Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Esperanto: Li retiris du monbiletojn. - He withdrew two banknotes.

Hardcore Esperanto
/Managing a bank account and budget
/Li retiris du monbiletojn.

Li retiris du monbiletojn.

Li retiris du monbiletojn.

He withdrew two banknotes.

Breakdown of Li retiris du monbiletojn.

to withdraw; pull back

Questions & Answers about Li retiris du monbiletojn.

Why does monbiletojn end in -ojn?

Because it has two different endings added to the noun stem:

-o = noun
-j = plural
-n = accusative, which usually marks the direct object

So:

monbileto = a banknote
monbiletoj = banknotes
monbiletojn = banknotes as the direct object

In Li retiris du monbiletojn, the banknotes are what he withdrew, so Esperanto marks them with -n.

Why is there an -n on the object when English does not do that?

Esperanto often marks the direct object explicitly with -n. English usually relies on word order instead.

Compare:

Li retiris du monbiletojn. = He withdrew two banknotes.
Du monbiletojn retiris li. = literally, Two banknotes withdrew he, but still understood as He withdrew two banknotes because -n shows what the object is.

So the -n gives Esperanto more freedom in word order.

What does retiris mean grammatically?

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Esperanto grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Esperanto now

Retiris is the past tense form of the verb retiri.

Breakdown:

re- = back, again
tir = pull, draw
-i = infinitive
-is = past tense

So retiri literally has the idea of pull back / draw back / withdraw, and retiris means withdrew / pulled out / took out, depending on context.

Why is du not changed to match plural or accusative?

Because ordinary numerals in Esperanto do not take plural or accusative endings in normal use.

So you say:

du monbiletoj
du monbiletojn

but du itself stays du.

The noun after the number still shows whatever grammar it needs, so here monbiletojn is plural and accusative.

Why is there no word for the or a in the sentence?

Esperanto does not use an indefinite article like English a/an at all.

It does have a definite article, la, but you only use it when you specifically mean the.

So:

du monbiletoj = two banknotes
la du monbiletoj = the two banknotes

In this sentence, du monbiletojn is perfectly natural without any article.

What is monbileto made of? Is it a compound word?

Yes. Monbileto is a compound:

mono = money
bileto = ticket, note, slip
monbileto = banknote / bill

Compounds are very common in Esperanto. Usually the main idea comes at the end, so this is literally something like a money-note.

Why is the subject li not marked with -n?

Because li is the subject, not the object.

In Esperanto:

li = he
lin = him

So:

Li retiris du monbiletojn. = He withdrew two banknotes.
Ŝi vidis lin. = She saw him.

Only the direct object normally gets -n, not the subject.

Could the sentence be written in a different word order?

Yes. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible because the -n ending helps show the role of the object.

These are possible:

Li retiris du monbiletojn.
Du monbiletojn li retiris.
Retiris li du monbiletojn.

The first is the most neutral and natural for beginners. Other orders may change emphasis or style.

How would I say He withdrew one banknote instead?

You would say:

Li retiris unu monbileton.

Changes:

du → unu
monbiletojn → monbileton

Why monbileton?

singular, so no -j
still a direct object, so it keeps -n

Is retiris always best translated as withdrew?

Not always. The exact English translation depends on context.

Retiri can suggest ideas like:

withdraw
pull back
take out
remove

So Li retiris du monbiletojn could mean something like:

He withdrew two banknotes.
He took out two banknotes.

If the context is a bank machine or a bank account, withdrew is probably the best English choice. If he physically pulled notes from a pocket or envelope, took out might sound more natural.

How is monbiletojn pronounced?

Roughly like mon-bee-LEH-toyn, with the stress on the second-to-last syllable:

mon-bi-LE-toyn

A few helpful points:

Esperanto stress is almost always on the second-to-last syllable
j sounds like English y
oj sounds roughly like oy
e is like eh

So monbiletojn ends with a sound similar to toyn, but beginning with t: -toyn.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io