The Lithuanian Alphabet

Lithuanian uses the Latin alphabet (like English) but adds some "diacritics" (little marks). There are 32 letters.

The Vowels

Short Vowels

• a — like 'a' in park.
• e — like 'e' in bed.
• i — like 'i' in sit.
• u — like 'u' in put.

Long Vowels

• y — like 'ee' in sheep. (Note: y is a vowel here!)
• ū — like 'oo' in moon.
• ą, ę, į, ų — These are "nasal" vowels historically, but now just pronounced LONG.
  • ą = long a (father).
  • ę = long e (bad).
  • į = long i (sheep - same as y).
  • ų = long u (moon - same as ū).

The Special Dot: Ė

• ė — like the 'ai' in air (narrow, no diphthong). Start saying "Eh" and smile.

The Consonants

Most are like English, with key exceptions:

• j — like 'y' in yes. (Jonas = Yonas).
• c — like 'ts' in cats. (Centas).
• č — like 'ch' in chips. (Čia = Here).
• š — like 'sh' in ship. (Šuo = Dog).
• ž — like 's' in pleasure. (Žmonės = People).

Detailed Table

| Letter | Sound | Example | | :----- | :------- | :------------------------ | | A a | ah | Aktyvus (Active) | | Ą ą | aaah | Ąžuolas (Oak) | | B b | b | Baras (Bar) | | C c | ts | Cukrus (Sugar) | | Č č | ch | Čekis (Check/Receipt) | | D d | d | Darbas (Work) | | E e | eh | Euras (Euro) | | Ę ę | aa (bad) | Katę (Cat - acc.) | | Ė ė | eh (air) | Gėlė (Flower) | | ... | ... | ... |

Mini FAQ

Why are there two "i"s? (i and y)

• i is short.
• y is long.
• Meaning changes! Pilis (Castle) vs Pylis (Pouring).

What is the "h" sound?

Lithuanian "H" is soft. "Ch" (choras) is harder, like Loch Ness.

Related Resources

• Stress and Intonation
• Essential Greetings