You may have already heard horror stories about Lithuanian grammar.

Specifically, noun cases.

People often say that Lithuanian is one of the oldest living Indo-European languages, and because of that, it has kept a very complex grammar system.

But once you understand the logic behind the cases, they become much easier to use.

What exactly is a “case”?

In English, the word order usually tells you who is doing what.

• The dog bit the mailman. (The dog is the subject).
• The mailman bit the dog. (The mailman is the subject).

The words “dog” and “mailman” don’t change spelling. You just know who did it based on where they sit in the sentence.

In Lithuanian, word order is flexible. To show who is doing the action and who is receiving it, we change the ending of the word.

That ending is the case.

There are 7 main cases in Lithuanian.

Let’s break them down simply so you can start using them today.

The 7 Lithuanian noun cases

Nominative (Vardininkas)

This is the dictionary form of the word. It answers the questions who? or what? (Kas?).

You use the Nominative case for the subject of the sentence—the person or thing doing the action.

If you look up a word in the dictionary, like kava (coffee) or draugas (friend), it is in the Nominative case.

Genitive (Kilmininkas)

The Genitive case is one of the most frequently used cases in Lithuanian. It answers the question of whom? or of what? (Ko?).

We use this case in three main situations:

1. Possession: To show that something belongs to someone (like using ‘s or of in English).
2. Negation: When you don’t have something or didn’t do something.
3. Quantity: After numbers from 10 to infinity (and a few others), and words like “a lot of”.

Possession examples:

Negation examples:

In English, you say “I see the cat.” If you don’t see it, you say “I don’t see the cat.” The word “cat” stays the same.

In Lithuanian, if the verb has a ne- (no/not) attached to it, the object usually turns into the Genitive case.

Dative (Naudininkas)

The Dative case is used for the indirect object. It answers the questions to whom? or for whom? (Kam?).

Think of this as the “giving” case. If you’re giving, sending, or buying something for someone, that person will be in the Dative case.

It is also used with certain expressions regarding how you feel (cold, hot, boring, fun).

Accusative (Galininkas)

The Accusative case is for the direct object. It answers the question whom? or what? (Ką?).

This is the person or thing that is being acted upon. If you eat an apple, love a girl, or write a letter, those things are in the Accusative case.

Note: Remember, if you make the sentence negative (“He is NOT drinking coffee”), it switches back to Genitive!

Instrumental (Įnagininkas)

This case answers the questions with whom? or with what? (Su kuo? / Kuo?).

We use the Instrumental case to describe the tool or method used to do something.

For example, if you write with a pen or travel by bus, “pen” and “bus” are in the Instrumental case.

We also use it to talk about doing things socially with someone. In this case, we almost always use the preposition su (with) before the word.

Locative (Vietininkas)

The Locative case shows location. It answers the question where? or in what/whom? (Kur? / Kame?).

In English, we use prepositions like “in” or “at”. In Lithuanian, we usually just change the ending of the word to show that something is inside.

Regional Variation Note: In some spoken dialects, and casually in rapid speech, Lithuanians might swallow the final short vowels. However, the Locative ending is usually distinct because it signifies place.

Vocative (Šauksmininkas)

This is the easiest case because it doesn’t have a grammatical function in the sentence. It is simply used to call someone’s name or get their attention.

It answers the implied question of who are you addressing?.

Summary table of endings

To help you visualize this, here’s how the word draugas (male friend) and draugė (female friend) change through the cases.

Note: Lithuanian has different “declensions” (groups of nouns), so not every word has these exact endings, but these are the most common patterns.

How to actually learn them

Looking at tables can be scary.

The biggest mistake students make is trying to memorize every ending for every declension immediately.

Here’s my advice:

• Start with Nominative, Genitive, and Accusative. These three cover a huge portion of daily conversation.
• Learn whole phrases. Instead of memorizing “Accusative singular ending is -ą”, just memorize the phrase Aš noriu kavą (I want coffee).
• Listen. The more you hear the language, the more your brain will naturally expect the right sound at the end of the word.

Lithuanian grammar is structured, but it is logical. Take it one case at a time, and don’t be afraid of making mistakes!

Sėkmės!