Vocative Address

Level 2

When you speak to someone, the name changes: Tomas → Tomai!, Agnė → Agne!, Rūta → Rūta!

How It Works

Why it matters. When a greeting, thank you or question addresses a person by name or noun, use that noun’s vocative: Labas, Tomai! Ačiū, Agne! Language advisers treat the basic form in address as a mistake: Vairuotojau, not Vairuotojas, when you speak to a driver.

Masculine endings.

  • Names in -as → -ai: Jonas → Jonai, Tomas → Tomai, Kazlauskas → Kazlauskai
  • Many common nouns in -as → -e: draugas → drauge, ponas → pone
  • Nouns in -tojas and -ėjas → -au: mokytojas → mokytojau, pardavėjas → pardavėjau
  • First-declension -is → -i: brolis → broli, Karolis → Karoli
  • -ys → -y: Stasys → Stasy
  • -us → -au: sūnus → sūnau, Paulius → Pauliau

Feminine endings.

  • -a stays the same in writing: Rūta → Rūta, mama → mama
  • -ė → -e: Agnė → Agne, Kazlauskienė → Kazlauskiene

Friendly short forms. Nouns in -ukas drop -as: Jonukas → Jonuk!, berniukas → berniuk!

More than one person. Only the singular has its own vocative. In the plural, the calling form is the same as the basic form: Labas, vaikai!, Sveiki, draugai!

Polite address. Pone! (Sir!) and Ponia! (Madam!) are the polite calling forms. With a surname: Laba diena, ponia Kazlauskiene! See women’s surnames and, for letters, gerbiamasis and gerbiamoji.

Where you use it first. Right after labas, sveikas and ačiū. The endings follow the noun groups in the first declension and the second declension.

Examples (6)

  1. Jonai, kur tu?

    Jonas, where are you?

    Word by Word: Jonas, where you?

    Names in -as end in -ai.

  2. Ačiū, Agne!

    Thanks, Agnė!

    Names in -ė end in -e.

  3. Labas, drauge!

    Hi, friend!

    A common noun in -as ends in -e.

  4. Broli, ar tu namie?

    Brother, are you home?

    Word by Word: Brother, question you at-home?

    Brolis becomes broli.

  5. Mokytojau, aš nesuprantu.

    Teacher, I don’t understand.

    Word by Word: Teacher, I not-understand.

    Nouns in -tojas end in -au.

  6. Laba diena, ponia Kazlauskiene!

    Good afternoon, Mrs Kazlauskienė!

    Word by Word: Good day, madam Kazlauskienė!

    Ponia stays the same, and -ienė becomes -iene.

Common Mistakes

  • Addressing someone with the basic form of the name.

    Labas, Tomas!
    Labas, Tomai!

    For this personal name, standard address uses the vocative. Tomas takes -ai when you speak to the person.

  • Using -ai on a common noun for one person.

    Ačiū, draugai!
    Ačiū, drauge!

    Draugai means friends, more than one. For one friend, a common noun in -as takes -e: drauge.

  • Leaving a noun in -tojas in its basic form.

    Mokytojas, aš nesuprantu.
    Mokytojau, aš nesuprantu.

    Nouns in -tojas and -ėjas end in -au when you address someone.

How It Connects

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

Vocative AddressLevel 2

Learn This First

The vocative is the case used for direct address.