ģ ķ ļ ņ

The Letters Ģ, Ķ, Ļ and Ņ

Level 1

ģ ķ ļ ņ are soft consonants: ģimene (family), ķirsis (cherry), ļoti (very), ņemt (to take). The comma is part of the letter.

How It Works

Each soft consonant has a plain partner, and English has something close to most of them:

  • ņ is like the ny in "canyon" or Spanish ñ: ņemt (to take), suņi (dogs).
  • ļ is like the lli in "million", said as one sound: ļoti (very), brāļi (brothers).
  • ķ is a k made further forward, close to the sound at the start of "cute": ķirsis (cherry), kaķis (cat).
  • ģ is the voiced partner of ķ, close to the gy in "argue": ģimene (family), ģitāra (guitar).

On a small g the comma sits on top, because the g has a tail below: ģimene. On the capital it goes underneath: Ģirts.

The comma is not decoration. Many endings switch between a plain and a soft consonant, so the comma often tells you which form of a word you have:

  • brāli (brother, as an object) and brāļi (brothers)
  • suni (dog, as an object) and suņi (dogs)

These switches follow set patterns, covered in consonant changes and nouns in -is.

Do not write the soft sounds as kj, lj, nj or gj. Latvian has one letter for each, and in a dictionary each has its own section after the plain letter.

Examples (6)

  1. Mana ģimene ir liela.

    My family is big.

    Word by Word: My family is big.

  2. Man ļoti patīk ķirši.

    I really like cherries.

    Word by Word: To-me very pleases cherries.

    Ļoti starts with a soft ļ, and ķirši with a soft ķ.

  3. Man ir divi brāļi.

    I have two brothers.

    Word by Word: To-me is two brothers.

    The soft ļ makes this plural.

  4. Es gaidu brāli.

    I'm waiting for my brother.

    Word by Word: I wait brother.

    Here the plain l is right: brāli is the object form of brālis.

  5. Kaķis ir mājās.

    The cat is at home.

    Word by Word: Cat is at-home.

  6. Viņa ņem maizi.

    She's taking the bread.

    Word by Word: She takes bread.

    Ņem is a form of ņemt, to take.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the comma off a plural ending.

    Man ir divi brāli.
    Man ir divi brāļi.

    Brāli is one brother as an object. Brothers is brāļi, with the soft ļ.

  • Writing a soft sound with two letters.

    Man ljoti patīk kafija.
    Man ļoti patīk kafija.

    Latvian uses one letter for each soft sound: ļ, not lj. The same goes for ņ, ķ and ģ.

How It Connects

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

ģ ķ ļ ņLevel 1The Letters Ģ, Ķ, Ļ and Ņ

Learn This First

Ģ, ķ, ļ and ņ come right after the alphabet.