ez- / des- / ber-

Prefixes Ez-, Des- and Ber-

Level 5

Basque has a few prefixes: ez- (not), des- (the opposite) and ber- (again). Ezezaguna means unknown, desegin means to undo, and berregin means to redo.

How It Works

1. ez- (not). It goes mostly on nouns and adjectives:

  • ezezagun (unknown), from ezagun (known)
  • ezjakin (ignorant), from jakin (to know)
  • ezatsegin (unpleasant), from atsegin (pleasant)
  • ezuste (a surprise), from uste (an expectation)

The word ezinezko (impossible) is built on ezin (cannot), not on the prefix alone.

2. des- (the opposite). On verbs, it undoes an action that has an end point: egin → desegin (to undo, to take apart), agertu (to appear) → desagertu (to disappear). On adjectives and nouns it means not: desberdin (different), desadostasun (disagreement). Some pairs exist with both prefixes and mean the same: desberdin and ezberdin, desatsegin and ezatsegin.

3. ber- (again). It goes on verbs whose action reaches an end: berregin (to redo), berreskuratu (to recover), berrezarri (to put back), berreraiki (to rebuild), berrikusi (to see again, to review), berpiztu (to revive). A few verbs take bir- instead: birsortu (to regenerate), birmoldatu (to reshape). The same old prefix hides in berrogei (forty, twice twenty).

4. Not every verb takes ber-. Standard Basque accepts the traditional ber- verbs, and a verb with no end point, such as egon or ibili, cannot take it. When a verb has no ber- form, say berriro or berriz (again): berriro ibili (to walk again).

Tip: Before a vowel the r doubles, because a single r between vowels would sound soft: berr + egin = berregin.

Examples (6)

  1. Zenbaki ezezagun batek deitu dit.

    An unknown number called me.

    ez- + ezagun (known) = ezezagun (unknown).

  2. Haurrak puzzlea desegin du.

    The child has taken the puzzle apart.

    des- + egin: to undo what was made.

  3. Nire giltzak desagertu dira.

    My keys have disappeared.

  4. Bi anaiak oso desberdinak dira.

    The two brothers are very different.

  5. Lana berregin behar dut.

    I have to redo the work.

    Before the vowel of egin, ber- is written berr-.

  6. Poliziak lapurtutako koadroa berreskuratu du.

    The police have recovered the stolen painting.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing ber- with one r before a vowel.

    Lana beregin behar dut.
    Lana berregin behar dut.

    Before a vowel the prefix is berr-: berregin, berreskuratu, berrezarri. With one r, the word is misspelled.

  • Adding ber- to a verb that has no end point.

    Mendian berribili gara.
    Mendian berriro ibili gara.

    ber- only goes on verbs that reach an end, like egin or eraiki. ibili (to walk around) has no ber- form, so use berriro (again).

How It Connects

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

ez- / des- / ber-Level 5Prefixes Ez-, Des- and Ber-

Learn This First

Prefixes follow negation.

Words in This Pattern