When you want to say something or someone is beautiful in Latvian, you'll use the word skaists. It's an adjective, and like many adjectives in Latvian, it changes its ending depending on the noun it describes. This is called declension.
For example, if you're talking about a beautiful flower (a feminine noun), you'd say skaista puķe. If it's a beautiful house (a masculine noun), it would be skaists nams. And for a beautiful child (a neutral noun, often referred to as 'it'), you might hear skaists bērns.
You'll get used to these endings as you learn more. For now, just remember skaists for beautiful!
Dato curioso
The root is shared with Lithuanian 'skaistus' (bright, clear) and Old Church Slavonic 'světŭ' (light).
Nivel de dificultad
short
short
short
short
Qué aprender después
Aprende después
Avanzado
Origen de la palabra
Proto-Baltic *skaitas
Significado original: shining, bright
Indo-European (Baltic branch)Contexto cultural
Latvians appreciate beauty in nature, art, and people. The word 'skaists' is commonly used to describe stunning landscapes, intricate traditional patterns, and even a well-composed song. It often evokes a sense of admiration and positive emotion, similar to 'lovely' or 'gorgeous' in English.
Ponte a prueba 12 preguntas
Listen for 'beautiful' describing her voice.
Can you hear the word for 'beautiful' in relation to the flower?
Listen for the exclamation about the 'beautiful' scenery.
Read this aloud:
Tava kleita ir skaista.
Focus: skaista
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
Viņš dzīvo skaistā mājā.
Focus: skaistā
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
Man patīk skaisti rīti.
Focus: skaisti
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
This sentence structure emphasizes the deep perception of a beautiful soul through one's gaze, typical of C1 level expression where nuanced meaning is conveyed.
This sentence, 'We believe that life can be beautiful, despite all difficulties,' shows complex clause structure and abstract concepts often found at C1 level.
The phrase 'Man šķiet, ka trūkst vārdu' (It seems to me that words are lacking) is a common C1 construction used to express an inability to fully articulate something, demonstrating sophisticated expression.
/ 12 correct
Perfect score!
