The 100 most common Latvian words

A small set of words does most of the work in everyday Latvian: pronouns, prepositions, and the verbs that show up again and again. Learning this hundred first isn't about memorizing vocabulary for its own sake, it's the fastest way to start recognizing real sentences. Once these words are automatic, everything else you read or hear has fewer gaps in it.

How to use this list

Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.

The 100 words

#	Latvian	English	In use
1	un	and	Es un tu ejam uz skolu.You and I are going to school.
2	bet	but	Es gribu iet, bet līst.I want to go, but it's raining.
3	ka	that	Es zinu, ka tev taisnība.I know that you're right.
4	kad	when	Kad tu nāksi?When will you come?
5	ja	if	Ja līs, mēs paliksim mājās.If it rains, we will stay home.
6	jo	because	Es esmu bēdīgs, jo tu aizej.I am sad because you are leaving.
7	vai	or/whether	Vai tu gribi tēju vai kafiju?Do you want tea or coffee?
8	es	I	Es dzīvoju Rīgā.I live in Riga.
9	tu	you (singular)	Vai tu mani dzirdi?Can you hear me?
10	viņš	he	Viņš strādā bankā.He works at a bank.
11	viņa	she	Viņa mīl mūziku.She loves music.
12	mēs	we	Mēs ejam uz veikalu.We are going to the store.
13	jūs	you (plural/formal)	Vai jūs runājat angliski?Do you speak English?
14	viņi	they (masc.)	Viņi spēlējas pagalmā.They are playing in the yard.
15	viņas	they (fem.)	Viņas mācās universitātē.They (women) are studying at the university.
16	šis	this	Šis nams ir jauns.This house is new.
17	tas	that	Tas vīrietis ir mans tēvs.That man is my father.
18	savs	one's own	Katrs mīl savu ģimeni.Everyone loves their own family.
19	kas	who/what	Kas atnāca?Who came?
20	kurš	which	Kura mašīna ir tava?Which car is yours?
21	kāds	what kind of	Kāds ir laiks šodien?What is the weather like today?
22	cik	how much/many	Cik tas maksā?How much does that cost?
23	kā	how	Kā tu jūties?How do you feel?
24	kur	where	Kur tu dzīvo?Where do you live?
25	kāpēc	why	Kāpēc tu raudi?Why are you crying?
26	šeit	here	Es esmu šeit.I am here.
27	tur	there	Grāmata ir tur, uz galda.The book is there, on the table.
28	tagad	now	Man tagad jāiet.I have to go now.
29	jau	already	Viņš jau ir paēdis.He has already eaten.
30	vēl	still/yet	Viņa vēl guļ.She is still sleeping.
31	ļoti	very	Šī pilsēta ir ļoti skaista.This city is very beautiful.
32	tikai	only	Man ir tikai desmit eiro.I only have ten euros.
33	jā	yes	Jā, es piekrītu.Yes, I agree.
34	nē	no	Nē, es negribu.No, I don't want to.
35	arī	also	Es arī gribu kafiju.I also want coffee.
36	ar	with	Es eju uz kino ar draugu.I'm going to the cinema with a friend.
37	bez	without	Es nevaru dzīvot bez tevis.I can't live without you.
38	uz	to/onto	Mēs braucam uz Rīgu.We are driving to Riga.
39	no	from	Viņš ir no Polijas.He is from Poland.
40	pie	at/by	Tiksimies pie stacijas.We'll meet at the station.
41	pēc	after	Pēc pusdienām es strādāju.After lunch I work.
42	pirms	before	Pirms darba es dzeru kafiju.Before work I drink coffee.
43	par	about/for	Runāsim par nākotni.Let's talk about the future.
44	starp	between	Sēdēsim starp logu un durvīm.Let's sit between the window and the door.
45	līdz	until	Pagaidi līdz rītdienai.Wait until tomorrow.
46	pa	along/through	Viņi staigā pa parku.They are walking through the park.
47	aiz	behind	Kaķis slēpjas aiz dīvāna.The cat is hiding behind the sofa.
48	zem	under	Suns guļ zem galda.The dog is lying under the table.
49	pār	over/across	Putns lido pār pilsētu.The bird is flying over the city.
50	gan	both/indeed	Viņš runā gan latviski, gan angliski.He speaks both Latvian and English.
51	būt	to be	Es gribu būt laimīgs.I want to be happy.
52	kļūt	to become	Viņa grib kļūt par ārsti.She wants to become a doctor.
53	darīt	to do	Ko tu dari?What are you doing?
54	iet	to go	Man vajag iet mājās.I need to go home.
55	teikt	to say	Viņa vienmēr saka patiesību.She always tells the truth.
56	gribēt	to want	Es gribu ēst.I want to eat.
57	varēt	to be able to	Vai es varu tev palīdzēt?Can I help you?
58	zināt	to know	Es nezinu atbildi.I don't know the answer.
59	redzēt	to see	Vai tu redzi to putnu?Do you see that bird?
60	dot	to give	Dod man grāmatu.Give me the book.
61	ņemt	to take	Ņem lietussargu, līst.Take an umbrella, it's raining.
62	domāt	to think	Es domāju, ka tev taisnība.I think that you're right.
63	strādāt	to work	Viņa strādā slimnīcā.She works at a hospital.
64	dzīvot	to live	Mēs dzīvojam Liepājā.We live in Liepāja.
65	runāt	to speak	Viņš runā trīs valodās.He speaks three languages.
66	jautāt	to ask	Skolēns drosmīgi jautā skolotājam.The student boldly asks the teacher.
67	atbildēt	to answer	Lūdzu, atbildi uz jautājumu.Please answer the question.
68	lasīt	to read	Man patīk lasīt grāmatas.I like reading books.
69	rakstīt	to write	Viņa raksta vēstuli.She is writing a letter.
70	ēst	to eat	Mēs ēdam pusdienas.We are eating lunch.
71	dzert	to drink	Viņš dzer ūdeni.He is drinking water.
72	mīlēt	to love	Es mīlu savu ģimeni.I love my family.
73	patikt	to like/please	Man patīk šī dziesma.I like this song.
74	lūgt	to request	Es lūdzu tavu palīdzību.I am asking for your help.
75	gaidīt	to wait	Es gaidu autobusu.I am waiting for the bus.
76	meklēt	to look for	Viņa meklē darbu.She is looking for a job.
77	atrast	to find	Es nevaru atrast atslēgas.I can't find my keys.
78	sākt	to begin	Mēs sākam stundu.We are starting the lesson.
79	beigt	to finish	Es beidzu darbu.I finished work.
80	saprast	to understand	Es nesaprotu šo jautājumu.I don't understand this question.
81	mācīties	to study/learn	Bērni mācās skolā.Children study at school.
82	palīdzēt	to help	Vai tu varētu man palīdzēt?Could you help me?
83	justies	to feel	Es jūtos noguris.I feel tired.
84	dzirdēt	to hear	Es dzirdu mūziku.I hear music.
85	cilvēks	person	Katrs cilvēks ir citāds.Every person is different.
86	vīrietis	man	Tas vīrietis ir ārsts.That man is a doctor.
87	sieviete	woman	Sieviete nesa somu.The woman was carrying a bag.
88	bērns	child	Bērns spēlējas parkā.The child is playing in the park.
89	diena	day	Šodien ir skaista diena.Today is a beautiful day.
90	gads	year	Ir pagājuši pieci gadi.Five years have passed.
91	laiks	time	Man nav laika.I don't have time.
92	māja	house	Mūsu māja ir pie ezera.Our house is by the lake.
93	pilsēta	city	Rīga ir Latvijas galvaspilsēta.Riga is the capital city of Latvia.
94	pasaule	world	Pasaule ir liela.The world is big.
95	dzīve	life	Dzīve ir skaista.Life is beautiful.
96	darbs	work/job	Viņas darbs ir interesants.Her job is interesting.
97	vārds	word/name	Kāds ir tavs vārds?What is your name?
98	labs	good	Tā ir laba filma.That is a good movie.
99	liels	big	Viņiem ir liela māja.They have a big house.
100	mazs	small	Tā ir maza pilsēta.That is a small town.

The ones English speakers get wrong

ka vs. kad

These two words differ by a single letter but do very different jobs. 'Ka' means 'that' and introduces a clause, as in 'Es zinu, ka tev taisnība' (I know that you're right). 'Kad' means 'when,' as in 'Kad tu nāksi?' (When will you come?). Mixing them is one of the most common slips for learners.

No verb for 'to have'

Latvian doesn't have a direct equivalent of 'to have.' Instead, possession is built with the dative case plus 'ir' (is): 'Man ir suns' literally means 'to me there is a dog,' i.e. 'I have a dog.' There's no 'having' verb to conjugate at all.

Definite vs. indefinite adjective endings

Latvian has no articles like 'a' or 'the.' Instead, adjectives carry two different endings to mark definiteness: 'labs' (a good, indefinite) versus 'labais' (the good one, definite). Which form to use depends on whether the noun is being introduced for the first time or already known.

Tonal accent on long syllables

Latvian long vowels and diphthongs carry one of three pitch patterns (level, falling, or broken), and the pattern can be the only thing distinguishing two otherwise identical-looking words. It's subtle for English speakers, since English doesn't use pitch this way at all.

teikt vs. sacīt

Both mean 'to say,' but they share a single present-tense conjugation built from the root of 'sacīt': 'es saku, tu saki, viņš saka.' 'Teikt' is the form usually cited as the infinitive, so learners often expect a present tense built from 'teikt' and are thrown off when it never appears.

What to do next

A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Latvian and following it.