A Key to the Inter-National Language Esperanto

INTRODUCTION

The 3000 languages in the world today were originated by our ancient ancestors and morphed over several millennia. These languages are full of inconsistencies and irregularities. It is a tribute to the capacity of the human mind that it can handle such difficult material. In 1887, a new language, free from irregularities, was introduced. By speaking this relatively easy-to-learn bridge language, people from all backgrounds are able to overcome the language barrier. Today, Esperanto is the only planned human language in widespread use. Use an Esperanto-English dictionary and refer to this “key” while reading texts in Esperanto to help you unlock the meaning of Esperanto according to the grammatical rules.

This file is also available in PDF format for download:  

A Key to the Inter-National Language Esperanto.pdf

ALPHABET

A B C Ĉ D E F G Ĝ H Ĥ I J Ĵ K L M N O P R S Ŝ T U Ŭ V Z
a b c ĉ d e f g ĝ h ĥ i j ĵ k l m n o p r s ŝ t u ŭ v z

Every Esperanto word is pronounced as it is spelt, without exception. The five vowels are a as in father, e as in set, i as in machine, o as in bone, u as in tune. (These guides are for U.S. English speakers.)

The six letters unique to Esperanto, ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ and ŭ, were introduced so that every sound could be represented by just one letter (unlike combinations such as “ch” in “church” or “sh” as in “shoe”). In Esperanto, q, w, x and y are absent, but appear in foreign names, and are treated like ç, ñ, ð, ø, ß etc.

The consonants are pronounced pretty much the same as in English, but those that differ from English are as follows: 

c ts as in dance
ĉ ch as in chop
g ‘hard’ g as in go
ĝ ‘soft’ g as in age
ĥ ‘hard’ like j in Andalusean Spanish jota

or ch in Scottish loch
j y as in year
ĵ is like s in pleasure
s always like s in sip
ŝ sh as in shoe
ŭ w as in west

All of the other consonants are like in English, except note that r is slightly trilled, like in Spanish. The dot over the j is lost in ĵ.

Combinations involving vowels:

aj like y in sky
ej like ay in day
oj like oy in boy
uj like ouy in bouy, but as one syllable
aŭ like ow in cow
eŭ say eh+w as one syllable

The stress in Esperanto always falls on the second-to-last vowel. Be careful with words like radio and familio, in which the last i is stressed. Also, be aware that there are no “silent” letters in Esperanto. So in words with combinations such as kn or scat the beginning, both consonants must be sounded out. The sc combination may be tricky, but in reality it is common in English, in words such as chests. This combination appears on the beginning of some common Esperanto words.

 

STRUCTURE 
(NOUNS, ADJECTIVES & VERBS)

Esperanto words consist of an assembly of parts put together in a logical fashion. Their function in a sentence is signaled by their grammatical endings. The ability to make words by combination greatly reduces the need for memorization. This principle is found in nature, where, from approximately 110 elements, millions of substances can be created by various combinations.

Root words, or base words, give the general idea, but they lack a definite meaning until they receive a grammatical ending. Take the root akv-, for example, which means “water.” Adding -o makes the singular noun akvo, a thing, “water.” Adding -jmakes it plural, so that akvoj means “waters.” Alternatively, adding -a to akv- makes akva, an adjective, “watery.”

The Guinness Book of World Records lists Esperanto as the only language in which there are no irregular verbs to learn. By comparison, French has 2238, and Spanish and German have about 700 apiece. There is only one pattern in Esperanto, which consists of just 6 endings for verbs. The present, past and future are shown by the endings -as, -is and -os, respectively. The infinitive is shown by -i, the imperative by -u, and the conditional by -us. So, from the root for “speak,” parol-, and mi(meaning “I”) we make:

mi parolas I speak, I am speaking
mi parolis I spoke, I was speaking
mi parolos I will speak
paroli to speak
parolu! speak!
mi parolu I should speak
mi parolus I would speak

To ask a yes/no question in Esperanto, the word ĉu is used. Any sentence that begins with ĉu is saying, “Is it true that…?” Ĉu li parolis? Means “Did you speak?” In non-interrogatory, contexts, ĉu means “whether.”

 

PRONOUNS

mi I, me ni we, us
vi you (whether one or many)
li 
ŝi 
ĝi		 he, him 
she, her 
it		 ili they, them

 

si reflexive pronoun for when the actor 
of a verb is also the recipient of the action.
oni one/they

Example: Oni diras ke… They say that…

Adding -a to a pronoun makes it possessive. mia = my. These possessive pronouns behave in the same manner as adjectives, in that they can go before or after the noun, and they will be in the plural (and accusative, see below) if the noun is also. “My house” could be mia domo or domo mia.

 

AFFIXES

Affixes are the elements which are most often used to modify the meanings of root words, although they can stand as root words if logic permits. Those affixes which come at the beginnings of words are called prefixes, those found at the ends of roots are called suffixes. The very last part of a complete Esperanto word is the grammatical ending, for example, one of the endings used above to create verbs.

Prefixes

bo- in-law filo son bofilo son-in-law
dis- separation doni to give disdoni to distribute
eks- former edzo husband eksedzo ex-husband
ek- start vidi to see ekvidi to catch a glimpse of
fi- immoral libro book filibro dirty book
ge- both sexes patro father/parent gepatroj parents
mal- opposite (note: not “bad”) varma warm malvarma cold
pra- long ago historio history prahistorio prehistory
re- again legi to read relegi to read again

Suffixes

-aĉ filthy vetero weather veteraĉo foul weather
-ad continuation studi to study studado act of studying
-aĵ thing manĝi to eat manĝaĵo food
-an member klubo club klubano club member
-ar collection arbo tree arbaro forest
-ebl possible vidi to see videbla visible
-ec quality libera free libereco freedom
-eg increases domo house domego mansion
-ej place kuiri to cook kuirejo kitchen
-em tendency paroli speak parolema talkative
-er piece of polvo dust polvero dust mote
-estr boss lernejo school lernejestro principal
-et reduces domo house dometo cottage
-id offspring kato cat katido kitten
-iĝ become naski 
verda		 to bear 
green		 naskiĝi 
verdiĝi		 to be born 
to become green
-ig causation dormi to sleep dormigi to put to sleep
-il tool tranĉi to cut tranĉilo knife
-ind worthy laŭdi to praise laŭdinda praiseworthy
-ing socket kandelo candle kandelingo candlestick
-ĉj male diminutive patro father paĉjo papa
-in female avo 
leono		 grandfather 
lion		 avino 
leonino		 grandmother 
leonino
-ism ideology Markso Marx (Karl) marksismo Marxism
-ist professional baki to bake bakisto baker
-nj female diminutive patrino mother panjo mama
-op group tri 3 triopo threesome
-uj container cigaro cigar cigarujo cigar box
-ul guy nova new novulo newbie/novice

 

-um (wild card)

um is an affix with no definite meaning that you can use when no others are appropriate.

folio leaf foliumi to leaf through (a book, for example)
cerbo brain cerbumi to brainstorm

Whole words can be built from the affixes. ilo tool, ilaro a set of tools, ilarujo a toolbox. See how creative you can be!

 

ADVERBS

Adverbs are words that modify a verb, adjective or another adverb and describe how some action is done. They are formed by adding -e to the root. So Li rapide kuras means “he quickly runs.” -e can be attached to almost any root, so a sentence such as Kata kato kate katas meaning “a catlike cat cattishly behaves as a cat,” is entirely possible. Note there is no Esperanto word for “a or an.” There is only one word, la, for “the.”

There is a separate class of adverbs, marked by -aŭ. When a word has this ending, it is incorporated into the root. For example, “soon” is baldaŭ, but there is no root bald-. You can, however, add affixes and grammatical endings to make words such as baldaŭa, which would mean “forthcoming.”

 

NUMBERS

The numerals are completely regular, and are built with a small number of elements.

0 nul
1 unu
2 du
3 tri
4 kvar
5 kvin
6 ses
7 sep
8 ok
9 naŭ
10 dek
100 cent
1000 mil

From these thirteen root words, you can make any number under a million

11 dek unu
12 dek du
13 dek tri
20 dudek
21 dudek unu
39 tridek naŭ
140 cent kvardek
1999 mil naŭcent naŭdek naŭ
2000 du mil

The numbers listed above are called cardinal numbers. Ordinal numbers, which are used to put things in their order, (such as “first,” “second,” “third”, etc.), are formed by putting -a at the end. So, “the 7th father” is la sepa patro. But “7 fathers” would be sep patroj.

 

CORRELATIVES

The idea behind correlative words is that certain words like where, there, nowhere, everywhere and somewhere are related, as are whose, that person’s, no one’s, everyone’s and someone’s.

Each correlative word consists of three parts, with i being in the middle of every word (it is also the accented syllable in every correlative word).

The last part of each word shows the topic. Here are the nine in alphabetical order:

a kind
al motive or reason
am time
e place
el manner
es possession
o object
om amount
u individuality

At the beginning comes the five ways to think about the topics. These parts are:

k question
t definite answer
(blank) indefinite
nen negation
ĉ universality

After assembling the nine endings and five beginnings, we can logically create 45 words, although some meanings would have to be stretched in precise English translation.

kia what kind of?
tia that kind of
ia some kind of
nenia no kind of
ĉia every kind of

 

kial for what reason? why?
tial for that reason, therefore
ial for some reason
nenial for no reason
ĉial for every reason

 

kiam at what time? when?
tiam at that time, then
iam at some time, sometime
neniam at no time, never
ĉiam at every time, always

 

kie at what place? where?
tie at that place, there
ie at some place, somewhere
nenie at no place, nowhere
ĉie at every place, everywhere

 

kiel in what manner? how?
tiel in that manner, thus
iel in some manner
neniel in no manner
ĉiel in every manner

 

kies belonging to whom? whose?
ties that one’s
ies someone’s
nenies nobody’s
ĉies everybody’s

 

kio what thing? what?
tio that thing
io something
nenio nothing
ĉio everything

 

kiom what quantity? how much/many?
tiom that much/many
iom some of
neniom none of
ĉiom all of

 

kiu who/which person?
tiu that person
iu someone
neniu no one
ĉiu each person

 

The table in a more concise format looks like:

-i- in the middle k- question t- definite answer (blank) indefinite nen- negation ĉ- universality
-a kind kia what kind? tia kind ia some kind of nenia no kind of ĉia every kind of
-al motive, reason kial why? 
for what reason?		 tial 
for that reason		 ial 
for some reason		 nenial 
for no reason		 ĉial 
for every reason
-am time kiam when? 
at what time?		 tiam then 
at that time		 iam sometime 
at some time		 neniam never 
at no time		 ĉiam always 
at every time
-e place kie where? 
at what place?		 tie there 
at that place		 ie somewhere 
at some place		 nenie nowhere 
at no place		 ĉie everywhere 
at that place
-el manner kiel how? 
in what way?		 tiel thus 
in that way		 tiel 
in some way		 neniel 
in no way		 ĉiel 
in every way
-es possession kies whose? 
belonging to whom?		 ties 
that person’s		 ies 
somebody’s		 nenies 
nobody’s		 ĉies 
everybody’s
-o object kio what thing? tio that thing io something nenio nothing ĉio everything
-om quantity kiom how much? tiom that much iom some amount neniom no amount ĉiom all of
-u individuality kiu who? 
which person		 tiu 
that person		 iu 
somebody		 neniu 
nobody		 ĉiu 
each person

The correlatives ending with -u can be pluralized into kiuj, tiuj, iuj, neniuj and ĉiuj, which mean which people?, those people, some people, (neniuj is possible, but not logical), and everyone.

kiu fenestro which window?
tiu fenestro that window
iu fenestro some window
neniu fenestro no window
ĉiu fenestro every window

 

Correlatives can serve as root words and be built upon. Esperantists ask Kioma estas la horo? meaning “What time is it,” or more precisely, “how many is the hour?” Another example is the word kialo which means “a reason.”

Notice how the correlatives save time by reducing the amount of memorization. From 14 parts (9 + 5), you get 45 words (9 × 5).

Adding one more word, ajn, to the ki- words and the i- words, you give it uncertainty. kie means where, so kie ajn means wherever and ie means somewhere, and ie ajn means anywhere. This pattern applies to all of the correlatives that start with ki-and i-.

Also, the particle ĉi added to the t- correlatives indicates nearness. ĉi tie means “here,” and ĉi tiam means “at this time.” It can come before or after the correlative.

 

PARTICIPLES

Participles are usually based on verbs. If we say, “he is dividing the cake, now the cake is divided,” we use one active participle (dividing) and one passive participle (divided).

Esperanto participles are very precise. They not only indicate whether a participle is active or passive, they also tell whether they are taking place in the past, present or future, using i, a, or o, matching the letters for the simple tenses.

A falonta botelo is a bottle which will fall. A falanta botelo is one that is falling through the air. After it hits the floor, it is a falinta botelo. This illustrates the active participle’s three forms.

The passive participle is analogous. A cake that is going to be divided is a dividota kuko. When it is in the process of being divided, it is a dividata kuko. Having been cut, it is now a dividita kuko.

These participles can be combined with the three tenses of esti (“to be”) to form 9 compound tenses with the active participle and 9 with the passive. This requires some memorization and should be avoided in original expression. They may, however, become necessary for rigorous translation from English. As an example, we can say that in the future, the bottle will have fallen by saying La botelo estos falinta.

If the noun ending o is used instead of the adjectival a, the participle becomes a person. A vidanto is a person who sees. A person who did see is a vidinto. A person who will see is called a vidonto. In the passive, a vidato is a person who is being seen right now, a vidito is one who has been seen and a vidoto is one who will be seen in the future.

All these facts apply to every single verb in the language, without exception.

 

ACCUSATIVE

Esperanto words contain more information than do English words. Esperanto words clearly show what function they fulfill in a sentence, while English words require placement within a sentence in order to determine what function it fulfills. This structure requires a bit more precision on the part of the Esperanto speaker, but the payoff is that the listener can understand the ideas more clearly, and the speaker can take great liberty with the order in which he speaks his words.

The letter n marks nouns and their adjectives which receive the direct action of the verb. In order to say the dog saw the big cat, you would say, la hundo vidis la grandan katon. English requires rigid word order, so that “man bites dog” and “dog bites man” mean two completely different things, even though the only difference is the order in which the words are written. But la grandan katon vidis la hundo has will have the same meaning, regardless of word order.

Notice that the adjective grandan takes the accusative because it agrees with the noun katon. This is true of the plural as well. Esperanto speakers say grandaj katoj if there are more than one. The plural is used together with the accusative. “The dog saw the big cats” would be la hundo vidis la grandajn katojn.

The use of the accusative is extended to motion toward. For instance, la kato kuras sub la tablo means that the cat is under the table, running around. La kato kuras sub la tablon, however, means that the cat ran from somewhere else to underneath the table.

Expressions of time take the accusative ending as well. Instead of saying “I will come on Sunday,” Esperantists say Mi venos dimanĉon. Notice that there is no equivalent to “on” in the Esperanto expression of time.

The accusative is used to show measurement, too. In English, we say “I weigh 100 kilograms.” In Esperanto, one would say Mi pezas cent kilogramojn, which literally means “I am heavy 100 kilograms.” (Note that in international speech, relatively few will know how much a pound weighs). The accusative will be applied to the unit of measurement for cost, periods of time, length, width, height, distance, temperature, mass, weight, volume, density, speed etc.

Pronouns (mi, vi, ili…) and correlatives ending in vowels do take the accusative when necessary. Ordinal numbers (first, second, third… ending in Esperanto in -a) take the accusative, but cardinal numbers (one, two, three…) never do.

 

PREPOSTITIONS

Prepositions are particles placed before a noun or adjective/noun to form a clause. In English, an example would be “at the beach.” In that prepositional phrase, the preposition is “at.” Esperanto forms these type of phrases similarly, so “at the beach” would be ĉe la plaĝo. In that sentence, ĉe is the preposition. Some Esperanto prepositions are more concise than English prepositions, for example, “according to me” would be laŭ mi, since laŭ means “according to.” Prepositions are often used as affixes, like ĉe-esti means “to attend,” or “to be at.” Where logic permits, most can also stand as root words that can be built upon, such as ekstera, which means “external.”

al to
anstataŭ instead of
antaŭ before, in front of
apud near
ĉe at
ĉirkaŭ around
de of, from, by
dum during
ekster outside
el out from
en in
ĝis until
inter among
kontraŭ against
krom besides
kun with
kvazaŭ as if
laŭ according to, along
malantaŭ after, behind  (mal+antaŭ to make

the opposite of ‘before/in front of’) 
malgraŭ in spite of
ol than (in comparison)
per by means of
po at a rate of, @
por in order to
post after
preter beyond
pri about, concerning
pro on account of
sen without
sub under
super above
sur on
tra through
trans across

Like the -um suffix, there is a similar “wild card” preposition: je. It is useful in certain phrases such as “I bet money on the horse.” The preposition sur (“on top of”) does not accurately capture the meaning, so to mean “on” you can use the preposition je, which has no definite meaning. This is commonly used with expressions of time. “At 3 o’clock” is not a place, so ĉe to mean “at” does not work. For that purpose, je is used.  

Last updated 6 December 2002
Copyright © 2002 Christopher Zervic