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Definition 2024


izan

izan

Basque

Verb

izan

  1. (intransitive) to be
  2. (transitive, Southern Basque) to have

Conjugation

Usage notes

Southern Basque (like Spanish) has two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”; izan and egon. Izan is used to express a quality of something, while egon is used to express a state (e.g. location). For example:

  • Mahaia handia da. = The table is big. (using izan because this is an inherent quality of the table)
  • Mahaia zikina dago. = The table is dirty. (using egon because this is a temporary state that the table is in)
  • Iñaki Donostiakoa da. = Iñaki is from San Sebastián. (using izan because it is an immutable quality of Iñaki)
  • Iñaki Donostian dago. = Iñaki is in San Sebastián. (using egon because it is describing Iñaki's location)

Northern Basque does not have this distinction, so "to be" is translated as izan in almost all contexts.

Synonyms


Spanish

Verb

izan

  1. Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes?) present indicative form of izar.
  2. (used formally in Spain) Second-person plural present indicative form of izar.