Lithuanian Alphabet

Lithuanian Alphabet

If you're trying to learn the Lithuanian Alphabet you will find some useful resources including a course about pronunciation, and sound of all letters... to help you with your Lithuanian grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and memorize the sounds. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Lithuanian. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!

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Lithuanian Alphabet

Learning the Lithuanian alphabet is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. Without it, you will not be able to say words properly even if you know how to write those words. The better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you will be in speaking the Lithuanian language.

Below is a table showing the Lithuanian alphabet and how it is pronounced in English, and finally examples of how those letters would sound if you place them in a word.

Lithuanian AlphabetEnglish SoundPronunciation Example
A aaa as in car
Ą ąaau as in father
B bbb as in back
C ctsts as in cats
Č čchch as in check
D ddd as in dear
E eee as in eat
Ę ęaa aa as in man
Ė ėaiai as in chair
F fff as in fact
G ggg as in get
H hhh as in hope
I iii as in sit
Į įeeee as in meet
Y yii as in machine
J jyy as in yacht
K kkk as in keep
L lll as in look
M mmm as in mother
N nnn as in neat
O ooo as in more
P ppp as in pool
R rrr as in Roma
S sss as in sat
Š šshsh as in sheep
T ttt as in tall
U uuu as in put
Ų ųoooo as in loot
Ū ūoooo as in moon
V vvv as in vat
Z zzz as in zoo
Ž žss as in plesure
Grammar Tips:

In Lithuanian language we read text as it is written, here we have no pronounciation rules.

Only some letters you need to read different from regular latin letters in Latin language (You can  apply no English reading rules in Lithuanian!):

so “a” is just “ah”, “i” is just “ee”, “u” is just “oo (short)”

But remember some differences:

y – is long “ee” (here are 3 sounds for “i”: short, long and nasal – i, y, į);

j – never reads as in “john” but it always reads as in “yawn”;

c – never reads as in “cocoon”, but always as “ts” (or German “z”) – so Lithuanian “cukrus” (sugar) you must read “tsookroos”.

So you must remember: “y” is “ee” like in “tree”, “j” is “y” like “yawn”, and “c” is always “ts”.

r – in Lithuanian is much more like in Latin or Greek, but never like in English, German or French.

Other unusual letters: ą, ę, ė, į, ų, ū. You can read it like basic a, e, u for beginning.

č = ch - česnakas (garlik); š = sh – širdis (heart); ž = zh – žaislas (toy).

That is enough for beginner.


Lithuanian Pronunciation

You saw how a letter is written and might be pronounced, but there is nothing better than hearing the sound of the letters in a video or audio. Below you will be able to hear how the letters above are pronounced, just press the play button:

Lithuanian Pronunciation

The alphabet and its pronunciation have a very important role in Lithuanian, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Lithuanian alphabet, you might want to check the rest of our Lithuanian lessons here: Learn Lithuanian. Don't forget to bookmark this page.

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