Lerni: To Learn | Esperanto Grammar

Lerni means to acquire knowledge, a fact, a habit, or a skill. It can take a direct object (lerni lingvon), a bare infinitive (lerni naĝi), or a clause expressing learned information (lerni, ke…). Its closest English translation is usually “learn,” but its contrast with studi matters: studying is an activity; learning points toward knowledge or ability gained.

The complete paradigm

The stem lern- takes every verb ending regularly, without person or number agreement.

Form	Core value	Typical translation
lerni	infinitive	to learn
lernas	present	learn, learns; is learning
lernis	past	learned, learnt
lernos	future	will learn
lernus	conditional	would learn
lernu	volitive	learn!, let … learn

Mi lernas Esperanton per reta kurso kaj semajna konversacia grupo.

I’m learning Esperanto through an online course and a weekly conversation group.

Kion vi lernis hodiaŭ? — Kiel ŝanĝi la filtrilon sen iloj.

What did you learn today? — How to change the filter without tools.

Lernis can describe the process that happened in the past or the resulting acquisition; context resolves the difference. Lernus is conditional, while lernu is natural in advice and encouragement.

Mi lernus pli rapide, se mi uzus la lingvon ĉiutage.

I would learn faster if I used the language every day.

Lernu el la eraro, sed ne plu kulpigu vin pro ĝi.

Learn from the mistake, but don’t keep blaming yourself for it.

Learning a subject, fact, or item

With a noun phrase, lerni is transitive. The learned content is a direct object and therefore receives accusative -n.

La infanoj lernas novajn vortojn per kantoj.

The children learn new words through songs.

Mi neniam lernis la nomojn de ĉiuj miaj najbaroj.

I never learned the names of all my neighbors.

A language, lesson, rule, poem, route, or body of knowledge can all be objects. Lerni poemon often means memorize or master it; when memorization is specifically intended, lerni parkere makes that explicit.

Ŝi lernis la tutan paroladon parkere dum du vesperoj.

She learned the whole speech by heart over two evenings.

Use pri when the point is learning about a topic rather than mastering the topic itself.

En la muzeo ni lernis pri la historio de la kvartalo.

At the museum we learned about the history of the neighborhood.

This contrast is semantic, not mechanical: lerni historion treats history as the studied knowledge; lerni pri la historio means obtain information concerning it. Other prepositions add their ordinary roles: lerni de instruisto or el sperto names a source, and lerni per ekzercado names a means.

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The object answers “what knowledge is acquired?” Use pri only when you mean “about/concerning,” not simply because English has “learn about.”

Learning to do something

Use lerni + infinitive for acquiring an ability or habit. The understood subject of the infinitive is normally the subject of lerni.

Mia filo lernas bicikli sen helpaj radoj.

My son is learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels.

Ni devis lerni kunlabori malgraŭ niaj malsamaj laborstiloj.

We had to learn to collaborate despite our different working styles.

No preposition is needed before the infinitive. English “learn how to” may be translated simply by lerni fari when the focus is gaining the ability. Lerni kiel fari ion is also grammatical when kiel introduces an embedded question about the method: Mi lernis, kiel oni sekure malfermas la aparaton. The shorter infinitive emphasizes ability; the kiel-clause emphasizes procedure. See infinitives as complements for the broader same-subject pattern.

When another person is to acquire the skill, change the main subject or use a causative/teaching construction. Mi lernas naĝi means that I am the learner and swimmer; it cannot mean “I teach someone to swim.”

Learning information in a clause

A ke-clause can state a fact that someone comes to know. Because the clause reports information as a fact, it ordinarily uses an indicative tense.

Ni lernis, ke la lasta trajno foriras je la dek-unua.

We learned that the last train leaves at eleven.

Poste ŝi lernos, kial la dosiero ne malfermiĝas.

Later she will learn why the file won’t open.

For a single piece of newly discovered information, ekscii is often more exact: it focuses on beginning to know. Lerni, ke… can suggest receiving, absorbing, or coming to understand the information. The boundary is not absolute, but lerni naturally belongs in educational and experience-based contexts.

Lerni versus studi

Studi is deliberate, sustained examination of a subject; lerni is acquisition. You may study without successfully learning, and you may learn without formal study.

Form	Focus	Natural context
lerni lingvon	gain command of it	courses, practice, immersion
studi lingvon	study it systematically	analysis, formal study, concentrated reading
lerni por ekzameno	acquire/retain required material	exam preparation
studi en universitato	pursue academic studies	higher education

Mi studis la gramatikon dum du horoj, sed mi ankoraŭ ne lernis ĉiujn regulojn.

I studied the grammar for two hours, but I still haven’t learned all the rules.

Ŝi studas biologion en universitato kaj nun lernas labori kun nova mikroskopo.

She studies biology at university and is now learning to work with a new microscope.

English “study for a test” can be studi por ekzameno when emphasizing the activity or lerni por ekzameno when emphasizing acquiring the tested material. There is genuine overlap; the intended viewpoint, not a rigid institutional rule, selects the verb.

Participles and the word family

Because lerni is transitive, it has active lernanta, lerninta, lernonta and passive lernata, lernita, lernota. Lernanta often becomes the person noun lernanto, “learner/student.” Lernita means learned or acquired and commonly describes knowledge, behavior, or a lesson viewed as already internalized.

La lernantoj uzis la novajn esprimojn en propraj dialogoj.

The learners used the new expressions in dialogues of their own.

Tiu timo ne estas denaska; ĝi estas lernita reago.

That fear is not innate; it is a learned response.

Other conventional derivatives reveal the system clearly:

Form	Meaning
lernado	learning as an ongoing activity
lernejo	school, a place for learning
lernilo	learning tool or instructional material
lernolibro	textbook
memlernanto	self-learner
relerni	learn again
ellerni	learn thoroughly, master
tralerni	learn through completely

The Fundamento contrasts merely tralegi a textbook with tralerni it: reading all the way through is not the same as mastering the material.

Mi devas relerni uzi la programon post la granda ĝisdatigo.

I have to relearn how to use the program after the major update.

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Prefixes preserve the central idea of acquisition: relerni repeats it, ellerni brings it to completion, and tralerni carries it through the whole material.

Frequency and register

Lerni and all common finite forms are neutral and very frequent. Studi is likewise neutral, though naturally common in educational and (academic) settings. Ellerni and tralerni are standard but more specific than plain lerni. Compound tenses such as estas lerninta are possible, but a simple lernis normally suffices unless a relative time contrast is important.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the accusative on learned content

❌ Mi lernas Esperanto de ses monatoj.

Incorrect — the language is a direct object, and the time phrase is also not idiomatic.

✅ Mi lernas Esperanton jam ses monatojn.

I have been learning Esperanto for six months now.

Putting a preposition before an ability infinitive

❌ Ŝi lernas pri stiri.

Incorrect if the meaning is acquiring the ability to drive.

✅ Ŝi lernas stiri.

She is learning to drive.

Using a finite second verb

❌ La bebo lernas marŝas.

Incorrect — the activity complement must be an infinitive.

✅ La bebo lernas marŝi.

The baby is learning to walk.

Treating studi and lerni as identical

❌ Mi studis la vortojn, do mi certe jam lernis ilin.

Faulty logic — studying does not guarantee acquisition.

✅ Mi studis la vortojn, sed mi devas ankoraŭ lerni ilin.

I studied the words, but I still have to learn them.

Using lerni for knowing a person

❌ Mi lernis ŝin dum la kongreso.

Incorrect for becoming acquainted with a person.

✅ Mi ekkonis ŝin dum la kongreso.

I got to know her during the congress.

Key Takeaways

Use lerni + accusative object for acquired content, lerni + infinitive for a skill the learner gains, and an indicative clause for learned information. Choose studi when the activity of systematic study is foregrounded. The family lernanto, lernejo, lernilo, relerni, ellerni, tralerni builds predictably on the core meaning “acquire knowledge or ability.”

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