Riga | Language | Latvian Language Tips

Language Tips!

Fun with words

Here are a few handy phrases that are sure to see you through ninety nine percent of situations you might encounter in Riga... Remember the stress always falls on the first syllable!

Es nesaprotu
I don’t understand

Vai Jus runajat angliski?
Do you speak English?

Vienu alu, ludzu
One beer, please

Es tevi milu
I love you

Cik jums gadu?
How old are you?

Kolosāls
Terrific

Jūs esat brīnisķīgs dejotājs!
You’re wonderful at dancing!

Cik tas maksa
How much does it cost?

Ludzu, rekinu
The bill please

Click & Listen!
	Yes
	No
	Hello
	Goodbye
	How are you?
	Please
	Thank you
	How much does this cost?
	Do you speak English?
	Cheers!
	I lost my passport - can you help me?
	How much does beer cost?
	Two beers please!
	Do you have a sister?
	Drop by tonight and I'll show you my stamp collection

With a mere 1.5 million native speakers and only 3.2 total speakers you have to be a pretty dedicated linguist to want to get to grips with the tricky Latvian language. Still, if you're desperate to be a member of this elite club (ie. you got hitched to a Latvian wife and can't understand what she's shouting at you) then read on for a few pointers!

The Latvian language is one of two Baltic languages, the other being Lithuanian, that evolved from Indo-European. Latvian boasts a hearty 35 letters, 22 of which you will find in the English language and 13 of which look suspiciously familiar except for the curious dots and dashes floating above and below. Clever people refer to these 'extras' as diacritical marks, but no need to tax yourself - just know that they affect the pronunciation of the letter in question.

When it comes to grammar there's more than enough to keep you busy for a decade or two. Nouns boast a healthy six declensions and six cases (just think of the permutations!) and whereas verbs only come in three simple and perfect tenses there's always the five moods to consider. Probably you can feel a thin film of perspiration on your forehead by now, but no need to panic just yet. Take a peak at our simple words and phrases and you'll have plenty to help you through a long weekend!

If you've got some good ideas on how to make our language section better, let us know!

a few words...

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Latvian language tips


"hi am ali i want to ask about study in this uni if you please can you send ure webside to communicate with you"	ali Syria Jul.21.2010 rates this page 3/5


"šitas ir faktisks - this is factual - pronounced "shit ass ir fuck tisks""	TOMS Morocco Jun.16.2010 rates this page 1/5


""tev ir skaistas acis" means "you have very beautiful eyes""	Sofija United States Apr.03.2010 rates this page 3/5


"'atri celas un ilgi stav' means ur coc stands up quickly and its like that 4 a long time lol"	Latvian Latvia Dec.13.2008 rates this page 3/5


"I just wanna know whats the meaning of "tev ir skaitas acis"?There's some1 who said it to me And the only latvian phrase that i know is es tevi milu,which means i luv u "	Inesha Indonesia Oct.15.2008 rates this page 3/5


"what does atri celas un ilgi stav! mean i have a shirt with that saying"	michael United States Jul.29.2008 rates this page 4/5


"there is nowhere to click for listening???"	Dissapointed Estonia Jul.23.2008 rates this page 2/5


"All I know is that I like this language very much. My wife (latvian) tells me I have it easy for I am spanish speaker, compared to english-spoken people that seem to have so much problems to get the concepts of latvieðu valoda...I don† think it's in extinction: the identity of this country is such so strong... :)"	Vic Latvia Jun.18.2008 rates this page 2/5


"Hi I moving to Latvia-Riga and I wanna know where can I go for to learn me this languages ///not body know??? "	latin Latvia Jun.15.2008 rates this page 3/5


"Btw, Latvian language is the most similar language to old Sanskrit.. our nation has very deep roots and interesting history. "	Elsipelis Latvia May.16.2008 rates this page 5/5


"All languages are beautiful including Latvian.It's good for each individual to extend themselves either by language or other skills, for their own self esteem.For those comments against the Latvian language "have you learnt another language" you believe to be more useful to improve yourself? Or can you ONLY write disparing comments?"	Aivars Klavins Australia Apr.25.2008 rates this page 3/5


"this is a wired lng."	Boo United States Apr.18.2008 rates this page 3/5


"click and listen does not work"	Michele dollfuss Sweden Apr.12.2008 rates this page 3/5


"one of the most interesting languages of europe, not of the dying kind, I think baltic languages will have a revival in the near future. It is a key to many questions in linguastics. Besides its a cool language, spoken by few, but so cool!!"	andyrias Sweden Mar.28.2008 rates this page 5/5


"Latvian language is really a great language i knows this language bcoz of my best friend who is from latvia"	Raj India Mar.16.2008 rates this page 4/5

"Latvians have their own language, kept for ages and closely realted to original Indo-European. Americans and Australians do not even have a self language nor culture, and some of them cant even be aware of other different people existing all arround. Latvian language is useful and hard to learn as well. Surely not as extended as other languages, but handy to interact with Latvians (as you ignorants, cant speak Russian either). They say learning hard (inflected) languages keeps your brain younger for longer, so there might be a cure for you. "

Javier
Spain
Feb.29.2008
rates this page 1/5


"can you give us the latvian equivalant of 'do you have a single brother' "would you like to live with me in australia", and 'can we take our clothes off now'"	angela Australia Jan.20.2008 rates this page 3/5


"Who would want to learn a dying language, spoken only by 2 mil people? :)) that's a good joke"	my name is ... Australia Dec.09.2007 rates this page 1/5


"Latvian has 11, not 13, "special" letters (with diacritics). "R with cedilla" is used only in diaspora, and even with this that would be only 12. Writing examples without diacritics is totally senseless, at least not without a pronunciationguide."	Iļja Latvia Sep.24.2007 rates this page 1/5


"I like Latvian I was in Riga Jan 2007 to meet a friend she became ill so I didn't get to see her much (10 Min the day I had to go home) I didn't have a hard time talking to Latvians as for a lot of them also speak some English and if not they were steel willing to try to help me and undstand what I needed or help. "	John Murphy United States Jul.28.2007 rates this page 5/5


"I think it is good to know a second language fluently. Having travelled abroad, I feel lost not knowing the language. "	Jim United States Jul.23.2007 rates this page 5/5


"it's a beautiful language! y'all must be some sweethearts over there! i would love to see riga and ride my bike."	Victoria Benin Jul.21.2007 rates this page 2/5


"It's a beautiful language! I have spoken and understood it all of my life. No one should pay any attention to the low-class, non-cultured comments of some of these people. "	Larisa United States Jul.09.2007 rates this page 3/5


"I think it's a terrible language to learn. Nobody needs it anyhow, exept latvians"	Eliana United States May.29.2007 rates this page 4/5


"ridiculas. i speak latvian and the exaples don't have extras. you could at least write the alphabet."	melissa United States Feb.23.2007 rates this page 1/5