pie- / pār-

Toward and Back: Pie- and Pār-

Level 4

Pie- = up to, adding: pienākt pie loga (to come up to the window), pievienot (to add). Pār- = across, back home, again: pāriet ielu (to cross the street), pārnākt mājās (to come back home), pārrakstīt (to rewrite).

How It Works

1. Pie-: up to.

  • pienākt, pieiet (to come up to, to walk up to): pienākt pie galda
  • piebraukt (to drive up to): piebraukt pie mājas

2. Pie-: adding and filling.

  • pievienot (to add, to attach), pielikt (to add, to put against)
  • pierakstīt (to write down, to add in writing): Pieraksti manu numuru!
  • piepildīt (to fill up)

3. Useful pie- words. piezvanīt (to give a call), piedot (to forgive), pieņemt (to accept), pierast (to get used to). Piezvanīt and piedot take a dative person: piezvanīt draugam, Piedod man! (see verbs with dative objects).

4. Pār-: across and over. pāriet ielu (to cross the street), pārlēkt pāri grāvim (to jump over the ditch), pārbraukt pāri upei (to drive across the river).

5. Pār-: back home. pārnākt and pārbraukt often mean coming back home: Kad tu pārnāksi mājās? (When will you come home?) (see mājās).

6. Pār-: again or wrongly. pārrakstīt (to rewrite, to copy out), pārlasīt (to reread), pārprast (to misunderstand), pārģērbties (to change clothes). And pārdot (to sell) is a word of its own.

Examples (6)

  1. Viņš pienāca pie loga.

    He came up to the window.

    pie- verb + pie + genitive: logs → pie loga.

  2. Pieraksti manu numuru!

    Write down my number!

    pie- + rakstīt: adding something in writing.

  3. Piedod man, lūdzu!

    Please forgive me!

    piedot takes the person in the dative: man.

  4. Pārej ielu pie luksofora!

    Cross the street at the traffic light!

    pāriet (to cross). The command follows iet: ej → pārej.

  5. Kad tu pārnāksi mājās?

    When will you come home?

    pārnākt mājās is the usual way to say "come back home".

  6. Es tevi pārpratu.

    I misunderstood you.

    pār- + prast: understanding wrongly. Past: prast → pratu.

Common Mistakes

  • Using uz after a pie- verb for the person you walk up to.

    Viņš pienāca uz mani.
    Viņš pienāca pie manis.

    Pie- verbs pair with the preposition pie and the genitive. After a preposition, es becomes manis.

  • Putting the person in the accusative after piedot.

    Lūdzu, piedod mani!
    Lūdzu, piedod man!

    Piedot takes a dative person, just like dot (to give): man, tev, viņam.

How It Connects

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pie- / pār-Level 4Toward and Back: Pie- and Pār-

Learn This First

Pie- and pār- mean toward and back.

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Words in This Pattern

pie-pār-