2.2.2. Gender and number (nouns, adjectives, verbs)
2.3.2. Determiners (definite, indefinite article)
4.1. How to use punctuation marks
6.5. Acronyms and abbreviations
8.3. Commonly misspelled words
1. Post-edition at Unbabel
At Unbabel we have a unique approach to translation: each text submitted by a customer is translated by our Machine Translation system, and then corrected by our community of editors in an online platform. By editing the output of the software, the editors ensure the quality of the translations and confirm that the message is accurate (i.e., has the same meaning as the original), fluent (i.e., can be easily understood and sounds natural) and is in line with the style requested by the clients (i.e. respects their register and terminology). In order to help editors do the best job possible, we provide various types of information:
- Customer instructions, which include the identification of the client and his requests to personalize the translation, such as the register that must be used to address the recipient of the message. Following these instructions is vital to deliver translations that match the client’s expectations.
- Glossaries, which correspond to specific vocabulary and expressions used by the client, and that must be respected by the editors.
- Translation Memories, which correspond to stored segments (expressions, sentences or paragraphs) that have previously been translated and accepted for customer usage. They are useful for ensuring consistency across translations.
We also have Smartcheck, which is an application that checks the grammar, morphology, orthography and style of the translations while being edited. By using a large set of rules, Smartcheck flags words or groups of words that may present some kind of issue.
Finally, in order to deliver the best possible translation, we also provide these guidelines about your language specifications. Please, read them carefully and always follow these instructions in your editions.
2. Grammar
2.1. Sentence structure
Imperative sentences in Lithuanian are used to express someone's will in relation to a particular action or can be an encouragement, order, request, prohibition, or invitation. It's important to note that the imperative does not have tense forms, but it does have person forms.
Example:
Source text: Let's go to my place!
✘ Iesim pie manis!
✓ Eikime pas mane!
In the case of nominal sentences, you should be aware of overly literal translations (which are quite common in machine-translated texts).
Source text: It was after midnight.
✘ Tas bijo po vidurnakčio.
✓ Buvo po vidurnakčio.
2.2. Agreement
Agreement errors are frequent in machine-translated Lithuanian text.
2.2.1. Gender, tense, mood (for verbs)
When working with machine-translated text, please pay close attention to the gender (male/female) that is referred to in the text, as Lithuanian requires gender differentiation.
Example:
(If the person referred to in the text is female, the verb needs to be aligned accordingly)
Source text: I have already seen this movie.
✘ Es jau esmu redzējis šo filmu.
✓ Aš jau esu matęs šį filmą. (male speaker)
✓ Aš jau esu matę šią filmą. (female speaker)
In texts where gender neutrality needs to be observed (such as questionnaires, surveys), please remember to keep the gender neutrality in the target text as well so that both genders are addressed.
Example:
Source text: I have retired.
✘ Es esmu pensionējies.
✓ Aš esu išėjęs(-usi) į pensiją.
Coordinated and subordinate clauses often require revision. Make sure adjectives and verbs in both parts of the sentence are aligned with the noun they are referring to.
Example:
Source text: If you take your child to the cinema for the first time, it should be a really exciting and interesting movie.
✘ Ja Jūs vedat savu bērnu pirmo reizi uz kino, filmai ir jābūt patiesi aizraujošs un interesants.
✓ Jeigu vesite savo vaiką į kino teatrą pirmą kartą, tai turėtų būti tikrai įdomus ir jaudinantis filmas.
2.2.2. Gender and number (nouns, adjectives, verbs)
In Lithuanian, it is important to ensure that adjectives and verbs referring to the respective noun are aligned correctly in terms of gender and number.
Example:
Source text: There is one green box and one blue box standing on the table.
✘ Uz galda stāv viens zaļš kaste un viens zils kaste.
✓ Ant stalo stovi viena žalia dėžė ir viena mėlyna dėžė.
In Lithuanian, cases are usually expressed through endings. All cases in Lithuanian, except the vocative case, can have different meanings depending on the context. Please ensure that the case and prepositions in the target texts are correct.
Example:
Source text: Go away, Jane!
✘ Iet prom, Džeina!
✓ Džeina, eik šalin!
A common issue (especially with glossary terms) is keeping the noun/phrase in the nominative case instead of assigning the correct case according to the respective verb or preposition.
Example:
Source text: The application is available only for Primary User.
✘ Lietojumprogramma ir pieejama tikai Primārais lietotājs.
✓ Programa yra prieinama tik primarjam vartotojui.
2.3. Verbs
2.3.1. Tense
Pay close attention to the use of tense and ensure that the source tense is accurately reflected in the target text. In particular, the future perfect tense may be incorrectly translated as either the present tense or the past tense.
Example:
Source text: When the book comes out in printed form, the fans will have already read the book online.
✘ Kad grāmata iznāk drukātā formā, fani jau būs grāmatu izlasījuši tiešsaistē.
✓ Kai knyga išleidžiama spausdintoje formoje, gerbėjai jau bus perskaityję knygą internete.
Lithuanian also has a particular type of past perfect indicative (used mostly in colloquial speech and sometimes in literary and mass media texts) formed by the past tense form of the auxiliary verb gauti 'to get' (in all persons) and a declinable past active participle.
Example:
Source text: I had already talked about it in the previous meeting.
✘ Par to es jau biju runājis iepriekšējā sanāksmē.
✓ Apie tai aš jau buvau kalbėjęs(-usi) ankstesniame susitikime.
The active voice is used when the subject undertaking the action is mentioned in the sentence, while the passive voice is used when the sentence does not mention the person performing the action, but rather the object of the action.
Example:
Source text: I must read the article.
✘ Man jālasa šis raksts.
✓ Man reikia perskaityti šį straipsnį.
Example:
Source text: The refund is made to the card holder only.
✘ Atmaksu veic tikai kartes īpašniekam.
✓ Grąžinimas atliekamas tik kortelės turėtojui.
2.3.2. Determiners (definite, indefinite article)
Please note that Lithuanian does not use definite or indefinite articles. Instead, articles are reflected by modifying the ending of the word to which the article refers.
Example:
Source text: I like the white dress more than the blue one.
✘ Balta kleita man patīk vairāk nekā zila.
✓ Baltą suknelę man patinka labiau nei mėlyną.
Personal pronouns (my, your, his, etc.) are often used in English. However, in Lithuanian, they do not always need to be translated and may be considered redundant. Translating personal pronouns into Lithuanian can make the sentences sound unnatural and clumsy.
Example:
Source text: We will refund the amount you paid while making your purchase.
✘ Mēs atgriezīsim Jums summu, kuru samaksājāt, kad veicāt savu pirkumu.
✓ Atgriežinsime Jums sumą, kurią sumokėjote atlikdami pirkimą.
2.4. Personal pronouns
Please note that in Lithuanian, personal pronouns such as I, you, we, they (LT: aš, tu, mes, jūs) and the reflexive pronoun "sevis" (-self) do not have gender distinctions. The reflexive pronoun "sevis" (-self) is used to indicate that an action is directed back at the agent, regardless of the person of the agent.
Example:
Source text: Sarah bought herself a pair of new shoes.
✘ Sāra iegādājās pati sev jaunu apavu pāri.
✓ Sara nusipirko naują batų porą.
2.5. Possessives
Personal pronouns and possessive pronouns like my (LT: mano, mano, mani, manų) and your (LT: tavo, tavo, tavi, tavo) only refer to humans, while all other pronouns can apply to living beings as well as objects. In Lithuanian, there are no dedicated pronouns for inanimate objects like "it" or "they."
Personal pronouns in Lithuanian do not need to be translated on all occasions and can be omitted (e.g., "you," "we"). However, this should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Example:
Source text: I will reach out to you to inform you more about your recent purchase.
✘ Es ar Jums sazināšos, lai Jūs informētu par Jūsu nesen veikto pirkumu.
✓ Susisieksiu su Jumis, kad papasakotų daugiau apie Jūsų naujausią pirkimą.
Pronouns used as the subject or other verb arguments that add no meaning but are syntactically required may be omitted and do not need to be translated in Lithuanian.
Example:
Source text: It’s possible that your order has been sent to the wrong address.
✘ Tas ir iespējams, ka Jūsu sūtījums ir nosūtīts uz nepareizu adresi.
✓ Gali būti, kad Jūsų užsakymas buvo išsiųstas į neteisingą adresą.
2.6. Prepositions
In Lithuanian, prepositions are usually combined
3. Orthography
3.1. Abbreviations
Abbreviations in Lithuanian usually end with a consonant and can be used in cases where the number of characters is limited for the target text, such as posters, advertisements, surveys, etc.
Make sure the abbreviation is clear to the target reader and is commonly used in Lithuanian.
Example:
Source text: Please attach the MS Word doc. before sending the email to Peter.
✘ Lūdzu, pievieno MS Word dokum. pielikumā pirms nosūti e-pastu Pīteram.
✓ Prašome pridėti MS Word dokumentą prie laiško, prieš jį siunčiant Petriui.
3.2. Acronyms
In Lithuanian, acronyms are always written with capital letters and are composed of the initial letters of major parts of a compound term. For example, EU (Europos Sąjunga) for European Union.
Example:
Source text: Enjoy your rights as a citizen Member State of the EU.
✘ Izmantojiet savas tiesības kā EU dalībvalsts pilsonis.
✓ Mėgaukitės savo teisėmis kaip ES valstybės narės pilietis.
Some acronyms, particularly in the field of IT, are not localized in Lithuanian, and the English versions are commonly used, such as LCD, CD, LAN, URL.
Example:
Source text: For detailed information, please use the following URL: xxx.
✘ Sīkākas informācijas saņemšanai, lūdzu, izmantojiet turpmāk minēto VRV: xxx.
✓ Išsamesnei informacijai, prašome naudoti šį URL: xxx.
3.3. Capitalization
Proper names, people's names, and geographical names are always capitalized in Lithuanian.
Example:
Source text: The capital city of Latvia is Riga.
✘ Latvijas galvaspilsēta ir rīga.
✓ Latvijas galvaspilsēta ir Ryga.
For names of events, headings/titles, only the first word is capitalized unless the first word is a place name, in which case the second word is also capitalized. For example, "Lietuvos Valstybinis Taryba" (Lithuanian State Council).
Example:
Source text: The number of unemployed is registered by Lithuanian State Employment Service.
✘ Bezdarbnieku skaita reģistrāciju veic Latvijas valsts nodarbinātības dienests.
✓ Bedarbių skaičiavimą atlieka Lietuvos valstybinė darbo tarnyba.
Unlike English, names of nations/nationals, languages, days of the week, and names of the months are not capitalized in Lithuanian. For example, "lietuvis" (a Lithuanian), "anglų kalba" (the English language), "pirmadienis" (Monday), and "spalis" (October).
Example:
Source text: Children start learning English at the age of six.
✘ Bērni sāk mācīties Angļu valodu sešu gadu vecumā.
✓ Vaikai pradeda mokytis anglų kalbos
4. Punctuation
4.1. How to use punctuation marks
Punctuation marks in Lithuanian are used to support the author's voice and aid in readability and understanding. If a sentence sounds complex or clumsy, it can be divided into two or more sentences for easier translation.
Most punctuation marks are followed by a space.
Quotation marks, colons, semicolons, exclamation marks, and question marks are not preceded by a space in Lithuanian.
4.1.1. Comma
Commas are the most frequently used punctuation mark in Lithuanian.
Commas are used to separate subordinate clauses from the main clause. Pronouns and adverbs can function as subordinating conjunctions (such as 'kas', 'kuris', 'koks') and should be separated by a comma.
Example:
Source text: The movie, which I saw yesterday, was brilliant.
✘ Filma kuru es redzēju vakar bija brīnišķīga.
✓ Filma, kuru es redzēju vakar, bija brīnišķīga.
In negative sentences where the negation is expressed by "neither... nor," a comma is used.
Example:
Source text: Neither he nor his friend knows French.
✘ Ne viņš ne viņa draugs neprot franču valodu.
✓ Ne viņš, ne viņa draugs neprot franču valodu.
A comma is used to separate words in an exclamation.
Example:
Source text: Oh, I miss you so much!
✘ Ak kā es pēc tevis ilgojos!
✓ Ak, kā es pēc tevis ilgojos!
A comma is used in direct speech (statements, requests, commands) and indirect speech.
Example (direct speech):
Source text: He said, "I am busy."
✘ Viņš teica ka esot aizņemts.
✓ Viņš teica, "Es esmu aizņemts."
Example (indirect speech):
Source text: He said he had written a letter.
✘ Viņš teica ka bija uzrakstījis vēstuli.
✓ Viņš teica, ka bija uzrakstījis vēstuli.
The particles "yes" and "no" are always separated by a comma.
Example:
Source text: Yes, I have done the homework.
✘ Jā esmu izpildījis mājasdarbu.
✓ Jā, esmu izpildījis mājasdarbu.
If two independent subordinate clauses are joined by "and" or "or" (un/vai), no comma is used before "and" or "or" (un/vai).
Example:
Source text: I am married, and I have two children.
✘ Es esmu apprecējies, un man ir divi bērni.
✓ Es esmu apprecējies un man ir divi bērni.
5. Register
Register in Lithuanian refers to the level of formality used in the text. It reflects how our clients address their customers and contributes to the brand's voice. The appropriate register may vary depending on the company, brand, service provided, target audience, and target language. Register can be divided into formal and informal, as outlined below.
5.1. Formal register
The formal register is used in texts such as official documentation, public speeches, etc. It typically maintains an impersonal tone and follows standard grammar rules.
The personal pronoun "you" (Jūs, Jums) and possessive pronouns "your, yours" (Jūsu) in the formal register refer to the second-person singular, not the second-person plural, and are capitalized. Consequently, verbs need to be conjugated accordingly and the correct form must be used.
Example:
Source text: Thank you for your time and for completing the survey.
✘ Paldies par jūsu veltīto laiku un aptaujas aizpildīšanu.
✓ Paldies par Jūsu veltīto laiku un aptaujas aizpildīšanu.
Example:
Source text: Please choose the option that describes your situation best.
✘ Lūdzu, izvēlies atbildes variantu, kurš visprecīzāk raksturo tavu situāciju.
✓ Lūdzu, izvēlieties atbildes variantu, kurš visprecīzāk raksturo Jūsu situāciju.
5.2. Informal register
The informal register in Lithuanian is more conversational in nature. It allows for a greater use of idioms, figurative language, and colloquial expressions.
The personal pronoun "you" (tu, tevi, tevis) and possessive pronouns "your, yours" (tavs, tavu, tavi) in the informal register refer to the second-person singular and are not capitalized. Consequently, verbs need to be conjugated accordingly and the appropriate form should be used.
Example:
Source text: Choose the option that describes your situation best.
✘ Izvēlieties atbildes variantu, kurš visprecīzāk raksturo Jūsu situāciju.
✓ Izvēlies atbildes variantu, kurš visprecīzāk raksturo tavu situāciju.
Example:
Source text: How are you doing?
✘ Kā Jums klājas?
✓ Kā tev klājas?
6. Localization challenges
Most of these challenges pertain to unique entities such as persons, places, organizations, brands, or specific formats of dates, addresses, and more.
Different languages may have varying rules regarding whether these units should be translated, reformatted, or kept in the original language. When editing a text, it is important to follow the rules of the Lithuanian language for the various types of units listed below. However, please note that if the client provides a glossary that includes some of these units, always apply the glossary items.
6.1. Personal names
6.1.1. Persons
Names and surnames of individuals should be transliterated into Lithuanian, and the original form can be specified in brackets to avoid any misunderstandings.
Example:
Source text: The author of the book is Jane Green.
✘ Grāmatas autore ir Jane Green.
✓ Grāmatas autore ir Džeina Grīna (Jane Green).
6.2. Organizations
Names of organizations should generally be translated. Before providing your own translation, please check if an official translation of the organization name already exists in Lithuanian. However, this does not apply to brand names such as Microsoft Office, Paramount Pictures, etc.
Example:
Source text: I have graduated from the University of Chicago.
✘ Es esmu absolvējis University of Chicago.
✓ Es esmu absolvējis Čikagos Universitāti.
6.3. Brands and products
Brand and product names should always be kept in English, regardless of whether there are equivalents in Lithuanian that are used in informal contexts.
6.4. Titles
Names of events (concerts, festivals, theater plays, etc.) and artworks should be translated. If translation is not possible, they should be transliterated, and the original text should be provided in brackets.
Example:
Source text: My favorite painting is The Scream by Edvard Munch.
✘ Mana mīļākā glezna ir The Scream by Edvard Munch.
✓ Mana mīļākā glezna ir Edvarda Munka "Kliedziens".
6.5. Acronyms and abbreviations
If an acronym used in the source language exists in Lithuanian as well, it should be translated, and the corresponding Lithuanian equivalent should be used in the target text.
If there is no equivalent in Lithuanian, keep the acronym in English and provide a complete translation in brackets the first time the acronym is used. Subsequently, you can use the English abbreviation.
List of common abbreviations in Lithuanian:
| English | Lithuanian | Abbreviation in Lithuanian |
| picture | attēls | att. |
| Dear xxx, / Highly Esteemed / Honourable | augsti godājamais; augsti godājamā | a. god. |
| Dear xxx, | cienījamais; cienījamā (usually before the name or title) | cien. |
| document | dokuments | dok. |
| plural | daudzskaitlis | dsk. |
| copy | eksemplārs | eks. |
| Euro | eiro (following the amount in numbers) | EUR |
| page | lappuse | lpp. |
| million | miljons | milj. |
| week | nedēļa (following the number) | ned. |
| number | numurs | nr. |
| chapter, department | nodaļa | nodaļa |
| attachment | pielikums | piel. |
7. Tricky cases
Special attention should be given to pronouns (e.g., his/her/its) since there are instances where they are necessary in English but would result in an unnatural and confusing translation in Lithuanian.
Example:
Source text: David is taking his daughter to the kindergarten.
✘ Deivids ved viņa meitu uz bērnudārzu.
✓ Deivids ved savo meilę į darželį.
In this case, "viņa" would imply someone else's daughter. "Savo" is used to indicate his own daughter.
8. Most frequent errors
8.1. Compounds
In Lithuanian, compound nouns are usually written as one word and stressed on the first syllable. Compound words are hyphenated very rarely in Lithuanian.
Example:
Source text: She had a greenish-brown sweater.
✘ Ji turėjo žalio ruda megztinį.
✓ Ji turėjo žaliorudą megztinį.
8.2. False friends
It is common to see terms/expressions in Lithuanian being replaced by their English equivalents. Please pay attention to the presence of false friends in the source text and use the correct Lithuanian translation.
| English | Lithuanian (to be avoided) | Lithuanian (correct term) |
| activities | aktivitātes | veikla |
| assistant | asistents | asistentas |
| business | bizness | verslas |
| manager | menedžeris | vadybininkas |
| balance | balanss | balansas |
| carbon | karbons (incorrect) | anglis |
| silicon | silikons (incorrect) | silicis |
| vision | vīzija | regėjimas |
8.3. Commonly misspelled words
| English | Lithuanian (correct term) | Comments |
| constant | pastovus | Often confused with patstovus |
| independent | nepriklausomas | Often confused with pastovus |
| original | originalus | Not oryginalus |
| because of you | dėl tavęs | Incorrectly: tavės dėl (dėl always has to be placed at the end of the sentence) |
9. Useful online resources
Bilingual dictionaries
https://www.linguee.com/english-lithuanian
English grammar guide
English dictionaries
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
Thesauruses
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/english-thesaurus
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