Two Noun Genders

Level 1

Nouns use masculine or feminine agreement. Some words for people can use either. There are no neuter nouns. The ending is your best clue: namas is masculine, knyga is feminine.

How It Works

Lithuanian nouns have two genders. This is true even for things with no natural sex: stalas (table) is masculine and kėdė (chair) is feminine. There is no "it" gender for nouns.

Endings that show gender:

  • Masculine: -as (namas, house), -ys (traukinys, train), -us (sūnus, son), -uo (vanduo, water), and many nouns in -is (brolis, brother; medis, tree).
  • Feminine: -a (knyga, book), -ė (upė, river), and some nouns in -is (akis, eye; pilis, castle).

Nouns in -is. The ending alone does not tell you. A dictionary will: masculine -is nouns have "of" forms in -io (brolio), while feminine ones usually have -ies (akies). A few -ies nouns are masculine, such as dantis (tooth).

Useful exceptions:

  • dėdė (uncle) ends in -ė but is masculine.
  • sesuo (sister) ends in -uo but is feminine, and so is duktė (daughter).
  • A few words for people ending in -a can be either gender, depending on who is meant, such as naktibalda (night owl, someone who stays up late).

Why it matters. The gender of a noun decides the form of words that go with it: geras or gera (good), jis or ji (he or she, also "it"), du or dvi (two). See adjective agreement. Adjectives also have a neuter form, such as šalta (it is cold), but it is used without a noun. See neuter words for states.

Examples (6)

  1. Mano brolis aukštas.

    My brother is tall.

    Word by Word: My brother tall.

    Brolis is masculine, so the adjective is aukštas.

  2. Mano akis raudona.

    My eye is red.

    Word by Word: My eye red.

    Akis also ends in -is, but it is feminine, so the adjective is raudona.

  3. Mūsų upė labai graži.

    Our river is very beautiful.

    Word by Word: Our river very beautiful.

    Upė ends in -ė and is feminine.

  4. Vanduo šaltas.

    The water is cold.

    Word by Word: Water cold.

    Vanduo ends in -uo and is masculine.

  5. Mano dėdė labai linksmas.

    My uncle is very cheerful.

    Word by Word: My uncle very cheerful.

    Dėdė ends in -ė, but it is masculine, so the adjective is linksmas.

  6. Mano sesuo jauna.

    My sister is young.

    Word by Word: My sister young.

    Sesuo ends in -uo, but it is feminine, so the adjective is jauna.

Common Mistakes

  • Guessing masculine for sesuo because of -uo.

    Mano sesuo jaunas.
    Mano sesuo jauna.

    Sesuo (sister) is feminine even though it ends in -uo, so the adjective takes the feminine form.

  • Guessing feminine for dėdė because of -ė.

    Mano dėdė labai linksma.
    Mano dėdė labai linksmas.

    Dėdė (uncle) is masculine even though it ends in -ė.

  • Treating every -is noun as masculine.

    Mano akis raudonas.
    Mano akis raudona.

    Akis (eye) is feminine; its "of" form is akies. Check -is nouns in a dictionary.

How It Connects

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Two Noun GendersLevel 1

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