egun on
/eɡun on/word by word
The English phrase "good morning" is translated into Basque as egun on.
egun on is a common and polite way to say "good morning" when you see someone for the first time in the morning.
Meaning: when seeing someone for the first time in the morning (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a combination of egun (day) and on (good).
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike English, the adjective on (good) follows the noun egun (day).
How do you pronounce it?
/eɡun on/
Did you know?
- Because Basque is a language isolate, the 'good' in your morning greeting shares no linguistic roots with 'good' in any other Indo-European language like English or Spanish.
- The word on in egun on is a linguistic relic that links Basque to the ancient Iberian language, which is now extinct.
- In Basque culture, it is common to say egun on to complete strangers you pass on the street in small towns.
Examples in context
- Egun on!Good morning!This example shows how to use the form egun on.Tatoeba #773105 by marloncori, translation #329713 by YURY0608
- Egun ona, laguna!Good morning, friend!
- Egun on, Maite.Good morning, Maite.
- Egun on guztiei!Good morning to everyone!
Example conversation
Amaia and Gaizka meet at a local cafe in the morning.
- AmaiaEgun on, Gaizka!Good morning, Gaizka!
- GaizkaEgun on, Amaia. Zer moduz?Good morning, Amaia. How are you?
- AmaiaOso ondo, eskerrik asko.Very well, thank you.
- GaizkaNi ere ondo nago.I am also well.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good morning” translations and entries egun on, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (egun, on) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries on, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
