Legi: To Read | Esperanto Grammar

Legi is the regular transitive verb for interpreting written or printed language: “to read.” A text, message, book, sign, or written symbol is normally its direct object. Prepositions add readers, sources, and topics, while productive compounds such as laŭtlegi, tralegi, and relegi distinguish reading aloud, reading through, and reading again.

The complete paradigm

The stem leg- takes all six verb endings regularly. The spelling and stem never change, and the finite verb is identical with every subject.

Form	Core value	Typical translation
legi	infinitive	to read
legas	present	read, reads; is reading
legis	past	read, was reading
legos	future	will read
legus	conditional	would read
legu	volitive	read!, let … read

Mi legas la novaĵojn dum la matena kafo.

I read the news over my morning coffee.

Ĉu vi jam legis mian mesaĝon? — Jes, mi respondos post la kunveno.

Have you read my message yet? — Yes, I’ll reply after the meeting.

Esperanto legis does not distinguish English “read” from “was reading,” and it can correspond to an English present perfect when the relevant reading is complete now. Legus is conditional, not past. Legu is frequent in instructions, signs, and direct invitations.

Mi legus la artikolon, se ĝi ne estus malantaŭ pagomuro.

I would read the article if it weren’t behind a paywall.

Legu la tutan kontrakton antaŭ ol vi subskribos ĝin.

Read the entire contract before you sign it.

The text is a direct object

What is read normally takes accusative -n. Adjectives and plural markers inside the object phrase agree as usual.

Ŝi legis du interesajn romanojn dum la ferioj.

She read two interesting novels during the vacation.

Mi ne povas legi la etan tekston sen okulvitroj.

I can’t read the small print without glasses.

The object may also be a pronoun or a clause-like quotation: Mi legis ĝin, Mi legis, ke la vojo estas fermita. In the second pattern, the ke-clause states the content encountered in writing.

If you omit the object, legi simply means engage in reading: La infanoj jam povas legi “The children can already read.” This does not make the verb fundamentally intransitive; the object is merely unexpressed. See direct objects for the broader distinction.

An accusative time expression can appear alongside the object:

Mi legis la raporton la tutan vesperon, sed mi ankoraŭ ne finis ĝin.

I read the report all evening, but I still haven’t finished it.

La raporton is the direct object; la tutan vesperon expresses duration. The shared -n does not mean the two phrases have the same role.

Reading to someone, from a source, or about a topic

Use al for the audience or recipient of an oral reading. The text remains the direct object.

Ĉiuvespere ŝi legas rakonton al siaj infanoj.

Every evening she reads a story to her children.

Use el when the words come from a source or when you read an excerpt out of a larger work.

La prezidanto legis mallongan citaĵon el la letero.

The chair read a short quotation from the letter.

Use pri for the topic discussed in the material rather than for the material itself.

Mi legis pri la nova terapio en medicina revuo.

I read about the new therapy in a medical journal.

Compare legi la libron “read the book” with legi pri la libro “read about the book.” The first makes the book itself the text; the second refers to reviews, commentary, or other material concerning it. English speakers often overlook this object-versus-topic contrast.

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The written item itself is accusative: legi la artikolon. Its topic follows pri: legi pri la elekto. Its audience follows al: legi la artikolon al la grupo.

Laŭtlegi: read aloud

Laŭtlegi conventionally compresses legi laŭte into one verb. It remains transitive: the text read aloud is its object, and an audience can follow al.

Bonvolu laŭtlegi la unuan alineon al la grupo.

Please read the first paragraph aloud to the group.

Li laŭtlegis la nomojn tiel rapide, ke mi ne povis noti ilin.

He read the names aloud so quickly that I couldn’t write them down.

Both laŭtlegi and legi laŭte are correct. The compound is conventional and concise; the two-word form can put independent emphasis on the loud manner. PMEG treats laŭtlegi as a normal combination in which an adverbial idea modifies the action.

The compound does not mean “read loudly” in every context: it normally means vocalize a written text so it can be heard, even in a quiet voice.

Tralegi and relegi

The prefix tra- presents the reading as passing through the whole text. Tralegi therefore means read through, often from beginning to end or sufficiently to survey all of it.

Mi tralegis la proponon, sed mi bezonas pli da tempo por analizi ĝin.

I read through the proposal, but I need more time to analyze it.

Reading through does not entail learning or mastering. The Fundamento explicitly contrasts tralegi a textbook with tralerni it: completing the reading and internalizing the material are different achievements.

The prefix re- means doing the action again. Relegi means reread the same material.

Relegu la lastan frazon; tie troviĝas la grava escepto.

Reread the last sentence; that is where the important exception appears.

Post dek jaroj mi relegis la romanon kaj komprenis ĝin tute alimaniere.

After ten years I reread the novel and understood it completely differently.

Other transparent compounds include prilegi “read about” and eklegi “begin reading,” but a possible compound is not automatically the best choice in every sentence. The ordinary prepositional phrase legi pri is often lighter than prilegi.

Because legi is transitive, it has active leganta, leginta, legonta and passive legata, legita, legota. Legata presents ongoing or habitual reading; legita presents the reading as prior or complete; legota marks a text intended or expected to be read.

La plej legata artikolo ĉi-semajne temas pri loĝkostoj.

The most-read article this week is about housing costs.

Sur la tablo kuŝis jam legita gazeto.

An already-read newspaper was lying on the table.

Useful derivatives include legado “reading as an activity,” leganto “reader,” legaĵo “reading matter,” legebla “readable/legible,” leginda “worth reading,” and legilo “reader/device or reading aid,” according to context.

La raporto estas informa, sed apenaŭ legebla pro la eta tiparo.

The report is informative but barely legible because of the tiny typeface.

Legebla can mean physically legible or stylistically readable. Leginda instead evaluates value: a perfectly legible text may not be worth reading.

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Legebla means “can be read”; leginda means “deserves to be read.” The suffix, not context alone, supplies the distinction.

Frequency and register

Legi is neutral and extremely frequent. Laŭtlegi, tralegi, and relegi are conventional across conversation and writing. Legota and heavy compound tenses are less frequent because speakers often prefer a relative clause: la tekstoj, kiujn ni legos. In (academic) prose, tralegi may describe preliminary reading, but it should not be inflated into a claim of detailed analysis.

Common Mistakes

Omitting the accusative on the text

❌ Mi legis interesa artikolo hieraŭ.

Incorrect — the text being read is a direct object.

✅ Mi legis interesan artikolon hieraŭ.

I read an interesting article yesterday.

Using pri for the text itself

❌ Mi legis pri la libro dum la flugo.

Wrong if you mean that you read the book itself; this means you read about it.

✅ Mi legis la libron dum la flugo.

I read the book during the flight.

Making the listener the direct object

❌ La patro legis la infanojn rakonton.

Incorrect — listener and text cannot be two differently related direct objects.

✅ La patro legis rakonton al la infanoj.

The father read a story to the children.

Treating tralegi as “master completely”

❌ Mi tralegis la lernolibron, do mi jam regas ĉion en ĝi.

Faulty inference — tralegi means read through, not master.

✅ Mi tralegis la lernolibron, sed nun mi devas tralerni la enhavon.

I read through the textbook, but now I have to master the content.

Confusing legebla and leginda

❌ La manskribo estas leginda, sed mi ne povas distingi la literojn.

Incorrect word choice — worth reading does not mean legible.

✅ La manskribo ne estas legebla; mi ne povas distingi la literojn.

The handwriting is not legible; I can’t distinguish the letters.

Key Takeaways

Use legi + accusative object for the text, al for the listening audience, el for a source, and pri for a topic. Laŭtlegi vocalizes a text, tralegi carries the reading through it, and relegi repeats the reading. The participles and derivatives—especially legita, leganto, legebla, leginda—follow Esperanto’s regular word-building system.

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