hejmen, tien, kien
Home, There and Where to
A place adverb with -n shows the place you move to.
How It Works
| Where something is | Where something goes |
|---|---|
| hejme (at home) | hejmen (home) |
| tie (there) | tien (to there) |
| kie (where) | kien (where to) |
| ie (somewhere) | ien (to somewhere) |
Use the form with -n after a verb of movement such as iri (go), veni (come) or kuri (run). Kien vi iras? asks where you are going, and the answer is tien or hejmen. After a verb of staying, such as esti, keep the plain form: Kie vi estas?
This -n only points toward a place. To say that someone comes from a place, put de or el before the place word: de tie (from there).
The same -n works on ĉie (everywhere) and nenie (nowhere), which come with the other table words.
Examples (4)
- Kofi iras hejmen post la kongreso.
Kofi goes home after the congress.
Hejmen has -n because Kofi moves toward his home.
- Kien vi iras, Amara?
Where are you going, Amara?
Kien asks where someone is heading.
- Ni veturas tien kun Priya.
We are driving there with Priya.
Tien means to there.
- Ewa estas hejme, sed Pedro ankoraŭ iras hejmen.
Ewa is at home, but Pedro is still on his way home.
Hejme says where Ewa is, and hejmen says where Pedro is going.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out -n when someone moves to the place.
Ni iras tie morgaŭ.Ni iras tien morgaŭ.The first sentence says that you walk about inside that place tomorrow. To say that you travel to the place, add -n: tien.
Adding -n when the person stays in the same place.
Ewa estas hejmen.Ewa estas hejme.Estas shows no movement, so the place word keeps its plain form.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The direction adverbs add -n to the place adverbs.
Related Patterns
Practice hejmen, tien, kien in Bubblegum
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