jeko / ñandeko / -je

They Say: Jeko and -je

Level 4

These three markers mean “they say”: Ohójeko Perurima “They say Perurima went”.

How It Works

Guarani has several ways to say “they say”. Ndaje, taught earlier, is one of them. This lesson covers three more.

  • Jeko is a small word, often after the first word or phrase of the sentence: Peteĩ jey jeko… “Once, they say…”. It is also written joined to a one-word verb: Ohójeko.
  • Ñandeko works the same way: Yvy apére ñandeko oiko kóva ko mbaʼe “They say this thing happened on the earth”.
  • -je is an ending on the verb: ohenoiukáje “they say he had someone called”. It is unstressed, so the stress stays on the root and shows as an accent.

All three are very common in stories and legends, especially at the beginning, when the speaker sets the scene. They tell the listener that the speaker is passing the story on and did not see it happen.

Examples (4)

  1. Ohójeko Perurima ohechamívo peteĩ iñamígope.

    They say Perurima used to go and visit a friend.

    Jeko joins the verb oho “he goes”. It is unstressed, so the stress stays on ho and shows as ó.

  2. Ohenoiukáje Perurima peteĩ pyharépe Añáme osena hag̃ua hendive.

    They say that one night Perurima had the devil called to have dinner with him.

    The ending -je is on the verb. It is unstressed, so the accent stays on ká.

  3. Yvy apére ñandeko oiko kóva ko mbaʼe.

    They say this thing happened on the earth.

    Ñandeko comes after the first phrase and marks the story as one that others told.

  4. Sapyʼarãicha meme jeko oúvante ou.

    They say that all who came, came as if for just a little while.

    Jeko comes after the first words here, too. Sapyʼarãicha is “as if for a little while”, and -nte in oúvante adds “only”.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the accent before -je.

    Ohenoiukaje Perurima.
    Ohenoiukáje Perurima.

    The ending -je is unstressed, so the accent shows that the stress stays on ká.

How It Connects

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

jeko / ñandeko / -jeLevel 4They Say: Jeko and -je

Learn This First

Jeko and -je give the same hearsay meaning as ndaje and often open a story.

Words in This Pattern

jeko-je