Sveiks / Sveika / Sveiki
Hello That Agrees
To a man Sveiks! · to a woman Sveika! · to a group or politely Sveiki! · to a group of women Sveikas!
How It Works
Match the person greeted.
- Sveiks! to a man or a boy
- Sveika! to a woman or a girl
- Sveiki! to a group, a mixed group, or one person you call jūs
- Sveikas! to a group of women: Sveikas, meitenes! (Hi, girls!)
The speaker does not matter: a man greets a woman with Sveika! These are the adjective endings from adjective agreement.
Sveiki as the neutral hello. When you are not sure, or when you write to people you do not know, Sveiki! fits: Sveiki, kā jums klājas? (Hello, how are you?) It goes naturally with polite jūs. See informal tu and polite jūs.
Hello and goodbye. These words are said both when meeting and when parting. When leaving, people also say Paliec sveiks! or Paliec sveika! (Stay well!) The general goodbye is Uz redzēšanos.
Other greetings. Čau! is casual and also means both hi and bye, and Atā! is a casual bye. With strangers and in shops you can also use labrīt, labdien or labvakar, which never change. A name after the greeting takes its calling form: Sveiks, Kārli! See calling someone.
Examples (5)
- — Sveiks, Kārli! — Sveika, Līga!
— Hi, Kārlis! — Hi, Līga!
Līga greets a man with sveiks, and Kārlis greets a woman with sveika. Kārli is the form of Kārlis used when calling him.
- Sveiki, bērni!
Hi, children!
A group takes the plural sveiki.
- Sveikas, meitenes!
Hi, girls!
A group of women takes sveikas.
- Sveiki! Vai jums ir svaiga maize?
Hello! Do you have fresh bread?
Word by Word: Hello! Q to-you is fresh bread?
Sveiki is a natural hello to a shop assistant you call jūs.
- Čau! Kā iet?
Hi! How's it going?
Word by Word: Hi! How goes?
Common Mistakes
Using sveiks for a woman.
Sveiks, Līga!Sveika, Līga!The greeting agrees with the person you greet. Līga is a woman, so say sveika.
Using the singular for a group.
Sveiks, draugi!Sveiki, draugi!Draugi is plural, so the greeting takes the plural ending: sveiki.
Leaving out the i.
Sveki!Sveiki!The word starts with svei-, with the two-letter vowel ei: sveiks, sveika, sveiki.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Sveiks is a greeting that agrees.
Related Patterns
- tu / jūsInformal Tu and Polite Jūs
Sveiki goes with anyone you call jūs.
Level 2 - Uz redzēšanosSaying Goodbye
The general way to say goodbye.
Level 1 - Calling Someone
A name after the greeting takes its calling form: Kārli!
Level 3 - Kā iet?Asking How Someone Is
The question that often follows the greeting.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice Sveiks / Sveika / Sveiki in Bubblegum
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