La branĉo estas longa.

to be

Breakdown of La branĉo estas longa.

• la: the
• longa: long
• branĉo: the branch

Questions & Answers about La branĉo estas longa.

Why is there a la at the beginning?

La is the Esperanto definite article, equivalent to English the.

So la branĉo means the branch.

A very common beginner question is whether Esperanto also has a word for a/an. It does not. If you just say branĉo, that can mean a branch or simply branch, depending on context.

Examples:

• branĉo = a branch
• la branĉo = the branch

Why does branĉo end in -o?

In Esperanto, nouns normally end in -o.

So:

• branĉo = branch
• arbo = tree
• domo = house

The -o tells you right away that the word is a noun.

This is one of the most regular parts of Esperanto grammar:

• -o = noun
• -a = adjective
• -e = adverb
• -i = infinitive verb

How do you pronounce branĉo?

Branĉo is pronounced approximately BRAHN-cho.

A few details: