Place Nouns: -ykla, -inė, -uvė
Nouns for Places
Many everyday places are named by a suffix. -ykla means a place where you do something: valgyti → valgykla (eat → canteen), kirpti → kirpykla (cut → hair salon). -inė means a place for something: kava → kavinė (café), vaistai → vaistinė (pharmacy). -uvė, usually -tuvė, also comes from verbs: parduoti → parduotuvė (sell → shop).
How It Works
-ykla: where an action happens
- valgyti → valgykla (canteen), kirpti → kirpykla (hair salon)
- mokyti → mokykla (school), kepti → kepykla (bakery)
- skaityti → skaitykla (reading room), plauti → plovykla (car wash)
-inė: a place for a thing
- kava → kavinė (café), vaistai → vaistinė (pharmacy)
- ligonis → ligoninė (hospital), arbata → arbatinė (tea house)
-uvė, usually -tuvė: another place built from a verb
- parduoti → parduotuvė (shop), virti → virtuvė (kitchen)
- dirbti → dirbtuvė (workshop), often plural dirbtuvės
Using them
Use the locative for in or at and į + accusative for going there: Dirbu kavinėje. (I work at a café.) Einu į kirpyklą. (I am going to the hairdresser's.) See Locative of Place and Into and To With Į.
Not every place uses a suffix
A bookshop is knygynas, with a different suffix; see Groves and Stands in -ynas. Learn each place name as a whole word.
Examples (6)
- Pietus valgome valgykloje.
We eat lunch in the canteen.
Word by Word: Lunch we-eat in-canteen.
- Rytoj eisiu į kirpyklą.
Tomorrow I will go to the hairdresser's.
Word by Word: Tomorrow I-will-go into hair-salon.
- Susitikime kavinėje prie upės.
Let's meet at the café by the river.
Word by Word: Let's-meet in-café by river.
- Vaistinė dirba iki devynių.
The pharmacy is open until nine.
Word by Word: Pharmacy works until nine.
- Parduotuvė jau uždaryta.
The shop is already closed.
Word by Word: Shop already closed.
- Mama gamina vakarienę virtuvėje.
Mom is making dinner in the kitchen.
Word by Word: Mom makes dinner in-kitchen.
Common Mistakes
Treating these place nouns as masculine.
Čia atsidarė naujas kavinė.Čia atsidarė nauja kavinė.Kavinė and the place nouns here in -ykla, -inė and -tuvė are feminine, so the adjective is feminine too.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Place-forming suffixes create feminine nouns used in ordinary case patterns.
Related Patterns
- Locative of Place
Being in these places uses the locative: kavinėje, valgykloje.
Level 1 - į + accusativeInto and to with Į
Going to these places uses į with the accusative: į kavinę.
Level 1 - Collections and Places: -ynasGroves and Stands in -ynas
Another place suffix: knygynas, beržynas.
Level 6 - Feminine Nouns
All these place nouns are feminine.
Level 1 - Person Nouns: -tojas, -ininkasPeople Named by What They Do
The people who work in these places often have their own suffix: kirpėjas, vaistininkas.
Level 4 - Abstract Nouns: -umas, -ybė, -ystėAbstract Nouns
More noun-building suffixes, for ideas instead of places.
Level 5
Practice Place Nouns: -ykla, -inė, -uvė in Bubblegum
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