Lesson 2: Greetings and Introductions

Overview

Greetings are the gateway to every language, and in Esperanto they carry special weight because every encounter between two Esperantists is also an act of solidarity — a shared commitment to a language that belongs to no single nation. When you say "Saluton!" to another speaker, you are participating in a 140-year tradition of people choosing communication over separation. Learning greetings and introductions in Esperanto is therefore not just practical vocabulary drilling; it is an entry point into a global community.

From a grammatical standpoint, this lesson introduces two of Esperanto's most important foundations: the complete set of personal pronouns and the present-tense verb ending -as. Because Esperanto verbs do not change form to agree with their subject — "mi estas," "vi estas," "li estas" all use the same ending — you will find that after this lesson you can already produce a surprisingly large number of grammatically correct sentences.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you can:

• Use standard greetings for morning, daytime, and evening contexts
• Introduce yourself using two different structures (nomiĝas / nomo estas)
• Identify and use all nine Esperanto personal pronouns correctly
• Conjugate any verb in the present tense by adding -as to the root
• Use estas as a copula to make "X is Y" statements

Vocabulary

Esperanto	Type	English	Example sentence
saluton	interjection	hello, hi	Saluton! Kiel vi fartas?
bonan matenon	phrase	good morning	Bonan matenon! Ĉu vi bone dormis?
bonan tagon	phrase	good day / good afternoon	Bonan tagon, sinjoro Tanaka.
bonan vesperon	phrase	good evening	Bonan vesperon! Bonvenon al nia klubo.
ĝis revido	phrase	goodbye (until next seeing)	Ĝis revido! Ĝis morgaŭ!
ĝis	interjection	bye, see you	Ĝis! Ĝis baldaŭ!
bonvenon	phrase	welcome	Bonvenon al Esperantujo!
kiel vi fartas	phrase	how are you (formal)	Kiel vi fartas? Mi fartas bone.
kiel vi?	phrase	how are you (informal)	Kiel vi? Bone, dankon!
bone	adverb	well, fine	Mi fartas tre bone.
dankon	interjection	thank you	Dankon por via helpo.
mi petas	phrase	please / you're welcome	Bonvolu sidiĝi, mi petas.
jes	interjection	yes	Jes, mi komprenas.
ne	interjection / particle	no / not	Ne, mi ne komprenas.
mi	pronoun	I	Mi lernas Esperanton.
vi	pronoun	you (sing. & plural)	Vi parolas tre bone.
li	pronoun	he	Li estas mia amiko.
ŝi	pronoun	she	Ŝi estas instruistino.
ĝi	pronoun	it	Ĝi estas bela libro.
ni	pronoun	we	Ni lernas kune.
ili	pronoun	they	Ili venas de Japanio.
oni	pronoun	one, people in general	Oni diras, ke Esperanto estas facila.
nomiĝi	verb	to be named, to call oneself	Mi nomiĝas Tomas.
nomo	noun	name	Kio estas via nomo?
estas	verb (esti)	is / am / are (present)	Mi estas studento.
amiko	noun	friend	Li estas mia bona amiko.
lando	noun	country	De kiu lando vi venas?
lingvo	noun	language	Mi lernas du lingvojn.

Grammar Focus

Pattern 1: The Present Tense Ending -as

Structure: verb root + -as = present tense (for all persons and numbers)

This is one of the most liberating features of Esperanto grammar. In English you must remember "I am / you are / he is / we are / they are" — six different forms of a single verb. In French, Spanish, or German, every verb has a table of six conjugated forms. In Esperanto, you add -as to the verb root and you are done, regardless of who or what the subject is. The verb never changes to agree with its subject.

The verb root is the form you find in the dictionary minus the infinitive ending -i. So lern-i (to learn) has root lern-, and the present tense for every person is lernas. Similarly, far-i (to do) → faras; est-i (to be) → estas; parol-i (to speak) → parolas.

Subject	Verb	Sentence	English
Mi	lernas	Mi lernas Esperanton.	I am learning Esperanto.
Vi	lernas	Vi lernas Esperanton.	You are learning Esperanto.
Li	lernas	Li lernas Esperanton.	He is learning Esperanto.
Ni	lernas	Ni lernas Esperanton.	We are learning Esperanto.
Ili	lernas	Ili lernas Esperanton.	They are learning Esperanto.

Common mistake: Adding subject-agreement endings as in Spanish or French → ❌ "mi lerno / vi lernas / li lernos" (mixing tenses) → ✓ "mi lernas / vi lernas / li lernas" (same ending for all)

Pattern 2: Estas as Copula

Structure: subject + estas + complement (noun or adjective)

The verb estas (is/am/are) works exactly like English "to be" as a linking verb. It connects a subject to a description or identification. In Esperanto, estas is invariable in the present tense — it never changes its form no matter who the subject is. You do not need an article before nouns used as complements (Esperanto has no indefinite article, and the definite article la is used only when the reference is specific).

Note that vi covers both singular "you" and plural "you" — Esperanto makes no grammatical distinction between addressing one person or many. Context and politeness level are conveyed by other means, not verb form.

Sentence	English
Mi estas studento.	I am a student.
Vi estas instruisto.	You are a teacher.
Li estas mia frato.	He is my brother.
Ŝi estas Esperantistino.	She is a (female) Esperantist.
Ni estas geamikoj.	We are friends (mixed group).

Common mistake: Using esti (infinitive) instead of estas (finite present) → ❌ "Mi esti studento." → ✓ "Mi estas studento."

Pattern 3: Introducing Yourself — Two Structures

Structure A: Mi nomiĝas [name]. Structure B: Mia nomo estas [name].

Both structures are grammatically correct and widely used. Nomiĝas is formed from the verb nomi (to name) plus the reflexive suffix -iĝ- (to become / to be in a state), giving the meaning "I am called / I name myself." It is slightly more elegant and idiomatic. The second structure — mia nomo estas — is more transparent and easier to build at the A1 stage, because it simply uses the copula estas that you already know. You will hear and read both in natural Esperanto conversation.

Sentence	English
Mi nomiĝas Kenji.	My name is Kenji. / I am called Kenji.
Mia nomo estas Kenji.	My name is Kenji.
Kio estas via nomo?	What is your name?
Kiel vi nomiĝas?	What are you called? / What is your name?

Common mistake: Translating "My name is" word-for-word → ❌ "Mia nomo estas nomiĝas Kenji." → ✓ Use one structure only: either "Mi nomiĝas Kenji" or "Mia nomo estas Kenji."

Dialogue

At an Esperanto club meeting

— Saluton! Mi nomiĝas Marta. Kaj vi? — Hello! My name is Marta. And you?

— Bonan vesperon, Marta! Mi estas Tanaka. Mi venas el Japanio. — Good evening, Marta! I am Tanaka. I come from Japan.

— Ho, interese! Mi venas el Brazilo. Ĉu vi longe lernas Esperanton? — Oh, interesting! I come from Brazil. Have you been learning Esperanto long?

— Ne, nur tri monatojn. Kaj vi? — No, only three months. And you?

— Mi lernas de du jaroj. Kiel vi fartas hodiaŭ, Tanaka? — I have been learning for two years. How are you today, Tanaka?

— Mi fartas tre bone, dankon! Ĉi tiu klubo estas bonege. — I am very well, thank you! This club is wonderful.

— Jes! Ĉiuj estas tre afablaj. Ĉu vi konas Anan? — Yes! Everyone is very friendly. Do you know Ana?

— Ne ankoraŭ. Kiu estas Ana? — Not yet. Who is Ana?

— Ŝi estas la prezidantino de nia klubo. Ŝi estas tre bona instruistino. — She is the president of our club. She is a very good teacher.

— Bonege. Mi ŝatus konatiĝi kun ŝi! — Wonderful. I would like to meet her!

Practice

Exercise 1: Fill in the blank

Complete with the correct present-tense verb form.

1. Mi ___ (lerni) Esperanton.
2. Li ___ (esti) mia amiko.
3. Ni ___ (paroli) Esperanton.
4. Ŝi ___ (veni) el Francio.
5. Ili ___ (studi) lingvojn.

Exercise 2: Translate to Esperanto

1. Good morning! How are you?
2. My name is Carlos.
3. She is a student.
4. We are learning Esperanto together.
5. They come from Australia.

Exercise 3: Questions to answer in Esperanto

1. Kiel vi nomiĝas?
2. De kie vi venas?
3. Kiel vi fartas hodiaŭ?

Cultural Note

The Esperanto greeting "Saluton!" has a warmth that goes beyond its literal meaning. At international Esperanto gatherings — from the annual Universala Kongreso (World Congress), which attracts thousands of participants, to small regional clubs — the moment two strangers greet each other in Esperanto, they experience what the community calls the interna ideo (the inner idea): the conviction that communication across cultural boundaries is possible and worth pursuing. There are Esperantists who describe the first time they successfully held a conversation with a foreigner in Esperanto as a profound experience of connection.

The Pasporta Servo (Passport Service) is a global network of Esperantists who offer free accommodation to traveling fellow speakers. When you knock on the door of a host you have never met and are welcomed in with "Bonvenon! Mi estas [name]," you are participating in a community of trust built entirely around a shared language. This makes greetings in Esperanto uniquely charged — they are rarely just small talk.