I'm brazillian and I want to learn latvian to talk to my grandpa in his mother language, but i'm having a hard time trying to find resources that can help me to learn it's grammar, pronunciation, etc. I could only find textbooks and videos that help me say things like "goodmorning", "thank you", "hello"...

I can speak both english and portuguese, so anything in those languages would be pretty helpful!

Hello,

I want to learn basic Latvian. I am from the Netherlands. I can speak English or Dutch.

Anyone can point me in a direction?

All what is available here are AI courses and textbook studies.

In English, it's sung to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Do kids in Latvia have an equivalent to help learn the alphabet?

Pls can anyone get me a clean translation? I don’t trust google translate lol

I started self-learning Latvian 1-2 months ago. I've worked my way through much of the Mondly course and have an Anki deck with ~600 vocab words I'm reasonably familiar with. I watch Anete (Irregular Latvian) and just started Baibas YouTube videos. I feel like the biggest thing I need to work on is comprehension (both reading or listening), interpreting full sentences. Does anyone have any recommendations for somewhere to find Latvian reading material that is reasonable beginner (not too much fancy vocab) but also not quite so simple as the formulaic Mondly sentences?

I tried reading some articles on https://www.diena.lv/ yesterday, but found that I had to look up a majority of the words to make sense of it. Some sentences I could mostly work out, like "Viņš kopš bērnības ir klausījies Pučīni un Verdi mūziku un neapoliešu dziesmas." But many I had to look up almost every word like "Norvēģu solistei ir daudz plānu arī prestižākajos Eiropas teātros, un tas apliecina viņas kā savas paaudzes talantīgākās vokālistes statusu."

my boyfriend taught me basic greetings but our one year is coming up and i wanted to write him a heartfelt letter. i was wondering if there are any resources that could help me learn this as i don’t know much about structuring when it comes to latvian. i’d ask him help with words and structuring but the whole point is for it to be a surprise.

I am learning Latvian right now and struggling a bit with verbal prefixes such as -ie,-iz, -ap, -pa etc.

I have mainly two questions, what exactly is the purpose of this? I am able to understand the difference between iekapj and izkapj for example but I don’t understand why I would say iedzert instead of dzert.

Second is, is there some type of logic what each prefix implies?

Hello!

I want to let you know that, after I made a post on the clozemaster subreddit, the Latvian course on clozemaster has now been made better, i.e. there aren't bad/clumsy translations anymore as far as I can tell. I've been using it now for a week since they proofread it, and at least to me it looks good. If you are someone who tried it before, I can recommend trying it again.

Additionally, they just released another website called Common Ear (transcribe audio recordings of real native speakers) that also has Latvian among others, it still looks to be in beta and really barebones but it has a ton of contect that is useful.

I’d love to connect with other Latvian language learners in NYC. I’m 27, I’m half Latvian (my mother is 100% Latvian, my father is a Black American) and I made my first trip to Latvia last year for Dziesmu Svētki.

I’m a beginner. Growing up, I’d hear my mother speaking to my grandparents in Latvian on a weekly basis for years. I understand some Latvian, but I’m looking to truly dedicate myself. I know some Latvian folk songs and was briefly in a folk dance group in a different city I used to live in, but haven’t gotten around to connecting with Latvians here (and I know there are many!)

I’ve tried studying Latvian over the years, but would love to connect to others of any age that are also learning Latvian.

I'm trying to find out what sort of issues people are facing when it comes to learning the Latvian language and how I can help to resolve them. I am in the process of making a resource that helps with learning Latvian.

But now I'm thinking if its even necessary because, what if everything is already as nice as it potentially could be for Latvian learners.

I'd appreciate any and all feedback on what exactly you or anyone near is missing from their Latvain language learning experience as well as any advice they themselves might have regarding the fixing of the issue.

Thank you!

Sveiki!

I have a question regarding the renarrative (mood?), that is verb forms that end in -ot (dzīvojot, esot, būšot, esot bijis/bijuši...).

I haven't been able to find many examples online so far, so I'd like to know what they mean exactly. I have the impression they are similar to the German Konjunctiv I, is that correct? Also, are they only restricted to 3rd person, or can they be used with es, tu etc. as subjects?

I know this is not a pressing thing that all learners need to know immediately, but it is something I am interested in.

How does tone work in Latvian? What are the possible intonations of different words, and do they alternate in conjugations of nouns and verbs?

Sveiki!

I have a question regarding the passive voice in Latvian (things like "this was done by me" instead of "I did this").

From what I father, it is formed from an auxiliary like tiekt + passive past participle (giving something like "Tas tika izdarīts"), however my questions is about how to translate the "by me" part.

I haven't found a single source so far that gives an example of a complement to a passive voice sentence that specifies who does it.

Even looking through examples in literature and trying to force Google translate into using a passive voice, whenever the actor is mentioned in the English translation they all seem to use an active voice translation, most commonly with OVS word order.

Now I understand why that is, and I get that this type of passive voice is not common in Latvian if it exists at all, still I am frustrated that I can't find a way to translate "by me" in such sentences. What do you think? Would something like "ar mani" work? Is tsuch syntax simply not allowed?

Thanks for any answers!

Sveiki! Sāku nesen mācīties latvisku valodu, un man ir jautājums. Vai esmu jālieto "būt" tagadne laikā? Redzēju "Šis mana māja"-teikumu, un tajā teikumā es nesaprotu, kāpēc nav "ir". Paldies!

Does anyone happen to know an audio or video source giving examples of the tones? The thing about zāle (grass) versus zāle (hall) and the like, in case I'm not expressing myself well.

Sveiki!

I am finally embarking on my journey into the Latvian language and was hoping for some thoughts on where to start. My father was Latvian (sadly passed when I was young, and didn't actively try and teach any beyond a few basic words) so I have some grasp of pronunciation, but absolutely minimal vocab, and less grammar.

I came across "A Grammar of Modern Latvian" on lib gen (link), and I'm sure that it would have been an amazing resource in its day (originally published in 1969, and later re-released in 1981)... but I'm concerned that some aspects may be dated now and fail to capture modern usage...

So, I would love some thoughts from the community here on good options for books to support a new learner.

I am considering the combo of "Colloquial Latvian" (Amazon link) and "Latvian: An Essential Grammar" (Amazon link), but very keen to hear any other thoughts and suggestions.

Paldies :)

Two years after submitting it, my post about resources for learning the Latvian language was removed by Reddit's spam filters. I received no message about post removal from Reddit and no clear instructions on how to report a false positive. It is only thanks to another user who messaged me about it that it even came to my attention. Shame on you, Reddit.

Original post:

Hi, I posted the 1000 Words List a few days ago. I'm posting on an alt account, because I don't want to get my language learning stuff jumbled up with humorous, nonsensical or political posts I make.

Anyways, when I started with Latvian, I kind of had a hard time finding a point to start. Looking for materials, interactive tools, lessons to get started with, from knowing quite literally nothing. Hence I want to collect good quality and preferably free learning materials, as well as reference materials such as declension tables, in this posts. I will make the latter myself, and add other stuff such as the 1,000 words list.

I have created a Drive folder in order to gather and publish materials I made myself, as well as links to other resources, in one place. This is of course still a work in progress, as a) creating/designing these materials takes time and effort in checking everything's correct, and b) I may think of stuff to add later.

Your ideas for materials, lists, tables, additional resources – especially grammar-wise – are highly welcome. I'll be also very grateful if you point out mistakes I made; since I'm not very proficient in Latvian. I will update the existing materials accordingly. Sources for grammar tables are mostly the English and Latvian Wikipedia articles, as well as the sources they list.

Drive folder – done:

• Kā izrunā latviski? Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Grammar 01 – Nouns
• Grammar 02 – Adjectives and Adverbs
• Grammar 03 – Pronouns
• Grammar 04 – Verbs 1: Conjugations
• Grammar 05 – Verbs 2: Irregular Verbs būt "to be", iet "to go", dot "to give"

Please keep in mind that the grammar tables are designed for reference purposes, not for fast learning. Thus they may seem intimidating to beginners. Learning grammar with such tables is considered very inefficient, and I recommend checking out the other resources linked below.

Drive folder – WIP:

Unfortunately, I had (and have) to pause working on these reference materials. I had a very busy two months in university and final exams are due in the next few months. I hope I'll find more time afterwards, around the end of 2022.

Update: This whole exam thing took a lot longer than I expected, with personal and medical issues getting in the way. This here is only a side project and unfortunately I did not have time or energy left to continue working on it. However, I‘m close to being finished with my exams and hope that I can resume working on these materials at the end of March. Thank you for the support in the meantime.

• Grammar 06 – Verbs 3: Conditional, Conjunctive, Debitive, Passive, Verbal Nouns. All the stuff that is regular for verbs no matter the conjugation pattern.
• Grammar 07 – Prepositions/Auxiliary Words
• Grammar 08 – Numbers
• Vocabulary List – 1,000 Essential Words and Phrases. A huge thanks to u/amongthesuns for the corrections she has provided so far!
• Vocabulary Flash Cards (Anki)
• Advanced Grammar Stuff

Other Resources

• First and foremost, e-Laipa. This is an online learning tool created by the official Latvian Language Agency (Latvijas Valodas Aģentūra). You can have a look at the A1 (Beginner) lessons without an account, for access to further lessons (levels A2, B1, B2) and to save your progress you can create an account for free. From my experience, I recommend working with an external dictionary / translator and have grammar resources at hand, because the lessons are kinda short. Still, I think it's absolutely amazing that the Latvian government cares about its country's beautiful language so much, that they make a learning tool available for everyone, free to use. e-Laipa is available in English and Russian.
• Letonika.lv Vārdnīcas, a dictionary that's more competent than Google Translate. Available for English (Angļu), Russian (Krievu), German (Vācu), Lithuanian (Lietuviešu) and Estonian (Igauņu). (And Latin (Latīņu) I guess but who really speaks Latin natively). The interface is in Latvian, but it's pretty self-explanatory. Enter your word/phrase at the top and press Meklēt (search).
• Tēzaurs.lv is a Thesaurus tool. It will give you information about declension/conjugation, words with similar meaning and related words. Click Locīšana to see how to decline your word. Below, meanings and related words are listed. They're entirely in Latvian, but copy-pasting it into Google Translate is sufficient to get the gist.

Updates

• 2022-03-02: Declension Tables: Fixed line placement. Grammar: Added Pronoun table.
• 2022-03-06: Grammar: Added first part of the Verbs chapter.
• 2022-03-22: Grammar: Added second part of the Verbs chapter.
• 2022-05-12: Pause Notice and fixed some typos
• 2024-02-20: General update

Copyright, Copyleft, Copystraight, whatever

You are free to use, download, share, correct, print, copy and edit the materials I made, but please refrain from sharing altered versions which:

• restrict access for monetary gain,
• provide deliberately false information,
• discriminate against or insult any group of people or individuals or institutions,
• push any kind of political agenda, or
• infringe the copyright of third parties.

For the other resources, the respective copyright rules they set apply.

I´ve been doing some basic googling and have stumbled upon this insanely incredible and useful resource list!
https://valoda.lv/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/First-Steps-in-the-Latvian-Language.pdf
I´m so high on learning right now!! jajajaajaj

Btw, I´ve been developing my own course (borrowing from other peoples word lists) on Memrise complete with audios. I update it every couple of weeks or so and would be happy to take feedback on anything. Praise or critisims are openly welcomed

https://community-courses.memrise.com/community/course/6434807/latvian-1/

I’ve been struggling a bit to find good shows or music to listen to, or things like literature, poetry (I’m based in the UK if that makes any difference). I was wondering if there were any recommendations? I’m at a beginner level but will accept really any level (helps with motivation). Thank you!!!!!!

Met a girl through work who I kind of like. Been flirtatious on shift since we started and since she's latvian and Language learning is something i find fun (I've already learnt a bit of Spanish and some Polish to better communicate with some other colleagues), I figured she'd find it cute if I surprised her with some Latvian phrases. I've learnt some basic greetings already and would like to know how I would go about calling her pretty woman or pretty lady or anything along those lines. Please no suggestions that are overtly sexual or rude. Just something cute I can tag on after a greeting. Thank you in advance for any answers

Hello!

Quick question: could someone list all use cases of the instrumental case in Latvian? By that I mean, the prepositions it can come after, verbs or particular structures it is used in etc.

I can't find an exhaustive list, and so far I have the impression it is only used after the preposition ar. Is this true or is there more to it?

And another preposition related question: do all prepositions use the dative-instrumental case with plural objects? Is there any preposition where the accusative or genitive is possible to use in the plural?