Lithuanian

There are over 3 million native Lithuanian speakers. According to the Census, there were 31,177 Lithuanians living in Ireland in 2022, while the Lithuanian Department of Statistics (2015) shows that the largest proportion of Lithuanian expats under 14 years old (20.7%) live in Ireland.

With similarities to Sanskrit, Lithuanian is a very interesting language, boasting some extremely long words, including nebeprisikiškiakopūsteliaujantiesiems. This 37-letter-long word means a person who gives something to those who can no longer collect wood sorrels. Of course, it might not come in useful day-to-day, but it’s a fun tongue twister!

Check out our “Why Learn Lithuanian?” video playlist!

Leaving Certificate Lithuanian

Since 2020 Lithuanian is being offered as a curricular Leaving Certificate subject. Visit our FAQs for more information about learning Lithuanian as a Leaving Cert subject.

If you are interested in studying Lithuanian for the Leaving Cert but it’s not available in your school, check out our Saturday Classes.

Short Course in Lithuanian

Lithuanian is one of the most recent languages to be added to the post-primary school curriculum in Ireland, as a heritage language in Junior Cycle.

This short course has been introduced in a number of schools in Dublin and Monaghan – two of the areas with the highest density of speakers of Lithuanian as a heritage language.

This short course aims to maintain and develop students’ proficiency levels in Lithuanian and their knowledge of Lithuanian literature and culture in order to consolidate and deepen their literacy skills and make them more self-aware as learners. The 100 hour course is based on the Generic Short Course in Modern Languages which was in turn developed using the Framework for Junior Cycle (DES, 2015) and the Junior Cycle Short Courses Draft Handbook ‘Developing Short Courses in Junior Cycle’.

For more information:

Specification Junior Cycle Short Course in Lithuanian as a Heritage Language – click here

Learning Language Booklet Junior Cycle Short Course in Lithuanian as a Heritage Language – click here

Lithuanian music playlist

From pop to dance and more, there is so much Lithuanian music to discover and enjoy.

Listening to music can be a really useful tool to help with vocabulary and to improve pronunciation, so why not add some Lithuanian songs to your playlists.

Visit our Spotify for some recommended playlists in Lithuanian and more.

Lithuanian reading recommendations

Reading in Lithuanian is a very helpful way to learn vocabulary in context, introduce common phrases and idioms and to reinforce grammar while enjoying the benefits of a good story.

Find a book to enjoy in our Lithuanian reading list.