AmyMath
← Latvian – Grade 5
CLASS 5 · LEARNING KNOWLEDGE

Greeting, names and introducing yourself in Latvian

How it works

In this topic area you will learn how to greet someone in Latvian, ask for their name, and introduce yourself. Important greetings are ‹Sveiki!›, ‹Labdien!›, ‹Labrīt!›, ‹Labvakar!› as well as the informal forms ‹Sveiks!› and ‹Sveika!›. To ask for a name, you say ‹Kā tevi sauc?› informally and ‹Kā jūs sauc?› politely or when addressing several people. The answer to this is usually ‹Mani sauc ...›. You can also say ‹Es esmu ...› when introducing yourself. For one familiar person, use ‹tu›; for several people or polite address, use ‹jūs›; the spelling ‹Jūs› is used mainly in polite written forms of address.

Note
Greetings and introductory formulas in Latvian follow certain patterns: greeting + asking for the name, for example ‹Kā tevi sauc?› or ‹Kā jūs sauc?›, + introducing yourself with ‹Mani sauc ...› or ‹Es esmu ...›. The pronouns and forms must match whether you address one person familiarly with ‹tu› or several people / politely with ‹jūs›.

An example

Which Latvian question fits a familiar single person: ‹Kā tevi sauc?› or ‹Kā jūs sauc?›?

For a familiar single person, ‹Kā tevi sauc?› is appropriate; ‹Kā jūs sauc?› is used politely or for several people.

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50 Exercises

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Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: Latvian. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.