Breakdown of En nia hejmo estas kutimo prepari vespermanĝon kune, kiam ni havas tempon.
esti
to be
havi
to have
en
in
ni
we
Questions & Answers about En nia hejmo estas kutimo prepari vespermanĝon kune, kiam ni havas tempon.
Why does the sentence begin with En nia hejmo? Does hejmo mean the same thing as domo?
En nia hejmo means in our home or in our household.
A native English speaker may expect house, but hejmo is closer to home in the sense of family life and the place where people live together. Domo is more the physical building: house.
So:
- hejmo = home, household
- domo = house, building
In this sentence, hejmo is a good choice because the sentence is about a family custom, not just about a building.
Why is there no -n on hejmo in En nia hejmo?
Because en here shows location, not movement.
In Esperanto, after a preposition like en, you normally do not use -n unless there is movement toward something.
So:
- en nia hejmo = in our home
- en nian hejmon = into our home
Here the meaning is static location, so hejmo stays without -n.
Why does Esperanto say estas kutimo without a subject like it?