If you don’t know much about Baltic languages, Lithuanian might look intimidating at first glance.
Those little hooks and dots over the letters, the long words, and those grammatical cases make it easy to give up even before you begin. But Lithuanian for beginners is much easier than you think, especially if you break your learning process into small steps.
This guide gives you a realistic first week into the language, and by day seven, you’ll be able to introduce yourself, count to ten, and even speak a little! Let’s start!
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What Is The Best Way To Start Lithuanian For Beginners?
The best way to start learning Lithuanian for beginners is to spend your first week focusing on only a few things: the alphabet, greetings, the numbers from one to ten, and about 30 core words (and some easy phrases).
With a focused learning plan, you’ll need to spend 15 to 20 minutes a day to build good learning habits that might as well get you on the right track to continue learning the language once you’ve tested it!
Here is a quick breakdown of this learning plan :
- Day 1: Learn the alphabet and the special letters.
- Days 2 and 3: Memorise greetings and polite phrases.
- Day 4: Learn to count from 1 to 10.
- Day 5: Build vocabulary with core words for everyday life.
- Day 6: Practice speaking with 30-second dialogues.
- Day 7: Review what you learned.
You might feel that Lithuanian grammar is missing in this plan. But that’s normal; at such an early stage of your learning a new language like Lithuanian, you can leave those for later!
What Should You Expect As A Beginner Learning?
A beginner learning Lithuanian with no prior knowledge of Baltic languages can expect the language to be easier to read than to speak.
Lithuanian has more than three million native speakers, a 32-letter Latin-based alphabet, and a complex grammar system. Alongside Latvian, it is one of only two living Baltic languages.
So, you’re definitely learning a real gem of a language, but one with some hurdles such as :
- Special letters along with diacritic marks that might confuse you at the beginning
- Stressed syllables that can move from one word form to another
- Seven grammatical cases that make nouns change their endings
Lithuanian spelling, on the other hand, is quite regular and easy to pick up. Once you know the letters of the Lithuanian alphabet, you can read most words aloud.
So, if you were wondering if Lithuanian is hard to learn, then the answer might depend on the aspects of the language you want to master.
How Do You Learn Lithuanian For Beginners In One Week?
Here is what you can learn in a week:
Day 1: Learn The Alphabet And Special Letters
You’ll need to start with the sounds of the language, since everything else depends on them.
Most Lithuanian letters are pronounced like English, so you may want to focus on the special ones first :
| Letter | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| č | “ch” in chimney | ačiū (thank you) |
| š | “sh” in shine | šalis (country) |
| ž | “s” in pleasure | žuvis (fish) |
| ė | a long “e”, close to “ay” in say | gėlė (flower) |
| ū | “oo” in school | jūs (you, formal) |
| į | “ee” in eel | į sveikatą (cheers) |
| ą | a long “ah” | sveikatą (health) |
Here is a tip that can also help: the letter j sounds like the “y” in yarn, and c is always pronounced “ts”.
Days 2 And 3: Learn To Greet In The Lithuanian Language?
To say hello in Lithuanian, you can use the expression “labas”, which works in almost every situation. Here are additional phrases you can learn in two days :
| English | Lithuanian |
|---|---|
| Hello | Labas |
| Good morning | Labas rytas |
| Good afternoon | Laba diena |
| Good evening | Labas vakaras |
| How are you? | Kaip sekasi? |
| My name is… | Mano vardas yra… |
| Nice to meet you | Malonu susipažinti |
| Thank you | Ačiū |
| Please | Prašau |
| Yes / No | Taip / Ne |
| Goodbye | Viso gero |
To make your Lithuanian sound better than your beginner level, use these greetings depending on the time of the day or the person you’re interacting with.
Day 4: Count From 1 To 10
Numbers are the shortest, most useful, and easiest words to learn in any language, and Lithuanian is not an exception to the rule.
However, Lithuanian numbers can change depending on gender. Here are the numbers from 1 to 10 in masculine form :
- 1 – vienas
- 2 – du
- 3 – trys
- 4 – keturi
- 5 – penki
- 6 – šeši
- 7 – septyni
- 8 – aštuoni
- 9 – devyni
- 10 – dešimt
For example, in the feminine form, du becomes dvi for feminine nouns.
But you don’t have to worry about that yet. These numbers are the ones you’ll need the most at the beginning of your Lithuanian language learning pathway.
Day 5: Pick Up 30 Core Words
On day 5, you can start to memorize and review words you will really use, and group them by theme so they stick together.
You can start with these:
- People: aš (I), tu (you), jūs (you, formal or plural).
- Café: vanduo (water), kava (coffee), arbata (tea), maistas (food).
- Around town: namai (home), miestas (city), mokykla (school), knyga (book).
Want to learn more? Our list of simple Lithuanian words gives you plenty more to choose from!
Day 6: Speak Lithuanian
Now, it’s time to put all that you’ve learned together and start listening and shadowing short dialogs.
As you may know, shadowing is a powerful technique to quickly acquire the right pronunciation and vocabulary in a foreign language.
Research shows that shadowing can play an essential role in developing communicative competence and learner autonomy in language learning.
Hence, to quickly pick up Lithuanian pronunciation and learn new words quickly, you can listen to a native speaker and then copy the rhythm simultaneously.
Day 7: Review your Lithuanian Lessons
The last day of your 7-day introductory plan to the Lithuanian language is the most important one.
Indeed, throughout the week, you learned words and phrases. But what about reviewing them to make them stick in your long-term memory?
This is why you should make your seventh day of learning an opportunity to revisit everything you learned during the week and quiz yourself without looking.
What Helps Lithuanian Beginners Progress?
When you start learning a language, seeing progress can be difficult.
As such, progressing in Lithuanian as a beginner might take time, unless you implement these simple habits that can make a huge difference.
- Repeat every new word you learn out loud, and not just in your head.
- Learn phrases and contexts, not isolated Lithuanian words, so you can remember how they fit together.
- Review what you learned every day to keep building a good learning routine and improve your language skills.
- Record yourself regularly and compare your pronunciation with that of Lithuanian native speakers.
These simple tips that you can apply every day can literally make you go from absolute beginner to conversational in a few months.
FAQs – Lithuanian For Beginners
Is Lithuanian Hard For Beginners?
Lithuanian can be challenging to learn for beginners. However, by following a good learning plan right from the very first day, beginners can actually make a lot of progress!
How Long Does It Take To Learn Basic Lithuanian?
Most beginners in Lithuanian learn to greet people, count, and introduce themselves within a week or two of regular practice. Holding conversations with ease can take longer, though, usually a few months.
Do I Need To Learn All Seven Cases Of Lithuanian Grammar?
No. As a beginner, you don’t need to learn Lithuanian grammar at all. Learn whole phrases first, and add the cases gradually once you start recognizing common endings. Trying to master the cases at the beginning of your learning journey can be one of the fastest ways to lose your motivation.
What Should I Learn First In Lithuanian?
Start with the alphabet and pronunciation, then you can learn greetings, numbers, and a small set of everyday words.
Ready To Learn Lithuanian As A Beginner With Ling?
Here you go! You now have a precise plan to start your beginner’s journey in the Lithuanian language!
But that’s not all; we have a nice bonus for you! You can actually make most of this 7-day learning plan with the Ling app’s free trial!
Yep! You read right!
You can actually access beginner-friendly Lithuanian lessons for free, and start building your Lithuanian vocabulary from scratch:
With over 10 million downloads and a 4.7/5 rating on both the App Store and the Play Store, Ling is the go-to app for thousands of learners who choose to learn 70+ languages, including Lithuanian.
So are you ready to join them and start learning Lithuanian? We’ll be waiting for you!
