Fifth Declension: -uo, -ens, -ers

The Fifth Declension

Level 3

A few nouns grow an extra piece after the nominative: vanduo → vandens (water), sesuo → sesers (sister), duktė → dukters (daughter), šuo → šuns (dog).

How It Works

The long stem

  • akmuo → akmen- (stone)
  • vanduo → vanden- (water)
  • ruduo → ruden- (autumn)
  • šuo → šun- (dog)
  • sesuo → seser- (sister)
  • duktė → dukter- (daughter)

The endings

Many endings resemble those of akis, but the genitive singular is short: vandens, šuns, sesers.

  • Genitive: sesers · plural seserų
  • Dative: seseriai · seserims
  • Accusative: seserį · seseris
  • Instrumental: seserimi · seserimis
  • Locative: seseryje · seseryse
  • Nominative plural: seserys

Masculine nouns take -iui in the dative (šuniui, akmeniui), and their instrumental can end in -iu or -imi (akmeniu, akmenimi). The genitive plural ends in -ų: akmenų, šunų, dukterų. See The Third Declension.

Mėnuo is different

Mėnuo (month, moon) is an irregular member of this group: its genitive is mėnesio and its plural mėnesiai, like brolis.

In everyday speech

Duktė has a common everyday partner, dukra, which changes like knyga: dukros, dukrai. When people speak to a sister, they usually say sese! or sesute! See Diminutive Suffixes.

Examples (6)

  1. Gal galėčiau gauti stiklinę vandens?

    Could I have a glass of water?

    Word by Word: Maybe (I) could get glass of-water?

    vanduo becomes vandens, the genitive after an amount.

  2. Mano sesers vardas Ieva.

    My sister's name is Ieva.

    Word by Word: My sister's name Ieva.

    sesuo becomes sesers to show whose name it is.

  3. Vakare išvedu šunį pasivaikščioti.

    In the evening I take the dog for a walk.

    Word by Word: In-evening (I) lead-out dog to-walk.

    šuo becomes šunį, the accusative, on the stem šun-.

  4. Jie turi dvi dukteris.

    They have two daughters.

    Word by Word: They have two daughters.

    duktė becomes dukteris in the accusative plural.

  5. Rudenį dažnai lyja.

    It often rains in autumn.

    Word by Word: In-autumn often rains.

    ruduo becomes rudenį, the accusative that tells when.

  6. Kaimynų šuo visą naktį lojo.

    The neighbours' dog barked all night.

    Word by Word: Of-neighbours dog all night barked.

    In the nominative, šuo has no extra -un-.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative to show whose something is.

    Mano sesuo vardas Ieva.
    Mano sesers vardas Ieva.

    To show whose name it is, use the genitive: sesers.

  • Leaving out the long stem.

    Vakare išvedu šuo pasivaikščioti.
    Vakare išvedu šunį pasivaikščioti.

    Every form after the nominative uses the long stem šun-, here in the accusative: šunį.

  • Declining mėnuo like vanduo.

    Po mėnens grįšiu.
    Po mėnesio grįšiu.

    Mėnuo is irregular: use mėnesio, not a form built mechanically on mėn-en-.

How It Connects

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

Fifth Declension: -uo, -ens, -ersLevel 3The Fifth Declension

Learn This First

Fifth-declension nouns extend their stem with -en- or -er- in oblique cases.

Words in This Pattern

akmuosesuoduktė