-(r)en kariaz

On Account of (Literary)

Level 6

Gerraren kariaz, herria hustu zen. (Because of the war, the village emptied.) Zure kariaz etorri naiz. (I have come because of you.)

How It Works

1. Cause. Horren kariaz, bilera bertan behera utzi zuten. (Because of that, they called off the meeting.) Eguraldi txarraren kariaz, ontziak portuan geratu ziren. (Because of the bad weather, the boats stayed in the harbour.)

2. Occasion. Emakumeen Egunaren kariaz, kontzertu bat antolatu zuten. (For Women's Day, they organized a concert.) The noun kari also appears without -az, after a noun with the article: Emakumeen Eguna kari.

3. Where it is used. Euskaltzaindia's dictionary marks kariaz as Northern or formal. In everyday Southern Basque, the same ideas are usually expressed with -(r)engatik, dela eta or, for consequences, -(r)en ondorioz.

4. Cause, not purpose. kariaz explains why something happened, or what occasion it marks. To say what something is for, use -tzeko: Dirua irabazteko egiten du lan. (He works to earn money.)

Examples (5)

  1. Gerraren kariaz, herria hustu zen.

    Because of the war, the village emptied.

  2. Zure kariaz etorri naiz.

    I have come because of you.

  3. Horren kariaz, bilera bertan behera utzi zuten.

    Because of that, they called off the meeting.

  4. Eguraldi txarraren kariaz, ontziak portuan geratu ziren.

    Because of the bad weather, the boats stayed in the harbour.

  5. Emakumeen Egunaren kariaz, kontzertu bat antolatu zuten.

    For Women's Day, they organized a concert.

    Here kariaz marks the occasion, not a cause.

Common Mistakes

  • Using kariaz for a purpose.

    Dirua irabaztearen kariaz egiten du lan.
    Dirua irabazteko egiten du lan.

    If you mean in order to earn money, use -tzeko. With kariaz, the sentence says that earning money is the cause of the work, not its aim.

How It Connects

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

-(r)en kariazLevel 6On Account of (Literary)

Learn This First

kariaz follows because of.