Latviešu

Latvian

Baltic

FamilyBaltic Speakers~1.7M ScriptLatin CountriesLatvia Official inLatvia + EU Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3lav

Latvian is one of two surviving Baltic languages alongside Lithuanian (the closest living relatives within Indo-European). The official language of Latvia and an EU language with ~1.4M L1 speakers. Distinguished from Lithuanian by fixed initial stress and three syllabic intonations (level, falling, broken — the last rare among Indo-European languages, with a close parallel in Danish stød). Latin script with 11 diacritic letters (ā č ē ģ ī ķ ļ ņ š ū ž). Standardized orthography 1908; Latvian Awakening literary movement (1850s-1880s) and the Daina folk-song tradition (over 1.2M variants collected).

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Latvian

Water

ūdens

uːdɛns

Fire

uguns

uɡuns

Sun

saule

saulɛ

Moon

mēness

meːnɛs

Star

zvaigzne

ˈzvaiɡzne

Night

nakts

nakts

Rain

lietus

liɛtus

Snow

sniegs

sniɛks

Wind

vējš

ʋeːjʃ

Earth

zeme

ˈzɛme

Stone

akmens

ˈakmens

Mountain

kalns

kalns

Sea

jūra

ˈjuːra

Mother

māte

maːtɛ

Father

tēvs

teːvs

Daughter

meita

meita

I

es

æs

You

tu

tu

We

mēs

meːs

Name

vārds

vaːrds

Person

cilvēks

ˈtsilvɛːks

Head

galva

ˈɡalva

Eye

acs

ats

Ear

auss

au̯s

Nose

deguns

ˈdeɡuns

Mouth

mute

ˈmute

Tooth

zobs

zuɔps

Tongue

mēle

ˈmeːle

Hand

roka

ruɔka

Foot

kāja

kaːja

Heart

sirds

sirds

Bone

kauls

kauls

Blood

asinis

ˈasinis

Poop

kaka

ˈkaka

Love

mīlestība

miːlɛstiːba

Tree

koks

kuɔks

Dog

suns

suns

Cat

kaķis

kacis

Fish

zivs

zivs

Bird

putns

ˈputns

Butterfly

tauriņš

ˈtauriɲʃ

Egg

ola

ˈuɔla

Bear

lācis

ˈlaːtsis

Horse

zirgs

zirks

House

māja

maːja

Milk

piens

piens

Honey

medus

ˈmɛdus

Salt

sāls

saːls

Wine

vīns

viːns

Rice

rīsi

ˈriːsi

Chocolate

šokolāde

ʃɔkɔˈlaːde

Iron

dzelzs

dzelzs

Wheel

ritenis

ˈritenis

Silk

zīds

ziːds

Book

grāmata

ˈɡraːmata

Eat

ēst

eːst

Drink

dzert

dzɛrt

Sleep

gulēt

ˈɡulʲeːt

One

viens

viɛns

Two

divi

ˈdivi

Three

trīs

triːs

Four

četri

ˈtʃetri

Five

pieci

ˈpiɛtsi

Hundred

simts

simts

Hello

sveiki

svɛiki

Thank you

paldies

paldiɛs

Good

labs

labs

New

jauns

jauns

Red

sarkans

ˈsarkans

White

balts

balts

Black

melns

ˈmelns

Green

zaļš

zaʎʃ

Blue

zils

zils

Cuckoo

dzeguze

ˈdzɛɡuzɛ

Woof

vau vau

vau vau

Cock-a-doodle-doo

kikerigū

ˈkikɛriɡuː

Computer

dators

ˈdatɔrs

Sushi

suši

ˈsuʃi

Tea

tēja

ˈtɛːja

Coffee

kafija

ˈkafija

Sugar

cukurs

ˈtsukurs

Orange

apelsīns

apɛlˈsiːns

Ninety-nine

deviņdesmit deviņi

ˈdeviɲdesmit ˈdeviɲi

Dopamine

dofamīns

ˈdɔfamiːns

At sign

et

et

Internet laughter

ha ha

xa xa

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Baltic

Meaning LatvianLatgalianOld PrussianSamogitianLithuanianSlovenianSlovak
Water ūdens /uːdɛns/ iudiņs /ˈiudʲinʲtsʲ/ wundan /wundan/ vondou /vɔndɔu/ vanduo /vɐnˈduɔ/ voda /ˈʋɔːda/ voda /ˈvoda/
Fire uguns /uɡuns/ guņs /ɡunʲtsʲ/ panno /panːo/ ognės /ɔɡneːs/ ugnis /ʊˈɡnʲɪs/ ogenj /ˈɔːɡən/ oheň /ˈoɦeɲ/
Sun saule /saulɛ/ saule /ˈsaulʲæ/ saule /saule/ saulė /sauleː/ saulė /ˈsaʊlʲeː/ sonce /ˈsoːntsɛ/ slnko /ˈsl̩nko/
Moon mēness /meːnɛs/ mienesnīks /ˈmʲienʲesnʲiːks/ menins /menins/ mienou /mʲeːnɔu/ mėnulis /mʲeːˈnʊlʲɪs/ luna /ˈluːna/ mesiac /ˈmɛsɪats/
Star zvaigzne /ˈzvaiɡzne/ zvaigzne /ˈzvai̯ɡʲzʲnʲæ/ lauxnos /ˈlauksnos/ žvaigždė /ʒvaɪɡʒdeː/ žvaigždė /ʒvɐɪɡʒˈdʲeː/ zvezda /ˈzʋeːzda/ hviezda /ˈɦvjezda/
Night nakts /nakts/ nakts /nakts/ nacktin /naktin/ naktis /ˈnaktʲɪs/ naktis /nɐkˈtʲɪs/ noč /noːtʃ/ noc /nots/
Rain lietus /liɛtus/ leits /lʲeits/ aglo /aɡlo/ lītos /liːtɔs/ lietus /ˈlʲiɛtʊs/ dež /dəʃ/ dážď /daːʒc/
Snow sniegs /sniɛks/ snīgs /sniːks/ snaygis /snaiɡis/ sniegs /snʲɛɡs/ sniegas /ˈsʲnʲiɛɡɐs/ sneg /sneːk/ sneh /sɲɛx/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Latvian
Es vēlos uzlaikot uzvalku ko redzēju veikalā pretī viesnīcai
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Latvian
Es vēlos uzlaikot uzvalku ko redzēju veikalā pretī viesnīcai
Aš noriu pasimatuoti kostiumą kurį mačiau parduotuvėje priešais viešbutį

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