Learn About Lithuanian

Lietuvių • 3 million speakers worldwide

Indo-European Family•Hard Difficulty•ISO: lt
Language Sample

"Labas, kaip sekasi?"

Pronunciation: LAH-bas, kaip SEH-ka-see?

Translation: Hello, how are you?

Language Overview

Speakers

3 million

Language Family

Indo-European (Baltic)

Writing System

Latin script with diacritics

Official Status

Official language of Lithuania

Regions (3 countries)

LithuaniaPoland (Lithuanian minority)United States (Lithuanian diaspora)
History & Origins

Lithuanian is one of the oldest living Indo-European languages, retaining many archaic features from Proto-Indo-European. It has been influenced by Slavic languages and German over the centuries.

Language Characteristics

  • Rich system of noun cases (7 cases)

  • Three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, neuter)

  • Verb conjugation with tense and aspect

  • Pitch accent in some dialects

  • Subject-Verb-Object word order

Common Words
hello:labas
goodbye:viso gero
please:prašau
thank you:ačiū
yes:taip
no:ne
water:vanduo
food:maistas
house:namas
family:šeima
Numbers 0-10
0:nulis
1:vienas
2:du
3:trys
4:keturi
5:penki
6:šeši
7:septyni
8:aštuoni
9:devyni
10:dešimt
Major Dialects

Aukštaitian

Samogitian

Learning Tips

  • Focus on noun cases for proper grammar

  • Practice pronunciation with diacritics

  • Learn verb conjugation patterns

  • Listen to Lithuanian media for comprehension

  • Start with common phrases for daily use

Cultural Notes

  • Lithuanian culture emphasizes folklore and traditional festivals

  • Respect for elders is central in social interactions

  • Basketball is a major national sport

  • Folk songs (daina) are an important part of heritage

Fun Facts

Lithuanian preserves features not found in most modern Indo-European languages

It has one of the oldest written traditions among Baltic languages

The language uses diacritics extensively for pronunciation

Lithuanian folk songs are an important cultural heritage

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Try our interactive language guessing game and see if you can identify Lithuanian from text samples.