-gile / -gintza

Makers and Crafts: -gile, -gintza

Level 5

Noun + -gile = the person who makes it. Noun + -gintza = making it, as a trade or activity. altzari (furniture) → altzarigile (furniture maker) → altzarigintza (furniture making).

How It Works

1. Makers with -gile.

  • erlojugile: watchmaker
  • altzarigile: furniture maker
  • etxegile: house builder
  • legegile: lawmaker
  • hiztegigile: dictionary maker

2. Crafts and industries with -gintza.

  • ontzigintza: shipbuilding
  • zinemagintza: filmmaking, the film industry
  • liburugintza: book making, publishing
  • legegintza: lawmaking
  • jantzigintza: clothing making
  • bertsogintza: making bertsoak, Basque verses for singing

3. The older -gin. Some trades keep the old ending: hargin (stonemason), zapatagin (shoemaker), and with -kin, okin (baker) and harakin (butcher). New words use -gile.

4. Other "person" endings. -gile goes on the product (a noun). For a person named after a verb, use -le, -tzaile or -lari: idazle (writer), saltzaile (seller), abeslari (singer). For a place where things are made or kept, use -tegi: lantegi (workshop, factory).

Examples (6)

  1. Aitona erlojugilea zen.

    Grandpa was a watchmaker.

  2. Legegileek lege berri bat onartu dute.

    The lawmakers have passed a new law.

  3. Ontzigintza oso garrantzitsua izan da Bizkaian.

    Shipbuilding has been very important in Bizkaia.

  4. Euskal zinemagintza indartsu dago.

    Basque filmmaking is doing well.

  5. Altzarigile batek egin zuen mahai hau.

    A furniture maker made this table.

  6. Bertsogintza ikasten ari naiz.

    I am learning to make bertso verses.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding -tza to -gile for the trade.

    Liburugiletzan lan egiten dut.
    Liburugintzan lan egiten dut.

    The trade is named with -gintza: liburugintza. Basque does not build liburugiletza.

  • Using -gintza for the person.

    Nire aita erlojugintza da.
    Nire aita erlojugilea da.

    -gintza names the craft. The person who makes watches is an erlojugile.

How It Connects

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

-gile / -gintzaLevel 5Makers and Crafts: -gile, -gintza

Learn This First

-gile follows agent suffixes.