Chapter 2: Greetings, Names, and Polite Talk

Starting point#

Ana has come with a Tz'ikin to the house of his parents in Tecpán (Iximche'). It is mid-afternoon.

(At the door.)

a Tz'ikin: ¿At k'o, nána?
Are you there, ma'am?

te Ixk'at: Ja', in k'o. ¿Xape?
Yes, I'm here. You've come?

a Tz'ikin: Ja', xipe. Xqa q'ij k'a.
Yes, I've come. Good afternoon.

te Ixk'at: Xqa q'ij, matyöx. ¿La ütz awäch?
Good afternoon, thanks. How are you?

a Tz'ikin: Ütz, matyöx. ¿La ütz awäch rat?
Fine, thanks. And how are you?

te Ixk'at: Ütz, matyöx. ¿Achike rub'i' ri xtän?
Fine, thanks. What is the young woman's name?

a Tz'ikin: Ana rub'i'. Rija' aj Chicago.
Her name is Ana. She is from Chicago.

Ana: Xqa q'ij, nána. ¿La ütz awäch?
Good afternoon, ma'am. How are you?

te Ixk'at: Ütz, matyöx. ¿Aj akuchi' rat, Ana?
Fine, thanks. Where are you from, Ana?

Ana: Rin in aj Chicago. Chicago rub'i' nutinamit.
I am from Chicago. My town is called Chicago.

te Ixk'at: Aa, ütz k'a. Katok.
Ah, good then. Come in.

Ana: Matyöx.
Thank you.

te Ixk'at: Man tab'ij ke ri'.
Don't mention it.

Read the dialogue aloud. Greetings have a melody of their own, described at the end of How it works: two beats on the last syllable of Xqa q'ij, high then low, and a sharp rise-fall on k'a.

How it works#

Greetings by time of day#

There are three standard greetings, and each is a tiny sentence about the day.

Each one begins with x-, the prefix for a completed event (the completive, Chapter 12), and xoq'a' is a contraction of xok aq'a' "night entered". You will also hear the fuller xok aq'a', often written as one word, xokaq'a', and in the morning simply seqër. So a Kaqchikel greeting does not wish you a good morning; it observes, together with the person you meet, that morning has come. That is why you answer with the same word and add matyöx "thanks".

The particle k'a at the end of the opening greeting is hard to translate ("then, well, there"). It softens and rounds off the phrase and is typical of the person who speaks first. The reply uses matyöx instead.

How are you?#

The standard question is ¿La ütz awäch? It is a yes/no question (particle la), and its literal meaning is "Is your face good?": ütz "good" is the predicate, and awäch is aw- "your" (Set A 2s before a vowel) plus -wäch "face". Since the face is where one's state shows, "your face is good" is "you are well". (Possessed nouns like awäch are the subject of Chapter 4: Possession.) Two useful variants:

• ¿Achike ab'anon? "How are you doing? / What's up?" Literally "what is your done-thing". Use it with people you know.
• ¿La raxnäq awäch? "Are you well / healthy?" with raxnäq "healthy, sound".

Answers, from most to least cheerful:

After answering, return the question: ¿La ütz awäch rat? The independent pronoun rat "you" at the end adds emphasis ("and you?").

A full exchange can then be closed with Matyöx k'a ri'. "Thanks, then." It is not a thank-you for anything in particular; it marks the greeting ritual as complete, so the speakers can move on to other things or part.

The doorway ritual#

When you arrive at someone's house you do not knock and wait in silence. You call out ¿At k'o? "Are you there?", usually with a title: ¿At k'o, nána? The person inside answers Ja', in k'o. "Yes, I am here", often with a thank-you folded in, In k'o, matyöx, and then asks the visitor ¿Xape? "You have come?" The visitor answers Ja', xipe. "Yes, I have come." Only then do greetings by time of day and ¿La ütz awäch? follow, and the host may say Katok. "Come in" (to several visitors, Kixok).

These questions sound odd in English, but they are not asking for information. They open the visit, and the only right answers are the yes-answers above.

The same goes for ¿La yab'iyaj? "Are you out and about?", which you will be asked when you run into someone in the street or the market. Answer Ja', yib'iyaj. "Yes, I am out and about", even if you are on your way somewhere specific.

Titles and forms of address#

Kaqchikel speakers rarely use a bare first name for an adult: Kawoq alone, said to or about a grown man, sounds like a child speaking. A short title comes first, written in lowercase before the name. English speakers tend to drop titles because first names feel friendly; in Kaqchikel the title is the friendly form.

When you call to someone or address them without a name, use the vocatives nána "ma'am" and táta "sir", stressed on the first syllable (Chapter 1). These are the polite way to address a market seller, an elder, or the person who answers the door: Xseqër, nána. ¿At k'o, táta?

Usage varies: in some towns ma is for young men and a for older ones, and the women's titles are fading in others. Copy the people around you. A title is always safer than none.

Asking and giving names#

"Name" is a possessed noun: you do not say "the name" but "my name, your name", with a possessive prefix on the stem -b'i'. (The independent word is b'i'aj; Chapter 4: Possession explains why it drops -aj.) "Town", tinamit, takes the same prefixes, and you will need both:

The question is ¿Achike ab'i'? "What is your name?", often with the pronoun added: ¿Achike ab'i' rat? (achike is the question word "what, who, which"). The answer is Ana nub'i'. "Ana is my name", very often with the pronoun in front: Rin Ana nub'i'. This is a sentence with no verb (Chapter 3 explains the pattern): the name is the predicate, nub'i' is the subject, and rin is a topic ("as for me, Ana [is] my name"). So "I am Ana" is Ana nub'i', not a bare Ana and not In Ana.

You can also ask a yes/no question with la: ¿La Ixchel ab'i'? "Is your name Ixchel?" The answers are Ja', Ixchel nub'i'. "Yes, my name is Ixchel" or Manäq, man Ixchel ta nub'i'. "No, my name is not Ixchel." The negation man ... ta wraps around the word being denied; Chapter 3: Pronouns and "Being" explains it.

After hearing a name, people often repeat it with a small acknowledgment: Aa, Ixchel ab'i'. Matyöx. "Ah, your name is Ixchel. Thank you."

Where are you from?#

Three ways to ask, all common:

The key piece is aj, a little word placed before a place name to mean "person of, native of": aj Iximche' "someone from Tecpán", aj Chiq'a'l "someone from Comalapa", aj Tz'olöj Ya' "someone from Sololá". To say "I am from X" you use the Set B free word and aj: Rin in aj Iximche'. "I am from Tecpán." Aj Iximche' is simply a noun phrase, "Tecpán person", and with akuchi' "where", aj akuchi' means "from where?"

The second question uses tinamit "town" with its possessive prefixes, and the answer mirrors the name pattern: Iximche' rub'i' nutinamit. "My town is called Iximche'."

Kaqchikel towns have Kaqchikel names alongside their Spanish ones, and speakers use the Kaqchikel names among themselves: say aj Iximche', not "aj Tecpán". The ones you are likely to need are in the Reference table at the end of the Vocabulary section.

For a foreign visitor the simplest honest answer is the name of your city or country in its usual form: Rin in aj Chicago. You can add Pa Jotöl to place it: Chicago k'o Pa Jotöl. "Chicago is in the States."

Thanking and replying#

Matyöx is "thank you" (also spelled matyox, the form common in schoolbooks). To thank a particular person, add the relational noun for "to you": Matyöx chawe. "Thank you (to you)"; Matyöx chiwe. "Thank you all." (Chawe and chiwe are relational nouns, the subject of Chapter 21; treat these two as chunks.)

The polite reply is Man tab'ij ke ri'. "Don't say that / don't mention it", a fixed formula. A second common reply is simply Ütz k'a. "Fine, then."

Please, sorry, yes, no#

Please is Tab'ana' utzil, literally "do a kindness" (utzil "goodness, favor"). It goes at the start or the end of a request: Tab'ana' utzil, katok. "Please come in." A fuller version is Tab'ana' jun utzil chwe. "Do me a favor."

Sorry, excuse me. Kinakuyu'. "Forgive me." For a real apology: Takuyu' numak. "Forgive my fault." The noun sachb'äl mak "pardon" is used in more formal requests for forgiveness. Learn these as whole phrases; commands are taken apart in Chapter 13: Commands, Requests, and Wishes.

Yes is ja'. No is manäq, very often shortened to näq in conversation. Both stand alone or precede a full answer:

And when you do not know: Man wetaman ta. "I don't know" (literally "it is not known by me").

Taking your leave#

Leave-taking phrases are short and usually end on k'a or chik.

When someone leaves and you want to send regards, use rutzil ruwäch "greeting", literally "the goodness of his/her face": Taya' rutzil ruwäch te Ixk'at. "Give my greetings to te Ixk'at."

The intonation of a greeting exchange#

Greetings have a melody of their own. The last syllable of a greeting word (Xseqër, Xqa q'ij, matyöx) is stretched to two beats, high then low, and k'a at the end of a phrase jumps up and falls sharply. Here is a complete exchange. Level pitch is written with "=", a rise with "/", a fall with "\", and the two-beat ending with "^v".

The general rule: greeting words stretch and step down; k'a jumps up and falls; yes/no questions rise; everything else falls like an English statement.

A note on names#

Kaqchikel family names may be of Mayan origin (Chakäch is a well-known one) or Spanish. First names are usually Spanish in origin, but a growing number of families choose names from Maya tradition. A person's home town is one of the strongest parts of Kaqchikel identity: it shapes speech, dress, and how one is introduced. So ¿Aj akuchi' rat? is never idle; it is one of the first things people want to know.

A short text: Ana's morning#

This short narrative uses only phrases from this chapter.

Ana k'o pa Iximche' wakami. Nimaq'a' xb'e pa k'ayb'äl.
Ana is in Tecpán today. In the morning she went to the market.

Pa k'ayb'äl k'o jun ixöq; Ixchel rub'i'. Rija' aj Iximche'.
At the market there is a woman; her name is Ixchel. She is from Tecpán.

Ana xub'ij: "Xseqër k'a, xta Ixchel. ¿La ütz awäch?"
Ana said: "Good morning, Ixchel. How are you?"

Xta Ixchel xub'ij: "Xseqër, matyöx. Ütz, matyöx. ¿La ütz awäch rat?"
Ixchel said: "Good morning, thanks. Fine, thanks. And how are you?"

Ana xub'ij: "Ütz, matyöx."
Ana said: "Fine, thanks."

K'a ri' xpe ma Kawoq. Rija' rutata' xta Ixchel.
Then ma Kawoq came. He is Ixchel's father.

Ana xub'ij: "Xseqër, táta. ¿La ütz awäch?"
Ana said: "Good morning, sir. How are you?"

Ma Kawoq xub'ij: "Ütz, matyöx. ¿Achike ab'i' rat?"
Ma Kawoq said: "Fine, thanks. What is your name?"

Ana xub'ij: "Rin Ana nub'i'. In aj Chicago."
Ana said: "My name is Ana. I am from Chicago."

Ma Kawoq xub'ij: "Aa, ütz k'a. Chicago k'o Pa Jotöl."
Ma Kawoq said: "Ah, good then. Chicago is in the States."

Tiqaq'ij Ana xb'e pa jay. "Matyöx k'a ri'", xub'ij.
In the afternoon Ana went home. "Thanks, then", she said.

"Chwa'q chik", xub'ij xta Ixchel.
"See you tomorrow", said Ixchel.

Patterns at a glance#

Greetings and replies#

Names and origin#

Politeness kit#

Vocabulary#

Reference: the verbs inside this chapter's set phrases#

Each of these sits inside a phrase you learn whole in this chapter (Katok, Kinakuyu', Man wetaman ta). The phrases are in the deck; the verbs enter it in the chapters that teach their forms.

Reference: place names#

These are for looking up, not for drilling; learn the ones you will actually use (your own haunts and the family's towns) and let the rest wait.

Usage and dialect notes#

• Greet first, and greet everyone. On a path or in a small street, people who pass each other exchange at least Xseqër / Xseqër even if they are strangers. Not greeting is noticed. In the market, greet the seller before asking a price.
• Soften your questions. Kaqchikel etiquette treats even a routine question as a small imposition. When you need information from a stranger or an elder, preface it with Tab'ana' utzil tab'ij pe chwe "please tell me" (a fixed chunk), or open with Takuyu' numak. It costs one breath and marks you as someone who knows how things are done.
• Mind the rainbow. The contracted xoq'a' is widespread in the central area, and the fuller xok aq'a' (or xokaq'a') is fully acceptable. Keep all of them apart from xokoq'a' "rainbow": one o too many and you have wished someone a good rainbow.
• näq is not majun. Näq, the fast-speech "no", answers a yes/no question. Majun "nothing, none" answers "is there any?", as in Majun k'ayewal "no problem".

Looking back and ahead#

Almost everything in this chapter is a non-verbal predicate (in aj Iximche', Ana nub'i', ütz awäch) or a fixed formula. Chapter 3: Pronouns and "Being" takes the non-verbal predicates apart, with the full set of Set B free words, la and man ... ta; Chapter 4: Possession shows how every noun takes the prefixes of nub'i' and nutinamit.