People From Places: -ietis, -ietė

People from Places

Level 3

To name a person from a place, add -ietis (man) or -ietė (woman) to its stem: Kaunas → kaunietis, kaunietė; Europa → europietis; užsienis (abroad) → užsienietis (foreigner).

How It Works

Building the word

  • Vilnius → vilnietis, vilnietė
  • Kaunas → kaunietis, kaunietė
  • Klaipėda → klaipėdietis, klaipėdietė
  • Šiauliai → šiaulietis, šiaulietė
  • Europa → europietis, europietė; Amerika → amerikietis, amerikietė
  • užsienis (abroad) → užsienietis, užsienietė (foreigner)

Not every place uses -ietis. Someone from Alytus is an alytiškis, and many nationalities have their own words: lietuvis, latvis, anglas, prancūzas. Check a dictionary when you meet a new place.

A small letter

Like lietuvis and lietuvė, these words start with a small letter, even though the place name has a capital: Esu vilnietė. See Lowercase Days, Months and Nationalities.

Endings and the t → č change

The masculine form changes like brolis. Before -io, -iui, -iai, -ių, the t is written č: vilniečio (of a man from Vilnius), vilniečiai (people from Vilnius), daug vilniečių (many people from Vilnius). The feminine form changes like upė: vilnietės, vilnietei, vilnietę. See I as a Softness Marker and Male and Female Person Nouns.

Examples (5)

  1. Esu kaunietė, bet dabar gyvenu Vilniuje.

    I am from Kaunas, but now I live in Vilnius.

    Word by Word: (I) am Kaunas-woman, but now (I) live in-Vilnius.

    A woman says kaunietė, with a small k.

  2. Mano vyras – klaipėdietis.

    My husband is from Klaipėda.

    Word by Word: My husband – Klaipėda-man.

    The dash stands for the left-out verb yra.

  3. Vasarą daug vilniečių važiuoja prie jūros.

    In summer, many people from Vilnius go to the seaside.

    Word by Word: In-summer many of-Vilnius-people go to sea.

    After daug, the genitive plural is vilniečių: t becomes č.

  4. Muziejuje buvo daug užsieniečių.

    There were many foreigners at the museum.

    Word by Word: In-museum were many of-foreigners.

    užsienietis comes from užsienis (abroad).

  5. Jis amerikietis, bet puikiai kalba lietuviškai.

    He is American, but he speaks Lithuanian very well.

    Word by Word: He American, but excellently speaks Lithuanian.

    Some nationality words use the same suffix: amerikietis, europietis.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing the word with a capital letter.

    Esu Vilnietė.
    Esu vilnietė.

    Words for people from a place start with a small letter, like lietuvė.

  • Keeping t before -io, -iai or -ių.

    Daug vilnietių važiuoja prie jūros.
    Daug vilniečių važiuoja prie jūros.

    Before these endings, t is written č: vilniečių, vilniečiai.

  • Using the masculine form for a woman.

    Mano mama – kaunietis.
    Mano mama – kaunietė.

    A woman takes the -ietė form.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

People From Places: -ietis, -ietėLevel 3People from Places

Learn This First

Place-derived person nouns pair -ietis with -ietė and follow ordinary declensions.