Male and Female Person Nouns
Most words for people come in pairs: studentas (a male student) and studentė (a female student), mokytojas and mokytoja (teacher), lietuvis and lietuvė (a Lithuanian man and woman).
How It Works
How the feminine form is made
- -as → -ė: studentas → studentė, draugas → draugė (friend), kaimynas → kaimynė (neighbor).
- -is → -ė: lietuvis → lietuvė, vokietis → vokietė (German), amerikietis → amerikietė.
- -ys → -ė: mokinys → mokinė (schoolchild).
- -ojas → -oja: mokytojas → mokytoja, gydytojas → gydytoja (doctor), vairuotojas → vairuotoja (driver).
- -ėjas → -ėja: pardavėjas → pardavėja (salesperson), virėjas → virėja (cook).
- -ius → -ė: direktorius → direktorė (director).
Learn each pair together, because the ending of the masculine word does not always predict the feminine one.
Using the pair in a sentence
After esu, esi, yra the person noun stays in the nominative and matches the person: Aš esu studentas (said by a man), Aš esu studentė (said by a woman). See Predicate Nominative.
Groups
- Only women: Jos yra studentės.
- Only men, or men and women together: Jie yra studentai.
Adjectives follow the same choice: gera gydytoja (a good woman doctor), geras gydytojas (a good man doctor). Nationality words are written with a small letter: lietuvis, vokietė. Women's surnames have their own endings; see Women's Surnames.
Examples (6)
- Jonas yra studentas, o Rūta yra studentė.
Jonas is a student, and so is Rūta.
Word by Word: Jonas is student, and Rūta is student(female).
Studentas describes a man; studentė describes a woman.
- Mano mama yra mokytoja.
My mom is a teacher.
Word by Word: My mom is teacher(female).
- Ji yra lietuvė, o jis yra vokietis.
She is Lithuanian, and he is German.
Word by Word: She is Lithuanian(female), and he is German(male).
- Mūsų gydytoja labai maloni.
Our doctor is very kind.
Word by Word: Our doctor(female) very kind.
The doctor is a woman, so both the noun and the adjective are feminine.
- Jonas ir Rūta yra studentai.
Jonas and Rūta are students.
Word by Word: Jonas and Rūta are students(masculine).
A mixed group uses the masculine plural.
- Jos yra studentės.
They are students.
Word by Word: They(female) are students(female).
A group of only women uses the feminine plural.
Common Mistakes
Using the masculine form for a woman.
Ji yra studentas.Ji yra studentė.For a woman, use the feminine form. Studentas describes a man.
Using the feminine plural for a mixed group.
Jonas ir Rūta yra studentės.Jonas ir Rūta yra studentai.As soon as a group includes a man, it takes the masculine plural. Studentės means only women.
Forgetting the feminine form of a nationality.
Anna yra amerikietis.Anna yra amerikietė.Nationality words have a feminine form too. For a woman, amerikietis becomes amerikietė.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Person nouns have masculine and feminine forms and gendered plural forms.
Related Patterns
- Feminine Nouns
The feminine person nouns end in -ė or -a, like other feminine nouns.
Level 1 - Predicate Nominative
After esu or yra, the person noun is in the nominative, as in Ji yra studentė.
Level 1 - Plural Nouns
The plurals studentai and studentės follow the regular plural endings.
Level 1 - Person Nouns: -tojas, -ininkasPeople Named by What They Do
Job words in -tojas and -ininkas form their feminine with -toja and -ininkė.
Level 4 - People From Places: -ietis, -ietėPeople from Places
Words for people from a place, like vilnietis and vilnietė, form pairs the same way.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice Male and Female Person Nouns in Bubblegum
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