Nationalities in -ietis / -iete
Nationalities
A man is a latvietis, a woman is a latviete. Many nationalities work the same way: lietuvietis / lietuviete (Lithuanian), vācietis / vāciete (German).
How It Works
1. The -ietis / -iete pattern.
- latvietis / latviete (Latvian)
- lietuvietis / lietuviete (Lithuanian)
- vācietis / vāciete (German)
- ķīnietis / ķīniete (Chinese)
2. Other masculine forms. Some masculine nouns end in -is or -s. The feminine still ends in -iete:
- igaunis / igauniete (Estonian)
- krievs / krieviete (Russian)
- anglis / angliete (English)
- francūzis / francūziete (French)
- itālis / itāliete (Italian)
- amerikānis / amerikāniete (American)
3. Declension and plural. Masculine nouns in -ietis and -is belong to the 2nd declension, so the plural has a consonant change: latvietis → latvieši, vācietis → vācieši, anglis → angļi, igaunis → igauņi. Feminine nouns in -iete belong to the 5th declension: latviete → latvietes.
4. Lower case. Nationality nouns are not capitalised (see capital letters): Viņa ir latviete. Country names are: Latvija, Vācija.
5. Languages and describing words. The genitive plural describes things: latviešu valoda (the Latvian language), latviešu ēdiens (Latvian food). Some genitive forms are shorter than the noun: vācu valoda (German), krievu valoda (Russian), angļu valoda (English). To say what language someone speaks, use latviski.
Examples (6)
- Es esmu latvietis.
I am Latvian.
Said by a man. A woman says Es esmu latviete.
- Mana māte ir lietuviete.
My mother is Lithuanian.
- Viņš ir vācietis, un viņa sieva ir igauniete.
He is German, and his wife is Estonian.
The masculine igaunis does not end in -ietis, but the feminine igauniete does.
- Mūsu kaimiņi ir itāļi.
Our neighbours are Italian.
The plural of itālis is itāļi: l changes to ļ, just as anglis becomes angļi.
- Vai jūs esat krieviete?
Are you Russian?
Asked politely of a woman.
- Šeit dzīvo daudz latviešu.
Many Latvians live here.
After daudz, the noun takes the genitive plural: latviešu.
Common Mistakes
Writing the nationality with a capital letter.
Es esmu Latvietis.Es esmu latvietis.Nationality nouns are written in lower case in Latvian, unlike in English.
Using the masculine form for a woman.
Anna ir latvietis.Anna ir latviete.A woman's nationality takes the feminine form, which almost always ends in -iete.
Using the language word as the nationality.
Viņš ir vācu.Viņš ir vācietis.Vācu is the genitive plural used in vācu valoda (German). A person is vācietis or vāciete.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Nationality nouns are written in lower case.
Related Patterns
- latviskiSpeaking a Language: Latviski
Latviski names the language someone speaks: Viņš runā latviski.
Level 1 - Second Declension: -isSecond Declension: Masculine -is
Masculine nouns in -ietis follow this declension.
Level 1 - Fifth Declension: -eFifth Declension: Nouns in -e
Feminine nouns in -iete follow this declension.
Level 1 - Consonant Changes Before Endings
Why latvietis becomes latvieši in the plural.
Level 2 - no + GenitiveWhere You Come from
Es esmu no Latvijas (I am from Latvia) is another way to say where you are from.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Nationalities in -ietis / -iete in Bubblegum
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