Hello in Euskera, Basque.

Learn how to say hello in Basque for your trip to the Basque Country, Euskal Herria.

Greeting is an act of education in all the territories and the Basque Country is no exception. That is why, on this occasion, we are going to teach you how to say hello in Basque with this mini dictionary that we have created. Learn how to say hello in Basque and get ready for your trip to Euskal Herria!

As we have already mentioned in our article on the most important words for interacting in Basque, there are several ways of greeting in Basque. As in the rest of the languages of the world, in Basque there are formal and informal greetings, a characteristic to which we must add the fact that in Euskal Herria there are different dialects of Basque, the so-called “euskalkiak”, different dialects that, formed from the same dialectic base, create small variations with respect to each other. That is why, depending on the area of Euskal Herria where we are, we will hear different versions of a common denominator, the words kaixo or aupa.

The formal way of saying hello in Basque, the word kaixo, has no great variations, but its homonym, the word aupa, a popular term that we hear more easily in the streets of the Basque Country, reaches unimaginable forms depending on the province where we are: aupa, iepa, aupi… And this last way of saying hello in Basque, is a simpler word to pronounce and more globalized than kaixo. As for the third option mentioned, “Aupa hi” is commonly heard among friends, since, aupa hi, would be in Spanish something like “hola tu”.

The entry of the Internet and social networks in the daily life of the Basques has created new words, shortened words, which give rise to a greater speed when writing in Basque by cell phone. Kaixo and Aupa, the 2 most used words to say hello in Basque, are not exempt from this type of use, and nowadays it is common to find conversations in which these words are mentioned by removing the vowels or eliminating some of their last characters.

If you are curious to know any other word in our language, the Basque, do not hesitate to let us know through a comment in this article. We recommend reading our article of words in Basque, an article in which we have made a small dictionary with the most practical words for your trip to the Basque Country.