apie + accusative

About and Around with Apie

Level 3

Apie + accusative has two everyday meanings: about a topic, as in Kalbame apie filmą. (We are talking about the film.), and roughly, around, as in apie penktą valandą (around five o'clock).

How It Works

1. About a topic

Ką žinai apie Lietuvą? (What do you know about Lithuania?) Papasakok apie savo šeimą. (Tell me about your family.) Pronouns take the accusative as well: apie mane, apie tave, apie jį, apie ją, apie mus. To ask what the topic is, say Apie ką?: Apie ką kalbate? (What are you talking about?) See Case Forms of Kas.

2. Roughly, around

With numbers, clock times and amounts, apie means approximately: Ateisiu apie penktą valandą. (I will come around five o'clock.) Kelionė trunka apie tris valandas. (The trip takes about three hours.) Ten, teens and round tens take a genitive plural noun; in compound numbers the final number word decides the case: apie dvidešimt žmonių (about twenty people). See Telling the Time and Ten and Up With the Genitive.

3. Around a place

Apie can also mean around a place, in the area of it: Apie ežerą auga miškai. (There are forests around the lake.) For going in a circle around something, aplink is the usual word. See Around With Aplink.

When English "about" is not apie

Some verbs do not use apie even though English says about. Ginčytis (to argue) uses dėl + genitive: Ginčijomės dėl pinigų. (We argued about money.) Domėtis (to be interested in) takes the instrumental with no preposition: Domiuosi istorija. See Because of and For the Sake of With Dėl and Verbs That Take the Instrumental.

Examples (6)

  1. Apie ką jūs kalbate?

    What are you talking about?

    Word by Word: About what you talk?

    Ką is the accusative of kas.

  2. Vakar skaičiau straipsnį apie Vilniaus istoriją.

    Yesterday I read an article about the history of Vilnius.

    Word by Word: Yesterday (I) read article about Vilnius's history.

    istorija becomes istoriją after apie.

  3. Papasakok apie savo naują darbą!

    Tell me about your new job!

    Word by Word: Tell about own new job!

    The adjective agrees in the accusative too: naujas darbas becomes naują darbą.

  4. Susitikime apie šeštą valandą.

    Let's meet around six o'clock.

    Word by Word: Let's-meet about sixth hour.

    Here apie means roughly, not about a topic.

  5. Į koncertą atėjo apie du šimtus žmonių.

    About two hundred people came to the concert.

    Word by Word: To concert came about two hundreds of-people.

    du šimtai becomes du šimtus after apie; žmonių is the genitive plural after šimtas.

  6. Visą dieną galvoju apie tave.

    I have been thinking about you all day.

    Word by Word: All day (I) think about you.

    tu becomes tave, the accusative.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the noun after apie in the genitive.

    Kalbame apie filmo.
    Kalbame apie filmą.

    Apie always takes the accusative. Filmo is the genitive; the accusative is filmą.

  • Using apie with ginčytis (to argue).

    Mes dažnai ginčijamės apie pinigus.
    Mes dažnai ginčijamės dėl pinigų.

    Standard Lithuanian argues dėl something, with the genitive. Language-usage guides list ginčytis apie as a borrowed pattern to avoid.

  • Adding apie to domėtis (to be interested in).

    Domiuosi apie istoriją.
    Domiuosi istorija.

    Domėtis takes the instrumental directly, with no preposition: istorija, not apie istoriją.

How It Connects

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apie + accusativeLevel 3About and Around with Apie

Learn This First

Apie selects the accusative for a topic or an approximate amount.

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