Countries and Their People
Learn each country together with the word for its people.
How It Works
| Country | Person | Language |
|---|---|---|
| Hispanio | hispano | la hispana |
| Ĉinio | ĉino | la ĉina |
| Pollando | polo | la pola |
| Japanio | japano | la japana |
| Brazilo | brazilano | la portugala |
A name that ends in -ujo is always made from a people: Japanujo is the land of the japanoj. A name that ends in -io or -lando can go either way. Nederlando has nederlandanoj, but Pollando has poloj.
When you are not sure, add -an- to the country name: nederlandanoj and ukrainianoj are always understood. Put -an- after a country name and never after a people word.
Examples (5)
- Carlos loĝas en Hispanio, kaj li estas hispano.
Carlos lives in Spain, and he is a Spaniard.
Hispanio is made from the people, so a person is the plain word hispano.
- Wei vizitas Pollandon, la landon de la poloj.
Wei is visiting Poland, the land of the Poles.
Pollando is the country and poloj are its people.
- Pedro estas brazilano, kaj li parolas la portugalan.
Pedro is a Brazilian, and he speaks Portuguese.
Brazilo takes -ano for a person from there.
- Kenji estas japano, sed li loĝas en Kanado kaj konas multajn kanadanojn.
Kenji is Japanese, but he lives in Canada and knows many Canadians.
Kanado takes -ano, so the people are kanadanoj.
- En Ĉinio loĝas multaj ĉinoj.
Many Chinese people live in China.
Ĉinio has the people word ĉino.
Common Mistakes
Adding -an- to the word for a people.
Kofi renkontis du francanojn.Kofi renkontis du francojn.The word for the people is already francoj. The ending -an- belongs after a country name, as in Nederlando, nederlandanoj.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Country names are built from the same parts as language names and -an-.
Related Patterns
Practice Countries and Their People in Bubblegum
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