Translation
to hold within, to contain (to have inside)
Test yourself on enteni
Three quick questions. No account needed.
Know this word? Create a free account to track it.
Word origin
Built inside Esperanto from en ('in') and teni ('to hold'), so literally to hold in. Teni came from Latin tenere by way of French tenir, the root behind English tenant, tenacious and retain.
- Origin
- Esperanto compound
- Root
- en + teni
- English cognates
- retain, tenant
Examples
.
The box holds old letters.
.
That book contains a hundred pages.
.
The bottle contains only water.
A real build, and a plain one: en plus teni, to hold in. Main root last, prefix first, and the meaning is exactly the sum of the parts. Once you can read you can read (to hold out, to endure), (to hold back), i (to retain) and (to support) without looking any of them up, because the same preposition-plus- pattern runs through all of them.
Its near-twin is enhavi, which is the commoner word and the one to reach for by default. Where writers separate the two, is about contents in the abstract - what is in the box, what a text says - while keeps a trace of the physical holding, a container actually keeping something inside it. Most of the time either will pass without comment, and is the safer choice in a hurry.
The noun is what is held, o the contents, and o a container - though is the ordinary word for that and much shorter.
Where this fits
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Meet this word in a story
Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
Esperanto · Free printables
enteni: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "enteni" (to hold within, to contain (to have inside)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is taught in chapter 20, lesson 10: enteni, dungito, konforma and 7 more words.