kāds / kāda
What Kind: Kāds
Ask what kind or what … is like with kāds (masculine) or kāda (feminine): Kāds šodien ir laiks? (What is the weather like today?) Kāda krāsa? (What colour?)
How It Works
The forms. Kāds takes ordinary adjective endings. Here they are in the order nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative:
- masculine singular: kāds, kāda, kādam, kādu, kādā
- feminine singular: kāda, kādas, kādai, kādu, kādā
- masculine plural: kādi, kādu, kādiem, kādus, kādos
- feminine plural: kādas, kādu, kādām, kādas, kādās
Asking what something is like. Kāda ir tava māja? — Liela un balta. (What is your house like? — Big and white.) The answer agrees with the noun as well: māja is feminine, so it is liela, balta. See adjective agreement.
Where English says what. Latvian uses kāds for many everyday facts: Kāds ir tavs telefona numurs? (What is your phone number?) Kāda ir tava adrese? (What is your address?) Kādā valodā tu runā? (What language are you speaking?) The word kas does not go before a noun, so it is kāda krāsa (what colour), not kas krāsa.
Kāds or kurš? Kāds asks about a quality. To choose one from a known set, standard Latvian uses kurš: Te ir trīs somas. Kura ir tava? (Here are three bags. Which one is yours?) In relaxed speech you will also hear kāds used this way, but kurš is the recommended choice.
Other uses. Kāds can also mean someone or some: Kāds zvana. (Someone is calling.) See someone and something. In an exclamation it means what a: Kāds skaists laiks! (What lovely weather!) See exclamations.
Examples (6)
- Kāds šodien ir laiks?
What is the weather like today?
Word by Word: What-kind today is weather?
- Kāda krāsa tev patīk?
What colour do you like?
Word by Word: What-kind colour to-you pleases?
Krāsa is feminine, so the question word is kāda. With patīk, krāsa stays in the nominative.
- Kādā valodā tu runā?
What language are you speaking?
Word by Word: In-what-kind language you speak?
Valodā is in the locative, and kāds takes the same case: kādā.
- Kādu kafiju tu dzer? — Melnu.
What kind of coffee do you drink? — Black.
Word by Word: What-kind coffee you drink? — Black.
Kafiju is the object, so the question word is kādu, and the answer melnu has the same ending.
- Kāds ir tavs telefona numurs?
What is your phone number?
Word by Word: What-kind is your telephone's number?
- Kāda ir tava māja? — Liela un balta.
What is your house like? — Big and white.
Word by Word: What-kind is your house? — Big and white.
Common Mistakes
Using kas before a noun.
Kas krāsa tev patīk?Kāda krāsa tev patīk?Kas stands alone and does not go before a noun. To ask what colour, what kind or what size, use kāds or kāda.
Forgetting to change kāds for the case.
Kāds valodā tu runā?Kādā valodā tu runā?Valoda is feminine and here it is in the locative, valodā. The question word must match it: kādā.
Using kāds to pick one thing from a known group.
Te ir trīs somas. Kāda ir tava?Te ir trīs somas. Kura ir tava?Here you want one bag out of three, not a description of it. Kāda ir tava? asks what your bag is like. Standard Latvian asks which one with kura.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Kāds asks what kind.
Related Patterns
- kas / kur / kad / kā / kāpēc / cikQuestion Words
The basic question words. Kāds adds a question about quality.
Level 1 - Adjectives in Every Case
Kāds takes the same case endings as an adjective: kādam, kādu, kādā.
Level 2 - kas parWhat Kind of: Kas Par
Another way to ask what kind of: Kas tā par grāmatu?
Level 3 - kāds / kaut kasSomeone and Something
The same word kāds also means someone or some.
Level 3 - Exclamations With cik and kādsExclamations
Kāds also starts exclamations: Kāds skaists laiks!
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
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