How To Say And Ask For Directions In Lithuanian

In anticipation of a coming trip to Lithuania this fall — and as I spend time learning about my heritage — I have decided to learn a little about the language. This is also a really good opportunity for me to put my list of the 10 most important things to know, to get by in any language to the test.

We've already learned some Lithuanian greetings, some common courtesies, how to ask questions, and numbers. This week, let's learn about directions.

6. Directions

šiaurė : north

pietūs : south

rytai : east

vakarai : west

kairė : left

dešinė : right

tiesiai : straight

aukštyn : up

žemyn : down

virš : over

po : under

į priekį : in front of

už : behind

prie : by

šalia : near

toli : far

čia : here

ten : there

šis/ši : this

anas/ana : that

prieš : before

po : after

Putting it together

When we add these direction words to the numbers, we end up with the ability to give or (more likely!) receive directions. I might hear du blokus į šiaurę ir tada vieno bloko rytuose... pastato norima kairėje — "two blocks north and then one block east; the building you want is on your left" when I ask someone kur yra artimiausia restoranas? or where is the nearest restaurant?

It will be important to remember that in a noun-declined language, the endings are going to change depending on the noun's role in the sentence. So I might hear a word that doesn't exactly match one in that list above, but sounds close, so I'll need to listen carefully. Naturally, it will help a lot if there is opportunity to learn the basic rules of Lithuanian noun declension.