In short: Lithuanian has seven cases. Six of them work much like cases in other Slavic and Baltic languages, and the seventh — šauksmininkas — is used only when addressing someone. Below are full ending tables for masculine and feminine nouns, singular and plural, plus an honest note on what is worth learning first.
How many cases does Lithuanian have
Lithuanian has seven cases. Six of them mark the role of a noun in a sentence, and the seventh — šauksmininkas (the vocative) — is used only when you address someone: Jonai!, broli!, mama!
In Lithuanian textbooks, tables and exams the cases always appear in this order:
| Case | Question | Roughly equals |
|---|---|---|
| Vardininkas | kas? — who? what? | nominative |
| Kilmininkas | ko? — of whom? of what? | genitive |
| Naudininkas | kam? — to whom? | dative |
| Galininkas | ką? — whom? what? | accusative |
| Įnagininkas | kuo? — with whom? with what? | instrumental |
| Vietininkas | kur? kame? — where? | locative |
| Šauksmininkas | address | vocative |
You do not need to memorise the order itself, but every Lithuanian declension table follows it — getting used to the sequence early saves you from hunting for the right row.
How to tell which pattern a noun follows
Everything is decided by the nominative ending — the form the word has in a dictionary. Textbooks number these patterns as declensions one to five, but the numbers are optional: in practice you look at the ending and the gender.
| Ending | Gender | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -as | masculine | vyras, namas, miestas |
| -is | masculine | brolis, žodis |
| -ys | masculine | mokinys, obuolys |
| -us | masculine | sūnus, žmogus, turgus |
| -a | feminine | mama |
| -ė | feminine | gatvė, senelė, draugė |
| -is | feminine | šalis, akis, dalis |
Note the last row: the ending -is appears in both genders (brolis is masculine, šalis is feminine) and each declines differently. For such nouns the gender has to come from the dictionary — the ending alone will not tell you.
Endings: masculine nouns
Singular
| Case (question) | -as vyras | -is brolis | -ys mokinys | -us sūnus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vardininkas (kas?) | vyras | brolis | mokinys | sūnus |
| Kilmininkas (ko?) | vyro | brolio | mokinio | sūnaus |
| Naudininkas (kam?) | vyrui | broliui | mokiniui | sūnui |
| Galininkas (ką?) | vyrą | brolį | mokinį | sūnų |
| Įnagininkas (kuo?) | vyru | broliu | mokiniu | sūnumi |
| Vietininkas (kur?) | vyre | brolyje | mokinyje | sūnuje |
Plural
| Case (question) | -as vyras | -is brolis | -ys mokinys | -us sūnus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vardininkas (kas?) | vyrai | broliai | mokiniai | sūnūs |
| Kilmininkas (ko?) | vyrų | brolių | mokinių | sūnų |
| Naudininkas (kam?) | vyrams | broliams | mokiniams | sūnums |
| Galininkas (ką?) | vyrus | brolius | mokinius | sūnus |
| Įnagininkas (kuo?) | vyrais | broliais | mokiniais | sūnumis |
| Vietininkas (kur?) | vyruose | broliuose | mokiniuose | sūnuose |
Endings: feminine nouns
Singular
| Case (question) | -a mama | -ė gatvė | -is šalis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vardininkas (kas?) | mama | gatvė | šalis |
| Kilmininkas (ko?) | mamos | gatvės | šalies |
| Naudininkas (kam?) | mamai | gatvei | šaliai |
| Galininkas (ką?) | mamą | gatvę | šalį |
| Įnagininkas (kuo?) | mama | gatve | šalimi |
| Vietininkas (kur?) | mamoje | gatvėje | šalyje |
Plural
| Case (question) | -a mama | -ė gatvė | -is šalis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vardininkas (kas?) | mamos | gatvės | šalys |
| Kilmininkas (ko?) | mamų | gatvių | šalių |
| Naudininkas (kam?) | mamoms | gatvėms | šalims |
| Galininkas (ką?) | mamas | gatves | šalis |
| Įnagininkas (kuo?) | mamomis | gatvėmis | šalimis |
| Vietininkas (kur?) | mamose | gatvėse | šalyse |
Šauksmininkas: addressing someone
The seventh case stands apart: it answers no question, it simply marks that you are speaking to someone. It shows up constantly in everyday speech, letters and introductions.
| Ending | Becomes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -as (given name) | -ai | Jonas → Jonai |
| -as (common noun) | -e | draugas → drauge |
| -as (profession) | -au | mokytojas → mokytojau |
| -is | -i | brolis → broli |
| -ys | -y | arklys → arkly |
| -us | -au | sūnus → sūnau |
| -a | -a (unchanged) | mama → mama |
| -ė | -e | sesė → sese |
| -is (feminine) | -ie | moteris → moterie |
Three places where mistakes happen
All three traps are visible in the tables above — and they are exactly where learners slip.
1. For -a nouns the instrumental looks identical to the nominative. Mama in vardininkas and mama in įnagininkas are spelled the same. Only context tells them apart: Mama dirba (mum is working) and Aš didžiuojuosi mama (I am proud of mum).
2. For feminine -is nouns the accusative plural matches the nominative singular. Šalis is both “country” in its base form and “countries” in galininkas. Again, context decides.
3. The ending -is says nothing about gender. Brolis is masculine and gives brolio; šalis is feminine and gives šalies. The forms diverge sharply while the dictionary form looks the same.
Where to start if learning all of it at once feels like too much
Memorising seven cases across seven patterns is rarely the fastest route. It goes quicker when you take the cases one at a time and drill each one right away.
Šaunuolė has a separate breakdown for every case, with tables and examples:
- Kilmininkas (ko?) — genitive
- Naudininkas (kam?) — dative
- Galininkas (ką?) — accusative
- Įnagininkas (kuo?) — instrumental
- Vietininkas (kur?) — locative
- Šauksmininkas — vocative
You can drill the forms in the trainer, where cases come mixed rather than as a list — the way they do in the exam.
If you are working through grammar before the exam, two more pieces help: pronoun declension and the exam registration guide.