Aŭdinte pri la deveno, la amikoj negocas.

Aŭdinte is the adverbial active past participle of aŭdi (to hear).

It breaks down like this:

• aŭd- = hear
• -int- = active past participle, showing a completed action
• -e is not used here; instead, the participial adverb form ends as -inte

So aŭdinte means having heard or after hearing.

It shows that the hearing happened before the action of the main verb.

In Esperanto, a participial phrase like aŭdinte pri la deveno normally shares its subject with the main clause.

So in:

Aŭdinte pri la deveno, la amikoj negocas.

the understood meaning is that the friends are the ones who heard about the origin.

This is important, because Esperanto generally avoids a dangling participle. The implied subject of aŭdinte should match the subject of the main verb.

It can often be understood either way in English.

• having heard is the more literal grammatical match
• after hearing is often the more natural translation

Both express that the hearing happened before the negotiating. The Esperanto form focuses on the completed earlier action, not necessarily on a long time gap.

Pri usually means about, concerning, or regarding.

So:

• aŭdi pri io = to hear about something

In this sentence, pri la deveno means about the origin.

This is a very common preposition with verbs of speaking, hearing, reading, and thinking when the topic is being introduced.

Deveno means origin, source, descent, or background, depending on context.

It comes from the verb deveni, which means to originate, to come from, or to derive from.

So:

• la deveno = the origin / the source

In many contexts, origin is the most natural translation.

Because la amikoj is the subject of negocas.

• -j marks plural
• -n would mark the direct object

Here, the friends are the ones doing the negotiating, so they are the subject, not the object.

That is why the form is:

• la amikoj = the friends

not

• la amikojn = the friends as a direct object

Negocas is the present tense of negoci (to negotiate).

• -as = present tense

So negocas can mean:

• negotiate
• are negotiating
• sometimes do negotiate, depending on context

Like Esperanto verbs generally, -as does not separately distinguish simple present from present progressive. Context tells you which English translation fits best.

The comma separates the introductory participial phrase from the main clause:

• Aŭdinte pri la deveno, = introductory phrase
• la amikoj negocas. = main clause

This is similar to English punctuation in a sentence like:

• After hearing about the origin, the friends negotiate.

The comma helps show the structure clearly.

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, though some orders sound more natural than others.

This sentence puts the participial phrase first:

• Aŭdinte pri la deveno, la amikoj negocas.

That emphasizes the earlier action first. You could also restructure the idea in other ways, for example with a full clause, but this version is compact and natural.

The current order is good because it clearly shows:

1. first they heard about the origin
2. then they negotiate

Aŭ is a diphthong, pronounced roughly like ow in cow.

So aŭdi begins something like OW-di.

Also:

• ŭ is not a full vowel by itself
• it combines with the previous vowel to form a single glide sound

That makes aŭdinte sound approximately like ow-DEEN-teh, with Esperanto’s regular clear vowels and stress on the second-to-last syllable:

• aŭ-DIN-te