23
votes
Are “la malplej juna” and “la plej maljuna” entirely interchangeable?
No, they are not entirely interchangeable any more than a pair like the following are entirely interchangeable.
He is the most pleasant one of the bunch.
He is the least annoying one of the bunch.
...
- 21.3k
20
votes
When to use "ĉu" instead of "se"?
Simple rule of thumb - if you are able to substitute "whether" (I don't know whether he's friendly) then use "ĉu".
- 21.3k
19
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "flari" and "odori"?
I can explain the difference with a simple sentence: "Mi flaras la floron. La floro odoras bone."
flari: to sense a smell released by something with one's nose (the subject is a person)
odori: to ...
- 3,201
17
votes
When to use "ĉu" instead of "se"?
The words following se provide the condition under which the other clause becomes relevant.
So, Mi ne scias se li estas amika means "If it is the case that he is friendly, then I do not know."
You ...
- 13.5k
14
votes
Should I use "teamo" or "skipo"?
It's very common and perfectly OK to use teamo as a synonym for skipo.
Look up the use of teamo at tekstaro.com. It seems "most" uses in the magazine Monato have nothing to do with sport; in ...
- 1,053
12
votes
Accepted
When I assign sex to an animal, does it become li / ŝi?
Zamenhof's intuition was that human beings could be li, ŝi, or ĝi, but that animals are always ĝi.
Kiam oni parolas pri bestoj, mi konsilas ĉiam uzi nur la senseksan pronomon “ĝi”, — ne sole kiam (en ...
- 13.5k
11
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "festo" and "ferio"?
They're different. While "holiday" is a valid translation for both, the two have different meanings (which are preserved in English). The PIV has the following definitions for the two words:
...
- 1,175
11
votes
Should I use "teamo" or "skipo"?
I would use skipo, as this is technically the correct meaning you want.
I personally consider the use of teamo an Anglicism. English has only one word for both concepts: team. So people get confused. ...
- 5,908
11
votes
Which word should I use for "to drive (a car)"?
To this list we can add ŝofori.
I've been asking myself this same question for close to 20 years and I've come to the conclusion that there is no obvious best answer. Each one at times seems to not ...
- 21.3k
11
votes
Accepted
"Trink-" versus "drink-"
It looks like your source contains some errors.
The distinction is fairly simple.
trinki - to drink (something).
drinki - to drink alcohol to excess.
As a result, the right verb to use with a glass ...
- 21.3k
11
votes
Accepted
Which word should I use for "nickname"?
Kromnomo - nickname
Kaŝnomo - alias, pen name; a fake name to hide your real name
Karesnomo - a familiar name (for friends only)
So, if you're asking someone with a long or difficult name if you ...
- 21.3k
10
votes
When I assign sex to an animal, does it become li / ŝi?
You can do it either way.
From Fratoj Grimm
“Refreŝigu vin. La bovino ne donados lakton, ŝi estas maljuna bruto, ŝi povas taŭgi nur kiel tirbesto aŭ en buĉejo.”
From Malnova Testamento
Kaj oni ...
- 21.3k
10
votes
About "ĉu" and "se" in clauses
They are both gramatically correct, but semantically, you'd never use the one with se.
Mi ne scias ĉu ŝi ŝatas min.
I don't know if/whether she likes me.
But
Mi ne scias se ŝi ŝatas min.
In the ...
- 21.3k
10
votes
What is the difference between "gaja", "ĝoja" and "feliĉa"?
Feliĉa is happy as in content. This is not the best translation but reflects the long-term nature of the status. You are feliĉa if you have a good life, a happy family, no troubles. You can largely ...
- 3,403
10
votes
Accepted
Ke vs. kiu: which one to use?
"Ke" connects a verb to a phrase:
Mi ne sciis ke li studis en Londono.
Mirigas min ke ili sukcesis
Mi ĝojas ke la suno brilas.
"Kiu" connects a noun to a description:
Mi ne antaŭe vidis la viron ...
- 12.3k
10
votes
What's the difference between "kvankam" and "tamen"?
Kvankam is used to append information showing a cause or motive which doesn't have the usual result.
mi vidas nenion, kvankam ĉio estas lumaZ;
Tamen means simply "in spite of that".
la knabo estis ...
- 21.3k
9
votes
Can the words "pajlero" and "ŝalmo" be used to mean "drinking straw"?
I usually say suĉtubo. According to Wikipedia there is also the word trinkŝalmo.
I think pajlero is only a straw in the sense of a piece of straw, ie, the plant (ero de pajlo). Apparently people ...
- 17.1k
9
votes
Accepted
Is it "Gratulon!" or "Gratulojn!"?
Both Gratulon and Gratulojn exist and are used in the same way.
Multan dankon and multajn dankojn also exist both but sure multan dankon is used much more often.
- 3,112
9
votes
Is it "Mi lernas kun Duolingo" or "Mi lernas per Duolingo"?
Kun always means "together with." Mi lernas kun Duolingo implies that Duolingo is learning along with you. Per is the right choice here.
- 21.3k
9
votes
Accepted
"Deveni el" or "veni el"?
It's about the same as the difference between "come from" and "originate from." Often the meaning doesn't change much, but sometimes it can.
PIV (vortaro.net) sums it up pretty well.
veni de ia ...
- 21.3k
9
votes
How would you say “I should not have taught you that”?
There are a few ways in Esperanto to express the idea of "should." Often it is with a form of devi.
The conditional -us ending is not a tense, but is rather a mode. It therefore does not express time....
- 21.3k
9
votes
How often is "esperanto" used in Esperanto?
My impression is that it's not used very much as a noun (esper-ant-o) - and a search in the Tekstaro shows that most of the usages of esperanto in lower case are actually references to Esperanto, not ...
- 21.3k
9
votes
Accepted
Kiom traduki "unit [of measurement]" (de "Maßeinheit")?
I was mildly surprised to see the word unito. I had never encountered it in spoken or written Esperanto, and it does not give any hits in the Tekstaro. According to the (few) Google hits it seems to ...
- 5,601
8
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "naskiĝtago" and "datreveno"?
datreveno is more general. You sometimes also hear jubileo so it's not necessarily a birthday. Some people argue, that naskiĝtago is wrong because it's actually not the birthday in the sense that ...
- 6,178
8
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "paragrafo" and "alineo"?
Paragrafo
A "paragrafo" is a section of the text which usually consists of more than one "alineo". So this is the first "alineo" of this "paragrafo" with the title "Paragrafo".
('Paragrafo' also has ...
8
votes
Accepted
Are “la malplej juna” and “la plej maljuna” entirely interchangeable?
Yes. They are interchangeable according David K. Jordan, in his book titled Being Colloquial in Esperanto. (I don't have the page number for this reference).
In the Tekstaro, plej mal- occurs 800 ...
- 4,632
8
votes
Accepted
About "ĉu" and "se" in clauses
They are both correct sentences, but the meaning is very different. But maybe it's a bit clearer with a different example.
Ni scios morgaŭ, ĉu ŝi venos. = We don't know whether she will come or not, ...
- 1,018
8
votes
Is there a difference between "temperaturo" and "varmeco"?
I believe that varmeco is not a physical quantity. It's just a quality of being warm (Oliver Manson has the best translation: warmth). It can be compared to some extent but does not have any proper ...
- 3,403
8
votes
How often is "esperanto" used in Esperanto?
I find that I more often want to use the word in another form, such as esperante or esperanta. For example:
Mi parolis esperante ke ŝi komprenus.
This ends up making a garden path sentence because ...
- 17.1k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the correct name for "William the Conqueror"?
This has nothing to do with the question whether William is already dead or still alive, but whether he got the title during or after his dead.
In fact, all kinds of participle could be justified:
X-o ...
- 5,601
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