hona / horra / hara

To Here and to There

Level 2

Like non, nora and nondik, the words for here and there have three forms: where (hemen), where to (hona) and where from (hemendik).

How It Works

In English, "here" can mean both "in this place" and "to this place". Basque keeps them apart, following the same pattern as non, nora and nondik.

  • hemen (here) → hona (to here) → hemendik (from here)
  • hor (there, near you) → horra (to there) → hortik (from there)
  • han (over there) → hara (to over there) → handik (from over there)

The three distances are the same as in hemen, hor and han: near me, near you, and far from both of us.

Which one to use. Look at the verb. Being or staying somewhere uses hemen, hor or han: Hemen nago. Going or coming toward a place uses hona, horra or hara: Zatoz hona! Leaving a place uses hemendik, hortik or handik: Atera hemendik!

Spelling. The ending -tik becomes -dik after n: hemen → hemendik, han → handik. After r it stays -tik: hor → hortik.

Pointing something out. Hona hemen means "here is" or "here you are": Hona hemen zure kafea (Here is your coffee). Horra on its own can point to something near the listener: Horra zure giltzak! (There are your keys!)

With -ko you get hemengo, horko and hango (of here, of there): hango jendea (the people over there).

Examples (6)

  1. Etorri hona!

    Come here!

    Coming toward the speaker is motion, so hona, not hemen.

  2. Bihar hara noa.

    I am going there tomorrow.

  3. Handik dator autobusa.

    The bus is coming from over there.

  4. Orain horra noa.

    I'm coming over to you now.

    horra is the place near the listener, so English often says "come over to you".

  5. Atera hemendik!

    Get out of here!

  6. Hona hemen zure kafea.

    Here is your coffee.

Common Mistakes

  • Using hemen with a verb of motion.

    Etorri hemen!
    Etorri hona!

    hemen answers "where?". Coming to this place answers "where to?", so use hona.

  • Writing -tik after n.

    Hantik dator.
    Handik dator.

    After n, -tik becomes -dik: han → handik, hemen → hemendik.

How It Connects

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

hona / horra / haraLevel 2To Here and to There

Learn This First

hona and hara build on the place adverbs and the allative.

Words in This Pattern

horhan