# Esperanto lesson 1: greetings and the alphabet

Source: https://esperantopedia.org/learn/course/lesson-01/
Language: en
Updated: 2026-10-08

> Say hello in Esperanto, introduce yourself with Mi estas… and read any word aloud: one letter, one sound, stress on the second-to-last syllable.

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.

| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| **Juma:** Saluton al ĉiuj! Mi estas Juma. Mi estas el Kenjo. | Hello, everyone! I'm Juma. I'm from Kenya. |
| **Ana:** Saluton, Juma! Mi estas Ana. Mi estas el Brazilo. | Hi, Juma! I'm Ana. I'm from Brazil. |
| **Tomo:** Bonan tagon! Mi estas Tomo. Mi estas el Pollando. | Good day! I'm Tomo. I'm from Poland. |
| **Juma:** Bonvenon, Ana kaj Tomo! Kiel vi fartas? | Welcome, Ana and Tomo! How are you? |
| **Ana:** Bone, dankon. Kaj vi? | Fine, thanks. And you? |
| **Juma:** Tre bone, dankon! | Very well, thanks! |
| **Tomo:** Mi fartas bone, sed mi estas iom nervoza. Mi estas komencanto. | I'm fine, but I'm a bit nervous. I'm a beginner. |
| **Ana:** Ankaŭ mi estas komencanto! | I'm a beginner too! |
| **Juma:** Ne gravas. Ĉi tie ni ĉiuj estas amikoj. | It doesn't matter. Here we're all friends. |
| **Tomo:** Dankon, Juma. Saluton, Ana! | Thanks, Juma. Hi, Ana! |
| **Ana:** Saluton, Tomo! Ĝis lundo? | Hi, Tomo! See you on Monday? |
| **Juma:** Jes, ĝis lundo! Ĝis revido, amikoj! | Yes, see you on Monday! Goodbye, friends! |
| **Tomo:** Ĝis revido! | Goodbye! |

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

| Esperanto | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| *saluton* | hello, hi | greeting for any time of day |
| *bonan tagon* | good day, hello | more formal than *saluton* |
| *bonvenon* | welcome | |
| *ĝis revido* | goodbye | literally "until seeing again"; short: *ĝis!* |
| *mi* | I | pronoun |
| *vi* | you | one person or many |
| *li* | he | pronoun |
| *ŝi* | she | pronoun |
| *ni* | we | pronoun |
| *estas* | am, is, are | present tense of *esti* "to be" |
| *farti* | to be (in health), to feel | *Kiel vi fartas?* "How are you?" |
| *el* | from, out of | *el Brazilo* "from Brazil" |
| *al* | to | *Saluton al ĉiuj!* "Hello, everyone!" |
| *ĉiuj* | everyone, all | *ni ĉiuj* "all of us" |
| *nervoza* | nervous | |
| *kaj* | and | rhymes with English "sky" |
| *sed* | but | |
| *kiel* | how | question word (Lesson 7) |
| *bone* | well, fine | adverb |
| *tre* | very | |
| *iom* | a little, a bit | |
| *dankon* | thank you, thanks | |
| *ankaŭ* | also, too | *ankaŭ mi* "me too" |
| *jes* | yes | |
| *komencanto* | beginner | from *komenci* "to begin" |
| *amiko* | friend | plural *amikoj* (Lesson 2) |
| *ĉi tie* | here | |
| *ne gravas* | it doesn't matter | literally "(it) is not important" |

## 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](https://esperantopedia.org/learn/alphabet/) 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*.

Words from the dialogue: the stressed syllable is marked

| Letter | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| *c* | *ts* in "cats" | *komencanto* – "beginner" |
| *ĉ* | *ch* in "church" | *ĉi tie* – "here" |
| *g* | *g* in "go" (always hard) | *gravas* – "matters" |
| *ĝ* | *j* in "jam" | *ĝis* – "until" |
| *ĥ* | *ch* in Scottish "loch" | *ĥoro* – "choir" (rare letter) |
| *j* | *y* in "yes" | *jes* – "yes" |
| *ĵ* | *s* in "pleasure" | *ĵurnalo* – "newspaper" |
| *r* | rolled or tapped *r* | *revido* – "seeing again" |
| *s* | *s* in "sun", never *z* | *estas* – "is" |
| *ŝ* | *sh* in "she" | *ŝi* – "she" |
| *ŭ* | *w* in "cow" (after *a* or *e*) | *ankaŭ* – "also" |

### 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](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/pronouns/).

| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| *mi* | I |
| *vi* | you (one person or many) |
| *li* | he |
| *ŝi* | she |
| *ĝi* | it |
| *ni* | we |
| *ili* | they |

:::match Personal pronouns
mi = I
vi = you
li = he
ŝi = she
ni = we
ili = they
:::

### 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](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/verbs/) page.

| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| *Mi estas Ana.* | I am Ana. |
| *Vi estas komencanto.* | You are a beginner. |
| *Li estas el Pollando.* | He is from Poland. |
| *Ŝi estas el Brazilo.* | She is from Brazil. |
| *Ni estas amikoj.* | We are friends. |
| *Ili estas el Kenjo.* | They are from Kenya. |

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.

:::order Build the sentence
? I am a beginner.
= Mi estas komencanto.
- vi
? She is from Brazil.
= Ŝi estas el Brazilo.
- li
? We are friends.
= Ni estas amikoj.
- vi
? How are you?
= Kiel vi fartas?
= Kiel fartas vi?
- bone
:::

### Greetings for every situation

| Esperanto | English | When |
|---|---|---|
| *Saluton!* | Hello! Hi! | any time |
| *Bonan matenon!* | Good morning! | morning |
| *Bonan tagon!* | Good day! | daytime, a bit formal |
| *Bonan vesperon!* | Good evening! | evening |
| *Bonan nokton!* | Good night! | going to bed |
| *Ĝis revido!* / *Ĝis!* | Goodbye! / Bye! | leaving |
| *Ĝis lundo!* | See you on Monday! | *ĝis* + a time |

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](https://esperantopedia.org/learn/course/lesson-05/). For more greetings, see [Esperanto greetings](https://esperantopedia.org/phrases/greetings/).

:::write Greetings
? Good morning!
= Bonan matenon
! bona mateno | bonan mateno | bona matenon → Both words end in -n: *bonan matenon*, short for "I wish you a good morning".
? Good evening!
= Bonan vesperon
! bona vespero | bonan vespero | bona vesperon → Both words end in -n: *bonan vesperon*.
? Good night! (when going to bed)
= Bonan nokton
! bona nokto | bonan nokto | bona nokton → Both words end in -n: *bonan nokton*.
? Goodbye!
= Ĝis revido | Ĝis la revido | Ĝis
:::

## Practice

:::quiz Lesson 1 practice
? How is *c* pronounced in *komencanto*?
- like *k* in "kite"
- like *s* in "sun"
- like *ts* in "cats" *
? Which syllable is stressed in *saluton*?
- SA
- LU *
- TON
? Which word means "she"?
- li
- ŝi *
- ĝi
? Translate: "I am Ana."
= Mi estas Ana
? Translate: "We are from Brazil."
= Ni estas el Brazilo
? What is a good answer to *Kiel vi fartas?*
- *Bone, dankon.* *
- *Bonan nokton.*
- *Mi estas el Kenjo.*
? Translate: "How are you?"
= Kiel {vi} {fartas}
? Fill in the verb: *Ili ___ el Pollando.* ("They are from Poland.")
= estas
? Translate: "Me too!"
= Ankaŭ mi | Mi ankaŭ
:::

## 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](https://esperantopedia.org/about/history/) 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](https://esperantopedia.org/learn/alphabet/): 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)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/skribo_elparolo/elparolo/bazaj_reguloj.html)
- [PMEG: Literoj (the alphabet)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/skribo_elparolo/skribo/literoj.html)
- [PMEG: Personaj pronomoj (personal pronouns, vi and ci)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/pronomoj/personaj.html)
- [PMEG: Mallongigitaj frazoj (Saluton!, Bonan tagon!)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/frazospecoj/mallongigitaj_frazoj.html)
- [Fundamento de Esperanto – grammar in English (1905)](https://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_angla.html)
- [Wikipedia: Unua Libro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unua_Libro)
- [Wikipedia: L. L. Zamenhof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Zamenhof)