kas / kur / kad / kā / kāpēc / cik

Question Words

Level 1

Put the question word first and keep the rest of the sentence as it is: Kur tu dzīvo? (Where do you live?) Cik tas maksā? (How much does it cost?)

How It Works

The six words.

  • kas: who or what. Kas tas ir? (What is that?) Kas tur ir? (Who is there?)
  • kur: where. Kur tu dzīvo? (Where do you live?)
  • kad: when. Kad tu strādā? (When do you work?)
  • kā: how. Kā tev iet? (How are you doing?)
  • kāpēc: why. Kāpēc tu nedzer kafiju? (Why don't you drink coffee?)
  • cik: how much or how many, and also the price and the time. Cik tas maksā? (How much does it cost?) Cik ir pulkstenis? (What time is it?)

Word order. The question word comes first. The rest keeps its normal order and its normal verb form: Tu dzīvo Rīgā. → Kur tu dzīvo? There is no helper verb and no vai. Vai is only for yes-no questions.

Kur also means "where to". English uses where for a place and for a direction, and so does Latvian: Kur tu dzīvo? (Where do you live?) and Kur tu ej? (Where are you going?). To ask where someone comes from, use the set phrase No kurienes tu esi? (Where are you from?)

Kas has case forms. When the question is about the object, kas becomes ko: Ko tu dzer? (What are you drinking?) Its other forms, kam and kā, are in case forms of kas. Do not mix up kā (how) with ka (that). The macron changes the word.

Answers and related questions. An answer to kāpēc usually starts with jo (because). After cik, a counted noun goes into the genitive: see how many. To ask which one or what kind, Latvian uses kurš and kāds.

Examples (6)

  1. Kas tas ir?

    What is that?

    Word by Word: What that is?

  2. Kur tu ej? — Uz veikalu.

    Where are you going? — To the shop.

    Word by Word: Where you go? — To shop.

    Kur asks about a direction here, not only a place.

  3. Kad tu strādā? — Rīt.

    When are you working? — Tomorrow.

    Word by Word: When you work? — Tomorrow.

  4. Kā tev iet? — Labi, paldies.

    How are you doing? — Fine, thanks.

    Word by Word: How to-you goes? — Well, thanks.

  5. Kāpēc tu nedzer kafiju?

    Why don't you drink coffee?

    Word by Word: Why you not-drink coffee?

  6. Cik tas maksā? — Divi eiro.

    How much does it cost? — Two euros.

    Word by Word: How-much that costs? — Two euros.

Common Mistakes

  • Using kas for the object of the verb.

    Kas tu dari?
    Ko tu dari?

    Kas asks about the subject. When the question is about the object, as with darīt (to do), use ko.

  • Leaving the macron off kā.

    Ka tevi sauc?
    Kā tevi sauc?

    Kā means how. Ka without the macron means that, so the question no longer works.

How It Connects

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

kas / kur / kad / kā / kāpēc / cikLevel 1Question Words

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Question words come after yes-no questions.

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Words in This Pattern

kadkākāpēccik