jā / nē

Yes and No

Level 1

Jā = yes. Nē = no. Short ne = not: ne es (not me), ne šodien (not today).

How It Works

Long nē, short ne. The macron changes the meaning. Nē is the answer word "no" and rejects a whole idea: Vai tu esi no Rīgas? — Nē. Ne means "not" and negates one word: ne es (not me), ne šodien (not today). Joined to a verb, it becomes the prefix ne-: nezinu. See negating a verb.

Ne in place of a verb. When the verb was just said, short ne can stand for its negative: Jānim patīk kafija, bet Annai ne (Jānis likes coffee, but Anna does not). Here ne means nepatīk, so it is short.

A comma after jā and nē. In writing, jā and nē are set off with a comma: Jā, lūdzu. Nē, paldies. See thank you and please.

Echo answers. Latvians often answer with the verb from the question, with or without jā or nē: Vai tu runā latviski? — Jā, runāju. Vai tev ir laiks? — Ir. or — Nav. The verb alone is a full, natural answer. See short answers.

Stronger yes. Jā gan! means "Yes, indeed!"

Not the same as jā-. Later you will meet jā- joined to a verb, as in jāiet (have to go). That is a different word; see having to.

Examples (6)

  1. Vai tu gribi tēju? — Jā, lūdzu.

    Would you like some tea? — Yes, please.

  2. Vēl kafiju? — Nē, paldies.

    More coffee? — No, thank you.

    Nē has a long ē and is followed by a comma.

  3. Vai tu runā latviski? — Jā, runāju.

    Do you speak Latvian? — Yes, I do.

    The answer repeats the verb from the question.

  4. Vai tev ir laiks? — Nav.

    Do you have time? — No, I don't.

    The answer echoes ir with its negative form nav.

  5. Jānim patīk kafija, bet Annai ne.

    Jānis likes coffee, but Anna doesn't.

    Short ne stands in for nepatīk.

  6. Ne šodien, bet rīt.

    Not today, but tomorrow.

    Short ne negates only šodien.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing the answer "no" with a short e.

    Ne, paldies.
    Nē, paldies.

    The answer word "no" has a long vowel: nē. Short ne means "not".

  • Using nē to negate a verb.

    Es nē zinu.
    Es nezinu.

    To negate a verb, use short ne- joined to it: nezinu.

  • Using long nē in place of a negated verb.

    Jānim patīk kafija, bet Annai nē.
    Jānim patīk kafija, bet Annai ne.

    Here the word replaces nepatīk, so it is short ne. Long nē is for answering or rejecting a whole statement.

How It Connects

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

jā / nēLevel 1Yes and No

Learn This First

Jā and nē answer yes-no questions.

Words in This Pattern

nēne