Non-O Nouns in #esperanto #conlang #languagelearning #grammar #lesson #noun #rules #tips

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Today, let's talk about the non-o nouns in Esperanto. What is that? I just made that up. Non-o nouns, hey nonny nonny and a hot cha-cha. I'm talking about nouns that don't end in o.

[00:00:13]Now, I've said elsewhere, all nouns end in o in Esperanto, and that's so true that it is worth saying and remembering, but there's a handful of exceptions, and let's talk about them. They're not too difficult for you to master. Uh pronouns, for example, end in i. Those are small words that end in i, like mi, vi, li, ŝi, eli. Uh Yeah, I talk about the pronouns elsewhere, so you get it. Pronouns are special. Uh another group that's important to know are the words from the correlative table, and it'll take a few videos to cover all of those. The ones that end in u. So, kiu, tiun, e un, chiun, and neniun.

[00:00:51]And those mean, essentially, who, that person, some person, every person, no person. It also means which specific one, that specific one, some specific one, every specific one, no specific one. So, it doesn't always talk about people. If you're talking about which of these 10 apples do you want to eat? Mi volas tiun.

[00:01:15]I want that one out of a specific list that you've already designated. Uh so, that is a group of words that sometimes are used as an adjective. I could say, mi volas tiun pomon. I want that specific apple. But you could leave out apple and just say, I want that specific one, and it's assumed. So, normally if it ends in a u, it's a command. Silentu, staru, you know, be silent, stand up.

[00:01:40]But here, those words get treated a little bit differently, and they are used frequently, so make sure to uh be aware of them. You can also pluralize them or use them as an object of a sentence by adding a j or an n or a jn uh to these words.

[00:01:54]But the correlative table words are important to know. And then lastly, uh sometimes you'll see feminine names ending in a instead of an o. Normally, if a word ends in a, it's an adjective.

[00:02:07]Blua birdo, a blue bird.

[00:02:11]But you will see perhaps a name like Mario.

[00:02:15]And Mario could mean, it's a me, Mario.

[00:02:18]It could mean Mario. It could also mean Maria. How do you solve a problem like Maria? Well, I'll tell you. Uh you can emphasize the the femininity there, and for clarity's sake, say Maria. Faris tion, Maria did that. But you could say Mario faris tion, and still mean a woman named Maria. Uh it's really up to you. I know some women, like Ruth Kevess Cohen, is a well-known Esperantist uh in the US, and she goes by Margo, which is fine. There's nothing butch about, you know, not having an a ending if you're a woman. Uh it's just a a choice for the person, so you might see some feminine names that end in a, but still treat it like an o.