Fun Basque Idioms And Proverbs Every Learner Should Know
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If you want to truly understand a language, you should look at its idioms and proverbs.
As a Basque teacher, I always tell my students that grammar and vocabulary are just building blocks. The real magic happens when you start thinking like a local.
In Basque, our old sayings are called esaera zaharrak (literally, “old sayings”).
Because the Basque Country has a long history tied to farming, mountains, and the sea, you’ll notice that almost all of our idioms use imagery from nature. Learning these phrases is one of the best ways to connect with Basque culture.
In this guide, I’ll show you some of the most common and culturally rich Basque idioms and proverbs.
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What do Basque idioms tell us about the culture?
When you start learning Basque, you quickly realize how much the language relies on the physical world.
For centuries, Basque people were fishers, shepherds, and farmers living in rural farmhouses called baserriak. Because of this, our language is incredibly literal and rooted in nature. We don’t talk about abstract concepts; we talk about wolves, walnuts, birds, and fish!
By using these idioms in your conversations, you show native speakers that you don’t just care about passing a test. You care about how they view the world.
Popular Basque proverbs (esaera zaharrak)
Let’s look at three very famous esaera zaharrak. I’ve included the literal translation in the transliteration section so you can see exactly how we build these sentences.
1. The faraway walnuts
This is probably the most famous Basque proverb. It’s our version of “the grass is always greener on the other side.”
Urrutiko intxaurrak hamalau, gerturatu orduko lau.
Isn’t that a great image? From a distance, a tree might look like it’s full of walnuts (fourteen of them!). But when you get close, you realize there are only four. It reminds us not to be easily fooled by things that look perfect from the outside.
2. The blackbird and the crow
When someone criticizes another person for a fault they also have, English speakers say “the pot calling the kettle black.” In Basque, we use two black birds.
Zozoak beleari ipurbeltz.
The zozoa (blackbird) is making fun of the belea (crow) for having a black tail, even though both birds are completely black!
3. Speaking of the wolf
In English, when someone you’re talking about suddenly walks into the room, you say, “speak of the devil.” In the Basque Country, we were much more worried about wolves than the devil!
Otsoa aipatu, eta otsoa agertu.
Everyday Basque idioms (esapideak)
Along with old proverbs, we have shorter idioms, known as esapideak, that we use in everyday life. Here are a couple of my favorites.
Like old sardines
If you ever get onto a crowded bus in Bilbao or San Sebastián, you might hear someone use this phrase.
Sardina zaharren pare.
Fishing has always been a massive part of Basque culture, especially along the coast. Saying you’re “like old sardines” just means people are packed tightly together in a small space.
Apples and pears
When you want to tell someone that they’re comparing two completely different things, English speakers say “you can’t compare apples and oranges.”
In the Basque Country, oranges don’t grow well in our climate. But apples and pears? We have plenty of those!
Ez nahastu sagarrak eta madariak.
A quick vocabulary guide for Basque idioms
Since nature is such a big part of these sayings, here’s a quick cheat sheet of the nature vocabulary you’ll see all the time in Basque idioms.
| Basque word | English translation | Often used to represent… |
|---|---|---|
| Otsoa | Wolf | Danger or bad luck |
| Sagarra | Apple | Everyday, common things |
| Belea | Crow | Darkness or a foolish person |
| Intxaurra | Walnut | Rewards or treasures |
| Sardina | Sardine | Crowds or tightness |
Regional variations to keep in mind
If you read my guide on Basque dialects, you know that the Basque language has several distinct regional varieties, like Bizkaiera (Biscayan) and Gipuzkera (Gipuzkoan).
While Euskara Batua (Standard Basque) unified a lot of the language, old sayings are deeply local.
For example, the word for “pear” is madaria in Bizkaia, but if you go to Gipuzkoa or Navarre, you’ll probably hear udarea. So, the idiom about not mixing apples and pears might sound like “ez nahastu sagarrak eta udareak” depending on where you’re standing!
