Esperanto conversation phrases: opinions, agreeing, fillers

To give an opinion in Esperanto say Laŭ mi… "in my view" or Mi pensas, ke… "I think that…". To agree say Mi konsentas or Vi pravas; to disagree say Mi ne konsentas. Small words such as nu, do and ja keep the talk flowing. The phrases are grouped by what you want to do; for hello, goodbye and introductions see greetings and basic phrases. In the pronunciation column the stressed syllable is in capitals; it is always the second-to-last.

#Giving an opinion

The verbs differ in strength. ReVo defines opinii as having an opinion or judging, and lists "opinii" as one sense of pensi, so Mi pensas, ke… is the everyday "I think". Kredi is stronger: ReVo's first sense is a firm conviction, and it marks the weak sense "I suppose" as evitinde, "to be avoided". For a guess use supozi (to accept something provisionally, without sure proof) or ŝajni al (to seem). PMEG treats Laŭ mi as equal to Mi opinias, ke….

#Agreeing and disagreeing

Pravi is a verb. ReVo defines it as esti prava, "to be right", so Vi pravas needs no estas, and malpravi is "to be wrong". The adjective also works (Vi estas prava). Vi malpravas is blunt; Mi pensas, ke vi eraras is softer. Add kun for the person and pri for the point: Mi konsentas kun vi pri tio. ReVo adds that konsenti is agreement on a particular point, often reached after discussion.

To a negative question like Ĉu vi ne konsentas?, jes and ne can be read two ways, so PMEG advises a short clause: Jes, mi konsentas or Ne, mi ne konsentas. See questions and negation.

#Asking again and not understanding

Ĉu vi povus…? "Could you…?" is a more polite request, says PMEG. Mi ne komprenas and Kiel oni diras … en Esperanto? are in the basic phrases.

#Fillers and linking words

Three of these are easy to misuse:

• Ja is not "yes". Jes answers a question; ja sits inside a sentence and stresses that it is true (PMEG). It can stress a negation (Mi ja ne diris tion! "I certainly did not say that!") or concede a point before sed: Li ja estas afabla, sed mi ne fidas lin. "He is kind, true, but I don't trust him." Jes ja! is the emphatic yes.
• Do has two jobs, says PMEG: it marks a conclusion ("so"), and it adds emphasis to questions and commands: Kio do okazis? "So what happened?", Venu do! "Do come!"
• Nu is an all-purpose interjection. PMEG lists nine uses, from impatience and consent to doubt, resignation and ending a talk; the tone decides. See interjections for nu, ha, ho and hm, and conjunctions for tamen.

#Changing the subject and ending a conversation

ReVo defines parenteze as an explanatory aside and glosses cetere ("besides, on the other hand") with German übrigens, "by the way". To say goodbye, see greetings.

#Phone calls and messages

ReVo lists hola and halo as a phone greeting. It adds that PIV's authors suggest the spelling ha lo to avoid confusion with halo "hall", and that one usage guide it cites prefers Saluton!. For "call back", revoki is a trap. Some speakers use it that way (Tatoeba #542287), but ReVo defines it as calling someone or something back to a place, or declaring something void, not as returning a call. Say Mi telefonos al vi poste, or Mi retelefonos, which follows PMEG's pattern for re- (saluti → resaluti, "greet back"); ReVo has no entry for retelefoni itself. See prefixes.

ReVo has entries for mesaĝo, retmesaĝo, tujmesaĝilo and mesaĝi; it uses tekstmesaĝo only in an example.

#Politeness in a discussion

ReVo defines interrompi as stopping someone's speech by speaking yourself, and rajti as having permission, so Ĉu mi rajtas…? asks for leave. Pardonu, bonvolu and Ĉu vi povus…? are explained in polite phrases. Learn five or six phrases at a time and say them aloud; more advice in how to learn Esperanto.

#Common questions

#How do you say "I agree" in Esperanto?

Mi konsentas (mi kon-SEN-tas), or Mi samopinias. Add kun vi for the person and pri tio for the point. "I disagree" is Mi ne konsentas.

#How do you say "I think" in Esperanto?

Mi pensas, ke… is the everyday choice; Mi opinias, ke… and Laŭ mi… state a view. Mi kredas, ke… means firm conviction, and ReVo advises against it for a mild "I suppose".

#Is "vi pravas" correct?

Yes. Pravi is a verb meaning "to be right" (ReVo), so Vi pravas is correct, and so is Vi estas prava. The opposite is Vi malpravas.

#What do nu, do and ja mean?

Nu is "well" or "come on", do is "so" or an emphasis in questions and commands, and ja stresses that something is true. Ja is not "yes"; that is jes.

#How do you answer the phone in Esperanto?

Saluton! or Halo! (also written Ha lo!). To ask who is calling, say Kun kiu mi parolas?

#Sources

• PMEG: Ja, Do, Tamen, Oficialaj ekkriaj vortetoj (nu, ha, ho), Neoficialaj ekkrioj (hm), Respondvortoj (jes ja, negative questions), Ĉu (ĉu ne?), Laŭ, Fraztipoj kaj frazfunkcioj (Ĉu vi povus…?), Prefikso RE
• Tatoeba: sentence 542287, revoki used for a return call (CC BY 2.0 FR)
• ReVo: opinii, samopinii, pensi, pripensi, kredi, supozi, pravi, malpravi, konsenti, erari, ŝajni, nu, do, ja, hm, fakte, alivorte, ekzemple, cetere, parenteze, temo, interrompi, rajti, respekti, vidpunkto, hola, halo, voki, revoki, telefoni, mesaĝo, retmesaĝo, tujmesaĝilo, mesaĝi, lasi, tekstmesaĝo in an example