mājās

At Home: Mājās

Level 1

Mājās means at home: Es esmu mājās (I am at home). With verbs of going it also means home: Es eju mājās (I am going home).

How It Works

At home and going home

  • Es esmu mājās. — I am at home.
  • Es eju mājās. — I am going home (on foot, or just going).
  • Es braucu mājās. — I am going home (by car, bus or train).

English says at home and home. Latvian uses the same word for both, so going home needs no preposition.

Mājās or mājā?
The plural mājas can mean home, the place where you live, even if it is a single flat. The singular māja is a house as a building. Compare:

  • Tētis ir mājās. — Dad is at home.
  • Mājā ir trīs istabas. — The house has three rooms.

Spelling
Both a's are long: mājās. Without the last macron, mājas is a different form, meaning houses or of the house.

Other forms of home
After a preposition such as no, the plural takes the dative: no mājām (from home); see Plural Nouns After Prepositions. When a guest arrives, you may hear Jūties kā mājās! (Make yourself at home!)

Examples (6)

  1. Es esmu mājās.

    I am at home.

    Word by Word: I am at-home.

  2. Es eju mājās.

    I am going home.

    Word by Word: I go home.

    With a verb of going, mājās names the destination.

  3. Vai tu esi mājās?

    Are you at home?

    Word by Word: [Question] you are at-home?

  4. Tētis strādā mājās.

    Dad works at home.

    Word by Word: Dad works at-home.

  5. Es braucu mājās.

    I am going home (by car or bus).

    Word by Word: I drive home.

    Braukt is for going by vehicle; mājās stays the same.

  6. Mājā ir trīs istabas.

    The house has three rooms.

    Word by Word: In-house is three rooms.

    The singular mājā means in the house as a building.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping the macron on the last a.

    Es esmu mājas.
    Es esmu mājās.

    Mājas means houses or of the house. At home needs the long ending: mājās.

  • Using singular mājā for at home.

    Es esmu mājā. (meaning: I am at home.)
    Es esmu mājās.

    Mājā points to a house as a building, as in Mājā ir trīs istabas. Apart from a few set phrases, the everyday way to say at home is mājās.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

mājāsLevel 1At Home: Mājās

Learn This First

Mājās is a fixed locative form.

Words in This Pattern