šalta / gražu
Neuter Words for States
To say it is cold or it is nice here, Lithuanian uses a neuter adjective and no subject: Šalta. (It is cold.) Čia gražu. (It is beautiful here.)
How It Works
How to form it
Lithuanian nouns have only two genders, but adjectives also have a neuter form. You make it by dropping the final -s of the masculine form:
- -as → -a: šaltas → šalta (cold), karštas → karšta (hot), šiltas → šilta (warm), linksmas → linksma (fun, cheerful)
- -us → -u: gražus → gražu (beautiful), skanus → skanu (tasty), sunkus → sunku (hard), malonus → malonu (pleasant), įdomus → įdomu (interesting)
In writing, the -a form looks the same as the feminine (šalta), though the stress can differ. Adjectives in -is, such as didelis, have no neuter form.
When to use it
- Weather and surroundings: Lauke šalta. (It is cold outside.) Kambaryje tamsu. (It is dark in the room.) See also Weather Verbs Without a Subject.
- How a situation feels: Čia gražu! (It is beautiful here!) Skanu! (Tasty!)
- With an infinitive: Malonu susipažinti. (Nice to meet you.) Lietuviškai kalbėti nesunku. (Speaking Lithuanian is not hard.)
The present needs no verb. For the past, add buvo: Vakar buvo karšta. (It was hot yesterday.)
Neuter or agreeing?
When a real noun is the subject, the adjective agrees with that noun, as in Adjective Agreement: Sriuba skani. (The soup is tasty.) Oras šiltas. (The weather is warm.) The neuter form is only for sentences with no noun subject.
To say how a person feels, put the person in the dative: Man šalta. (I am cold.) See Dative With State Words.
Examples (6)
- Šiandien labai šalta.
It is very cold today.
Word by Word: Today very cold.
šaltas becomes the neuter šalta. There is no word for it.
- Čia gražu!
It is beautiful here!
Word by Word: Here beautiful!
gražus becomes the neuter gražu.
- Vakar buvo karšta.
It was hot yesterday.
Word by Word: Yesterday was hot.
buvo adds the past. The adjective stays neuter.
- Malonu susipažinti.
Nice to meet you.
Word by Word: Pleasant to-get-acquainted.
The infinitive susipažinti is what is pleasant, so malonu is neuter.
- Lietuviškai kalbėti nesunku.
Speaking Lithuanian is not hard.
Word by Word: In-Lithuanian to-speak not-hard.
ne- joins the neuter form as one word: nesunku.
- Kambaryje tamsu.
It is dark in the room.
Word by Word: In-room dark.
tamsus becomes tamsu to describe the place.
Common Mistakes
Using the masculine form for the weather.
Šiandien šaltas.Šiandien šalta.There is no subject, so the adjective must be neuter: šalta. Šaltas needs a masculine noun, as in Oras šaltas.
Using the neuter form when there is a noun subject.
Sriuba labai skanu.Sriuba labai skani.Sriuba is a feminine noun, so the adjective agrees with it: skani. Use skanu only with no noun subject, as in Skanu!
How It Connects
Learn This First
Neuter state words describe a situation without agreeing with a noun.
Related Patterns
- Dative With State Words
Add a dative to say who feels cold, bored or good.
Level 2 - lyja / sningaWeather Verbs Without a Subject
Weather verbs that also have no subject.
Level 2 - Adverbs in -ai
Adverbs in -ai, which describe how an action is done.
Level 2 - Two Noun Genders
Nouns have masculine and feminine gender; adjectives can also have neuter forms.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice šalta / gražu in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Lithuanian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
