-garren
Ordinal Numbers
Add -garren to a number: bigarren (second), hirugarren (third), laugarren (fourth). Put the ordinal before the noun: hirugarren aldia (the third time).
How It Works
- bi → bigarren (2nd)
- hiru → hirugarren (3rd)
- lau → laugarren (4th)
- bost → bosgarren (5th)
- sei → seigarren (6th)
- hamar → hamargarren (10th)
- hogei → hogeigarren (20th)
- hogeita bat → hogeita batgarren (21st)
- ehun → ehungarren (100th)
Note the spelling bosgarren: the t of bost drops. Standard Basque does not write bostgarren.
First. For "first" on its own, use lehen or lehenengo (you will also hear lehenbiziko). Bat takes -garren only inside bigger numbers, as in hogeita batgarren (21st).
Word order. Unlike adjectives, ordinals come before the noun: bigarren solairua, laugarren kalea. The article and any case ending go at the end, on the noun: laugarren kalean (on the fourth street).
Standing alone. Without a noun, the ordinal takes the article itself: bigarrena (the second one), lehenengoa (the first one). Ni lehenengoa naiz (I am the first one).
In writing. A number followed by a full stop is read as an ordinal: 2. solairua is bigarren solairua, and XXI. mendea is hogeita batgarren mendea (the 21st century).
Last is azken, which also goes before the noun: azken aldia (the last time).
Examples (6)
- Bigarren solairuan bizi naiz.
I live on the second floor.
The ordinal comes first; the ending -an goes on the noun.
- Lehenengo aldiz nago Bilbon.
I am in Bilbao for the first time.
- Hau gaurko hirugarren kafea da.
This is today's third coffee.
- Maria lasterketan bosgarrena izan da.
Maria came fifth in the race.
With no noun after it, the ordinal takes the article: bosgarrena.
- Hogeita batgarren mendean bizi gara.
We live in the twenty-first century.
- Hau azken aldia da.
This is the last time.
Common Mistakes
Saying batgarren for "first".
Batgarren aldiz nago hemen.Lehenengo aldiz nago hemen.On its own, "first" is lehen or lehenengo. Batgarren appears only inside bigger numbers, like hogeita batgarren.
Putting the ordinal after the noun.
Solairu bigarrenean bizi naiz.Bigarren solairuan bizi naiz.Ordinals come before the noun, and the case ending goes on the noun.
Keeping the t of bost.
Bostgarren ilaran nago.Bosgarren ilaran nago.The standard spelling of "fifth" is bosgarren.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Ordinals follow the numbers.
Related Patterns
- bat ... hamarNumbers One to Ten
The numbers that -garren is added to.
Level 1 - Dates, Months and Seasons
Dates use ordinary numbers for the day (irailaren hogeita laua), but a century written with a full stop, like XXI. mendea, is read as an ordinal.
Level 2 - lehenengo / gero / azkenikSequencing Words
Uses lehenengo as a word for putting steps in order.
Level 2 - behin / bitan / hirutanOnce, Twice, Three Times
Counts how many times something happens, instead of which time it is.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice -garren in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Basque lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
