natzaizu

I to You: Natzaizu

Level 5

With nor-nori verbs, the subject can be ni or zu, not only a third person: Hurbildu natzaio (I have approached him). Gustatzen zatzaizkit (I like you; literally, you are pleasing to me).

How It Works

1. The present forms. Build them from the subject part plus the receiver ending:

  • ni: natzaizu (to you), natzaio (to him or her), natzaizue (to you all), natzaie (to them)
  • zu: zatzaizkit (to me), zatzaizkio (to him or her), zatzaizkigu (to us), zatzaizkie (to them)
  • gu: gatzaizkizu (to you), gatzaizkio (to him or her), gatzaizkizue (to you all), gatzaizkie (to them)
  • zuek: the zu form plus -te, as in zatzaizkiote (you all ... to him); before -te, the ending -t becomes -da-: zatzaizkidate (you all ... to me)

The subject and the receiver are always different people, so there is no form for "I ... to me".

2. Why zu has -zki-. The pronoun zu was once plural, so its forms still carry the plural marker -zki-, the same one you see in zaizkit. The ni forms never have it: natzaio, not natzaizkio.

3. Who is the subject? With gustatu, the person who is liked is the subject, and the person who likes is the receiver:

  • Gustatzen natzaizu. I am pleasing to you = You like me.
  • Gustatzen zatzaizkit. You are pleasing to me = I like you.

Other verbs in this frame work the same way: hurbildu (to go up to someone), iruditu (to seem to someone) and ahaztu (to be forgotten by someone).

4. The past. As in nor-nori past: zitzaidan, the past starts with n- or z- and ends in -n: nintzaizun (I ... to you), nintzaion (I ... to him or her), zintzaizkidan (you ... to me), zintzaizkion (you ... to him or her).

Tip: Ask two questions, as with zait: Nor? (who is the subject?) and Nori? (to whom?). The answer to Nor? picks the start of the word; the answer to Nori? picks the ending.

Examples (6)

  1. Gustatzen zatzaizkit.

    I like you.

    Literally, you are pleasing to me: zu is the subject and niri is the receiver.

  2. Gustatzen natzaizu?

    Do you like me?

    Now ni is the subject and zuri is the receiver.

  3. Hurbildu natzaio eta agurtu dut.

    I went up to him and said hello.

  4. Zoroa iruditzen natzaizu?

    Do I seem crazy to you?

  5. Amonari ez zatzaizkio ahaztu.

    Grandma has not forgotten you.

    Literally, you have not been forgotten to Grandma.

  6. Atzo kalean hurbildu nintzaion.

    Yesterday I went up to her in the street.

    nintzaion is the past of natzaio.

Common Mistakes

  • Choosing the auxiliary from the English subject.

    Gustatzen natzaizu.
    Gustatzen zatzaizkit.

    If you want to say "I like you", natzaizu is the wrong form: Gustatzen natzaizu means "you like me". With gustatu, the person who is liked (zu) is the subject, so the form is zatzaizkit.

  • Using the third-person form with zu.

    Zu gustatzen zait.
    Zu gustatzen zatzaizkit.

    zait only works when the thing or person liked is a third person. When zu is the subject, the auxiliary must show it: zatzaizkit.

  • Adding -zki- to the ni forms.

    Hurbildu natzaizkio.
    Hurbildu natzaio.

    -zki- belongs to zu, gu and zuek. The forms with ni never have it.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

natzaizuLevel 5I to You: Natzaizu

Learn This First

natzaizu follows zait and me/you forms.

Words in This Pattern

nor noriizan