ili estas niaj najbaroj. — They’re our neighbors.
  26. 26
    kio
    Correlative (question word)
    what (ki- asks; -o means a thing)
    Kio estas tio? — What is that?
  27. 27
    kiu
    Correlative (question word)
    who; which (-u means a person or one of a group)
    Kiu volas kafon? — Who wants coffee?
  28. 28
    kie
    Correlative (question word)
    where (-e means a place)
    Kie vi loĝas? — Where do you live?
  29. 29
    kiam
    Correlative (question word)
    when (-am means time)
    Kiam komenciĝas la koncerto? — When does the concert start?
  30. 30
    kial
    Correlative (question word)
    why (-al means a reason)
    Kial vi lernas Esperanton? — Why are you learning Esperanto?
  31. 31
    kiom
    Correlative (question word)
    how much; how many (-om means an amount)
    Kiom kostas la bileto? — How much does the ticket cost?
  32. 32
    tio
    Correlative
    that; that thing (ti- points)
    Tio estas bona ideo. — That’s a good idea.
  33. 33
    ĉiu
    Correlative
    every; everyone (plural ĉiuj means “all”)
    Ĉiu infano ricevis donacon. — Every child got a present.
  34. 34
    neniu
    Correlative
    nobody; no (neni- means none)
    Neniu respondis al mia letero. — Nobody answered my letter.
  35. 35
    mal-
    Prefix
    the opposite: bona (good) → malbona (bad)
    La kafo estas malvarma. — The coffee is cold.
  36. 36
    -in-
    Suffix
    female: patro (father) → patrino (mother)
    Mia patrino kaj mia fratino loĝas en Romo. — My mother and my sister live in Rome.
  37. 37
    -ej-
    Suffix
    a place for: lerni (to learn) → lernejo (school)
    La infanoj estas en la lernejo. — The children are at school.
  38. 38
    -ist-
    Suffix
    a person by profession: dento (tooth) → dentisto (dentist)
    Mia frato estas instruisto. — My brother is a teacher.
  39. 39
    -et-
    Suffix
    smaller or weaker: domo (house) → dometo (cottage)
    Ili loĝas en dometo apud la lago. — They live in a cottage by the lake.
  40. 40
    -eg-
    Suffix
    bigger or stronger: varma (warm) → varmega (hot)
    Hodiaŭ estas varmege. — It’s really hot today.
  41. 41
    re-
    Prefix
    again; back: veni (to come) → reveni (to come back)
    Mi revenos morgaŭ. — I’ll come back tomorrow.
  42. 42
    -ul-
    Suffix
    a person with a quality: juna (young) → junulo (young person)
    La junuloj dancas en la parko. — The young people are dancing in the park.
  43. 43
    ge-
    Prefix
    both sexes together: patro (father) → gepatroj (parents)
    Miaj gepatroj loĝas en Kanado. — My parents live in Canada.
  44. 44
    esti
    Verb
    to be
    Mi estas studento. — I’m a student.
  45. 45
    havi
    Verb; its object takes -n
    to have
    Mi havas du fratojn. — I have two brothers.
  46. 46
    iri
    Verb
    to go
    Ni iras al la kinejo. — We’re going to the movies.
  47. 47
    voli
    Verb
    to want
    Mi volas trinki akvon. — I want to drink some water.
  48. 48
    povi
    Verb
    can; to be able to
    Ĉu mi povas helpi vin? — Can I help you?
  49. 49
    unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin
    Numbers
    one, two, three, four, five
    Kvin homoj atendas. — Five people are waiting.
  50. 50
    ses, sep, ok, naŭ, dek
    Numbers
    six, seven, eight, nine, ten (dek du is 12, dudek is 20)
    La vendejo malfermiĝas je la naŭa. — The shop opens at nine.

Frequently asked questions

Who speaks Esperanto?

L. L. Zamenhof published it in 1887 as an easy, neutral second language. Today it is spoken by learners around the world, and by a small number of native speakers raised in Esperanto-speaking families.

How do I pronounce Esperanto?

Each letter has one sound, and the stress always falls on the second-to-last syllable. c is “ts”, j is “y”, ĉ is “ch”, ĝ is the “j” in “jam”, ĵ is the “s” in “measure”, ŝ is “sh”, ĥ is the “ch” in “Bach” and ŭ is a short “w”.

What are correlatives?

A table of 45 small words built from a start and an ending. The start says which kind (ki- asks, ti- points, ĉi- means every, neni- means none, i- means some) and the ending says what about (-o a thing, -u a person, -e a place, -am a time, -al a reason, -om an amount). Learn the parts and you can work out the rest.

Why do bonan matenon and dankon end in -n?

They are in the accusative, because they are short for a sentence like “(I wish you) a good morning”, where the greeting is the object of the verb.

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