uz- / no-

Up and Down: Uz- and No-

Level 4

Uz- = up, onto: uzkāpt (to climb up), uzlikt (to put on). No- = down, off: nokāpt (to climb down), noņemt (to take off). Both also often just mean "done": uzrakstīt (to write out), nopirkt (to buy).

How It Works

1. Up and onto: uz-.

  • uzkāpt (to climb up): uzkāpt kalnā (to climb up the hill), uzkāpt uz krēsla (to climb onto the chair)
  • uzlikt (to put on top): uzlikt cepuri (to put on a hat)
  • uzvilkt (to put on clothes): uzvilkt jaku (to put on a jacket)

2. Down and off: no-.

  • nokāpt (to climb down): nokāpt no kalna (to climb down the hill)
  • nolikt (to put down): nolikt somu uz grīdas (to put the bag down on the floor)
  • noņemt, novilkt (to take off): noņemt cepuri, novilkt mēteli
  • nokrist (to fall down)

The starting point of a no- movement takes no + genitive: no kalna, no koka. The surface you climb onto can take uz + genitive: uz krēsla.

3. Just "done". Very often neither prefix means up or down at all. It marks that the action was completed:

  • rakstīt → uzrakstīt (to write → to write and finish): uzrakstīt vēstuli
  • zīmēt → uzzīmēt (to draw → to draw and finish)
  • celt → uzcelt (to build → to build and finish)
  • pirkt → nopirkt (to buy, to be buying → to buy and have it)
  • mazgāt → nomazgāt (to wash → to wash clean)

Which prefix a verb uses for "done" has to be learned with the verb: it is uzrakstīt but nopirkt.

Examples (6)

  1. Mēs uzkāpām kalnā.

    We climbed up the hill.

    uz- + kāpt: upward movement. The hill takes the locative.

  2. Nokāp no koka!

    Come down from the tree!

    no- + kāpt: downward movement, with no + genitive for the starting point.

  3. Ir auksti, uzvelc jaku!

    It is cold, put on a jacket!

    uzvilkt (to put on clothes). Command: uzvelc.

  4. Lūdzu, novelciet kurpes!

    Please take off your shoes!

    novilkt (to take off clothes), polite or plural command.

  5. Vakar es uzrakstīju vēstuli.

    Yesterday I wrote the letter.

    Here uz- does not mean "up". It shows that the letter was finished.

  6. Viņa nopirka jaunu telefonu.

    She bought a new phone.

    nopirkt is the finished counterpart of pirkt.

Common Mistakes

  • Mixing up uzvilkt (put on) and novilkt (take off).

    Ir auksti, novelc jaku!
    Ir auksti, uzvelc jaku!

    The two prefixes are opposites: uzvilkt is putting clothes on, novilkt is taking them off. This sentence means "It is cold, take off your jacket!", which is not what the speaker wants to say.

  • Using the locative for the place you climb down from.

    Mēs nokāpām kalnā.
    Mēs nokāpām no kalna.

    The starting point of a movement down or off takes no + genitive: kalns → no kalna. The locative names where you end up, as in nokāpt pagrabā (to go down into the cellar).

How It Connects

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

uz- / no-Level 4Up and Down: Uz- and No-

Learn This First

Uz- and no- mean up and down.

Words in This Pattern

uz-no-