Consonant Changes Before Endings

Level 2

Some forms change the last consonant of the stem: brālis → brāļa (brother → brother's), upe → upju (river → of rivers), sirds → siržu (heart → of hearts).

How It Works

What changes

Before some endings, the last consonant of the stem becomes softer. You hear it, and the spelling shows it:

  • l → ļ, n → ņ: brālis → brāļa (brother), Jānis → Jāņa
  • s → š, t → š: lasis → laša (salmon), nakts → nakšu (night)
  • z → ž, d → ž: roze → rožu (rose), sirds → siržu (heart)
  • c → č, dz → dž: lācis → lāča (bear), dadzis → dadža (thistle)
  • p → pj, b → bj, m → mj, v → vj: skapis → skapja (wardrobe), gulbis → gulbja (swan), zeme → zemju (land), zivs → zivju (fish)
  • two consonants can change together: zn → žņ, ln → ļņ: zvaigzne → zvaigžņu (star), vilnis → viļņa (wave)

In nouns, the letters k, g, ķ, ģ, r and j do not change: kaķis → kaķa (cat), Pēteris → Pētera.

Where it happens

  • Nouns in -is (second declension): in the genitive singular and in every plural form: brāļa, brāļi, brāļu, brāļiem. The other singular forms keep the plain consonant: brālim, brāli, brālī.
  • Nouns in -e (fifth declension) and feminine nouns in -s (sixth declension): only in the genitive plural: upe → upju, sirds → siržu.
  • suns (dog) behaves like a noun in -is: suņa, suņi. See Nouns Like Akmens and Suns.
  • Nouns like galds, tirgus and māja never change: galdu, tirgu, māju.

Exceptions

  • tētis → tēta (dad), viesis → viesa (guest), and names like Uldis → Ulda and Atis → Ata
  • acs → acu (eye), auss → ausu (ear), valsts → valstu (country), pirts → pirtu (sauna), Cēsis → Cēsu
  • some borrowed words in -e: pase → pasu (passport), torte → tortu (cake)

When you learn a new noun, check its genitive in the dictionary. It shows you whether the consonant changes.

In verbs too

You will meet the same kind of change in some verbs: gulēt → es guļu (I sleep), sēdēt → es sēžu (I sit).

Examples (6)

  1. Mana brāļa vārds ir Jānis.

    My brother's name is Jānis.

    brālis becomes brāļa in the genitive singular: l changes to ļ.

  2. Istabā ir divi skapji.

    There are two wardrobes in the room.

    skapis becomes skapji in the plural: p changes to pj.

  3. Dārzā ir daudz rožu.

    There are a lot of roses in the garden.

    roze becomes rožu in the genitive plural: z changes to ž. It is the only form of roze that changes.

  4. Man patīk zivju zupa.

    I like fish soup.

    zivs becomes zivju in the genitive plural: v changes to vj.

  5. Suņa vārds ir Reksis.

    The dog's name is Reksis.

    suns becomes suņa: n changes to ņ.

  6. Tēta mašīna ir jauna.

    Dad's car is new.

    tētis is an exception. Its genitive is tēta, with no change.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the change in the genitive singular.

    Tas ir mana brāla dators.
    Tas ir mana brāļa dators.

    Nouns in -is change their consonant in the genitive singular: brālis → brāļa.

  • Changing the consonant where it does not change.

    Es zvanu brāļim.
    Es zvanu brālim.

    In the singular, only the genitive changes. The dative keeps the plain consonant: brālim.

  • Applying the change to an exception.

    Tas ir tēša telefons.
    Tas ir tēta telefons.

    tētis is one of the few nouns in -is that never changes its consonant: tēta, tēti, tētu.

How It Connects

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

Consonant Changes Before EndingsLevel 2

Learn This First

Consonant changes first appear in the second declension.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.