Esperanto lesson 1: greetings and the alphabet

In this first lesson you learn to read Esperanto aloud, say hello and goodbye, and introduce yourself. You meet the personal pronouns mi, vi, li, ŝi and the verb estas – "am, is, are" – which is the same for every person. If you have never heard Esperanto, read the five pronunciation rules in the Grammar section first, then come back to the dialogue.

#Dialogue

Ana lives in São Paulo, Brazil. Tomo lives in Kraków, Poland. Both have just joined an online Esperanto conversation group run by Juma from Kenya.

Read each line aloud twice. Stress the second-to-last syllable: sa-LU-ton, bon-VE-non, ko-men-CAN-to.

Names often keep their own spelling and sound: Juma is a Swahili name, said "JOO-mah", even though the Esperanto letter j sounds like "y".

#New words

#Grammar

#Pronunciation in five rules

Esperanto spelling is phonetic: once you know these five rules, you can read any word aloud. The full table of letters is on the alphabet and pronunciation page.

1. One letter, one sound. Every letter is pronounced, and no letter is silent.
2. Five pure vowels. a, e, i, o, u sound roughly as in Spanish or Italian: a as in "father", e as in "bed", i as in "machine", o as in "more", u as in "rule".
3. A few letters differ from English. Learn the table below.
4. Stress the second-to-last vowel. SA-lu-ton is wrong; say sa-LU-ton. The same rule works for every word: BO-ne, es-pe-RAN-to, KI-el.
5. aj, ej, oj, uj, aŭ, eŭ are one syllable each. Kaj sounds like "kai", and ankaŭ is AN-kaŭ.

saluton: sa-LU-tonsaluton/saˈlu.ton/

bonvenon: bon-VE-nonbonvenon/bonˈve.non/

komencanto: ko-men-CAN-tokomencanto/ko.menˈtsan.to/

Esperanto: es-pe-RAN-toEsperanto/es.peˈran.to/

kiel: KI-elkiel/ˈki.el/

#Personal pronouns

Esperanto has seven basic personal pronouns (oni "people, one" comes in Lesson 10). They never change for politeness: vi is "you" for a friend, a stranger or a whole group. See the full chapter on pronouns.

Personal pronouns

Match each Esperanto word with its meaning.

• • mi
    Answer

    I
  • vi
    Answer

    you
  • li
    Answer

    he
  • ŝi
    Answer

    she
  • ni
    Answer

    we
  • ili
    Answer

    they

  Meanings: he · she · you · they · I · we

#One verb form for everyone: estas

The verb "to be" is esti. In the present tense it is estas for every person – no "am, is, are" to remember. This is true of every Esperanto verb, as you will see in Lesson 4 and on the verbs page.

There is no word for "a" or "an": Mi estas komencanto means "I am a beginner". Esperanto only has a word for "the", la, which comes in Lesson 2.

Build the sentence

Put the words in the right order.

1. I am a beginner.

   Words: estas komencanto vi mi

   Answer

   Mi estas komencanto.

2. She is from Brazil.

   Words: li ŝi el Brazilo estas

   Answer

   Ŝi estas el Brazilo.

3. We are friends.

   Words: estas amikoj vi ni

   Answer

   Ni estas amikoj.

4. How are you?

   Words: fartas vi kiel bone

   Answer

   Kiel vi fartas?Also correct: Kiel fartas vi?

#Greetings for every situation

The -n at the end of saluton and bonan tagon is not decoration: both are short forms of whole sentences – bonan tagon of "I wish you a good day", saluton of "I give you a greeting". You will learn this ending in Lesson 5. For more greetings, see Esperanto greetings.

Greetings

Type the answer. For ĉ, ĝ, ŝ, ŭ you can type cx, gx, sx, ux.

1. Good morning!

   Answer

   Bonan matenon

2. Good evening!

   Answer

   Bonan vesperon

3. Good night! (when going to bed)

   Answer

   Bonan nokton

4. Goodbye!

   Answer

   Ĝis revido / Ĝis la revido / Ĝis

#Practice

Lesson 1 practice

1. How is c pronounced in komencanto?

   like k in "kite"like s in "sun"like ts in "cats"
   Answer

   like ts in "cats"

2. Which syllable is stressed in saluton?

   SALUTON
   Answer

   LU

3. Which word means "she"?

   liŝiĝi
   Answer

   ŝi

4. Translate: "I am Ana."

   Answer

   Mi estas Ana

5. Translate: "We are from Brazil."

   Answer

   Ni estas el Brazilo

6. What is a good answer to Kiel vi fartas?

   Bone, dankon.Bonan nokton.Mi estas el Kenjo.
   Answer

   Bone, dankon.

7. Translate: "How are you?"

   Answer

   Kiel vi fartas / Kiel fartas vi

8. Fill in the verb: Ili ___ el Pollando. ("They are from Poland.")

   Answer

   estas

9. Translate: "Me too!"

   Answer

   Ankaŭ mi / Mi ankaŭ

CheckTry again

#Culture corner

Esperanto has a birthday: 26 July 1887. On that day the eye doctor Ludwik Zamenhof published the first textbook of the language in Warsaw, written in Russian and signed Doktoro Esperanto – "Doctor One-who-hopes". People soon called the language itself Esperanto, after the pen name. Read the history of Esperanto to see what happened next.

#Common questions

#Can I type ĉ, ĝ and ŝ on a normal keyboard?

Yes. The most common workaround is the x-system: type cx for ĉ, gx for ĝ, sx for ŝ and ux for ŭ. The exercises in this course convert it for you as you type.

#Is vi formal or informal?

Both. Vi means "you" for one person or many, for a friend or a stranger. A separate informal singular, ci, exists in theory but is almost never used.

#How do you say "My name is…" in Esperanto?

The simplest way is Mi estas Ana – "I am Ana". You will also hear Mi nomiĝas Ana – "I am called Ana" – and Mia nomo estas Ana – "My name is Ana".

#Sources

• PMEG: Bazaj elparolaj reguloj (pronunciation and stress)
• PMEG: Literoj (the alphabet)
• PMEG: Personaj pronomoj (personal pronouns, vi and ci)
• PMEG: Mallongigitaj frazoj (Saluton!, Bonan tagon!)
• Fundamento de Esperanto – grammar in English (1905)
• Wikipedia: Unua Libro
• Wikipedia: L. L. Zamenhof