Dating & Romance

1. Oso erakargarria zara. Ondoan eser naiteke?

   O-so e-ra-kar-gar-ri-a za-ra. On-do-an e-ser nai-te-ke?

   You are very attractive. May I sit beside you?

   Usage

   A natural approach in the Basque Country (Spain/France)

   Grammar Note

   Basque is a language isolate with no known relatives; its inflection is very complex

2. Paseatzera edo kafea hartzera joan nahi duzu?

   Pa-se-at-ze-ra e-do ka-fe-a har-tze-ra joan na-hi du-zu?

   Would you like to go for a walk or have a coffee?

   Usage

   A casual date invitation in the Basque Country

   Grammar Note

   "Nahi duzu" asks about desire or willingness, meaning "do you want to"

3. Zure telefono zenbakia eman diezadakezu?

   Zu-re te-le-fo-no zen-ba-ki-a e-man die-za-da-ke-zu?

   Could you give me your phone number?

   Usage

   A polite way to ask for someone's phone number

   Grammar Note

   "Diezadakezu" is a complex Basque verb form encoding subject, direct and indirect objects

4. Benetan gustuko dut zurekin denbora pasatzea.

   Be-ne-tan gus-tu-ko dut zu-re-kin den-bo-ra pa-sat-ze-a.

   I really enjoy spending time with you.

   Usage

   A warm expression of enjoying time together

   Grammar Note

   "Gustuko dut" is a reverse-structure expression meaning "I find it pleasing"

5. Irribarre oso ederra daukazu.

   Ir-ri-ba-rre o-so e-der-ra dau-ka-zu.

   You have a very beautiful smile.

   Usage

   A natural compliment about someone's smile

   Grammar Note

   The Basque definite article "-a" is a suffix on the noun (irribarre → irribarrea)

6. Nirekin atera nahi duzu?

   Ni-re-kin a-te-ra na-hi du-zu?

   Would you like to go out with me?

   Usage

   A simple invitation to go out on a date

   Grammar Note

   Basque follows SOV word order, placing the verb at the end

7. Inoiz ez dut zu bezalako inor ezagutu.

   I-noiz ez dut zu be-za-la-ko i-nor e-za-gu-tu.

   I've never met anyone like you.

   Usage

   A sincere expression of how uniquely special someone is

   Grammar Note

   Negation in Basque is formed by placing "ez" before the auxiliary verb

8. Asko gustatzen zatzaizkit.

   As-ko gus-tat-zen za-tzaiz-kit.

   I like you very much.

   Usage

   A direct expression of strong affection

   Grammar Note

   "Gustatzen zatzaizkit" is a multi-argument verb meaning "you are pleasing to me"

9. Oso zoriontsu egiten nauzu.

   O-so zo-ri-on-tsu e-gi-ten nau-zu.

   You make me very happy.

   Usage

   Expressing the happiness someone brings you

   Grammar Note

   "Nauzu" is a multi-argument verb form encoding "you...me" in a single word

10. Joan naizenean, zu faltan botako zaitut.

    Jo-an nai-ze-ne-an, zu fal-tan bo-ta-ko zai-tut.

    When I leave, I'll miss you.

    Usage

    An emotional expression of longing before parting

    Grammar Note

    "Faltan bota" is an idiomatic expression literally meaning "to throw into lacking" — to miss

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