namie / namo
At Home and Homeward
Lithuanian has one word for at home and another for homeward: Esu namie. (I am at home.) Einu namo. (I am going home.)
How It Works
Being at home: namie or namuose
- namie is an adverb that means at home: Vaikai namie. (The children are at home.)
- namuose is the locative of namai (home) and means the same: Tėvai dabar namuose. (My parents are at home now.)
Use namie for the simple meaning at home. Namuose is a noun form meaning in the home or house, and can take a possessive such as mano or mūsų: mūsų namuose (in our home).
Going home: namo
Namo already means to home, so it needs no preposition: Einu namo. Važiuojame namo. Grįžtu namo.
Leaving home: iš namų
To say from home, use iš with the genitive plural of namai: Išeinu iš namų aštuntą valandą. (I leave home at eight.) See From With Iš.
One question word, two answers
Lithuanian kur means both where and where to, so the answer word shows the difference: Kur tu? – Namie. (Where are you? At home.) Kur eini? – Namo. (Where are you going? Home.)
Namai and namas
Namai is plural in form and means home: mano namai (my home). Namas is a single building, a house. See Plural-Only Nouns. When you negate these words, ne stays separate: ne namie, ne namo.
Examples (6)
- Šiandien visą dieną esu namie.
Today I am at home all day.
Word by Word: Today all day I-am at-home.
- Mano tėvai dabar namuose.
My parents are at home now.
Word by Word: My parents now in-home.
Namuose is the locative of namai and means the same as namie.
- Po darbo einu namo.
After work I am going home.
Word by Word: After work I-go homeward.
Namo expresses the destination of this movement.
- Mes jau važiuojame namo.
We are already driving home.
Word by Word: We already drive homeward.
- Išėjau iš namų septintą valandą.
I left home at seven o'clock.
Word by Word: I-left out-of home seventh hour.
Leaving home uses iš with the genitive plural namų.
- – Ar mama namie? – Ne, jos nėra namie.
Is Mom at home? No, she is not at home.
Word by Word: Q mom at-home? No, her is-not at-home.
Common Mistakes
Using namie with a verb of motion to say going home.
Po darbo einu namie.Po darbo einu namo.Going home is a direction, so it needs namo. Namie only tells where something happens, never where you are heading.
Using namo to say where you are.
Aš esu namo.Aš esu namie.Esu tells where you are, so it needs namie or namuose. The adverb namo means toward home; the identically spelled genitive of namas has a different function.
Adding į before namo.
Einu į namo.Einu namo.Namo already means to home, so it never takes į.
How It Connects
Learn This First
These place adverbs contrast being at home with moving homeward.
Related Patterns
- Locative of Place
Namuose is a locative form, the same case used for any place where someone is.
Level 1 - į + accusativeInto and to with Į
Most destinations use į with the accusative; namo is a special one-word destination.
Level 1 - iš + genitiveFrom with Iš
Iš namų, from home, is the opposite direction to namo.
Level 1 - Plural-Only Nouns
Namai, home, is one of the nouns that is plural in form.
Level 3 - pas + accusativeAt or to Someone's Place
To go to someone else's home, use pas: einu pas draugą.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice namie / namo in Bubblegum
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