pie

es biju pie tēva

māja pie jūras

braukšu pie tevis


ar

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- Cognate with Lithuanian ar (“whether, if, and”), Ancient Greek ἄρα (ára, “then”).


pa

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *pa, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó. Balto-Slavic cognates include
Lithuanian pa-, Old Prussian pa-, po-, Proto-Slavic *po.

iet pa ceļu

pa naktīm

pa pastu

pa radio


az

(dialectal) behind; alternative form of aiz


bez

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *beź. Cognates include Latgalian bez and Lithuanian be.


zem

Common Balto-Slavic root; compare to zeme.


no

skaitīt no viens līdz desmit

viņš ir no Latvijas

iziet no istabas

viens no viņa draugiem

izgatavots no koka

no sirds


ap

Bērni skrien ap galdu.

Viņš atnāca ap pieciem.


iz

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *iź, *iś, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“from”). Cognates include Lithuanian iš, dialectal iž, Old Prussian is, Proto-Slavic *jьz (Old Church Slavonic из (iz), Russian из (iz)), Ancient Greek ἐξ (ex), ἐκ (ek) (dialectal ἐς (es)), Latin ex, ē and Northern Kurdish ji.

iz apakšzemes

Vanags izņēma glāzes iz skapja

Vanags took the glasses from the cabinet

...lai šis karogs / iz tavas rokas nes mums uzvaru...

so that this flag from your hands brings us victory


aiz

From Proto-Baltic *žō (with an extra formative a-: *a-źō > *ažuo > *ažu), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰō (“behind, under, out of, because of”), itself perhaps a pronominal instrumental form from the *gʰe, *gʰo, a stem found in several particles, like Latvian nedz (“neither, nor”) < *ne-gi. In
Latvian, the final vowel was lost, yielding az, still dialectally attested, and also in some place names (Azpurve) and as a prefix in some words in the literary language (azaids (“meal”), azote (“bosom”)). Some dialects have a longer, and more recent, form āz. The standard form, aiz, has an unexpected i, possibly the result of convergence between az and iz (“from”). Cognates include Lithuanian dialectal až, ažù (“behind, out of, about”), Proto-Slavic *za (“behind, out of, about, by, after, because of”), Russian за (za).

cog

paslēpties aiz liela koka

aiz stūra

atstādams aiz sevis garu putekļu grīsti

leaving behind himself a long trail of dust

apspriede notika aiz slēgtām durvīm

the discussion took place behind closed doors

saule aizgrimst aiz mākoņiem

puisēns aizbaza īkšķus aiz bikšu lencēm

the boy inserted his thumbs behind, under his suspenders

aiz īsajiem cimdiem zvejniekiem tek sāļais ūdens

the salty water was leaking into, under the fishermen's short gloves

behind, under, into (so that it is covered)

māja ir aiz ezera

the house is on the other side of the lake

šodien pļauj aiz meža

today they are harvesting on the other side of the forest

Ivanovas darbs pazīstams tālu aiz mūsu zemes robežām

Ivanova's work is known far beyond the borders of our country

paņemt, vest aiz rokas

satvert zēnu aiz apkakles

saķert suņu aiz astes

by (indicates touching, seizing, holding)

viņi gāja cits aiz cita

Lilija nāk; aiz viņas pa pēdām mamma

Lily is coming; after her, mum's footsteps

aiz' tankiem nāca kājnieki

gavilēt aiz prieka

raudāt aiz bēdām

viņi smējās aiz cita iemesla

aiz dusmām viņš nevar parunāt

out of, of, because of, for (indicates a reason, a motive, a goal)


pār

Formed from the preposition par with transference of intonation and consequent vowel lengthening (par̄ > pār > pāːr). The semantic differentiation between par and pār is a relatively new phenomenon, even though it was apparently already complete in 17th- and 18th-century grammars.

pār upi

pāriet pār tiltu

pārlēkt pār grāvi

valdīt pār kādu


virs

From the locative form virsū of virsus (“top, surface”) (q.v.), or perhaps from a related form virson found in 16th- and 17th-century texts.

mati virs galvas

turēt roku virs acīm

uzraksts virs durvīm

plaukts virs galda

temperatūra ir virs normas

virs ezera kūp migla

likt rokas virs segas

uzvilkt jaku virs kleitas

to put on, to wear a jacket over the dress

on, over, above (with or without motion)


caur

From the adverb cauri, from the same stem as the adjective caurs (“having a hole”) (q.v.).

jāt caur mežu

līst caur žogu

saule iespīdēja caur logu

elpot caur degunu, caur muti

to breathe through the nose, through the mouth

through (indicating movement through something else)

smaidīt caur asāram

viņi runāja cits caur citu

they talked through each other (= at the same time)

through (simultaneously with, alternating with)

saņemt ziņas caur tēvu

to receive news through / via (one's) father

through, via (with someone's help or participation)


starp

From starpa (“interval, gap, area between”) (q.v.), probably originally a reduced form of its locative form starpā, or perhaps of its old (16th- and 17th-century) illative form starpan, or of its instrumental form starpu.

sēdēt starp tēvu un māti

starp viņiem atradās tikai Nora

mežs starp upi un pilsētu

the forest between the river and the city

galds atrodas starp skapi un logu

the table is situated between the cabinet and the window

ieplaka starp divām augstienēm

skraidīt starp kūti un klēti

to run between the (granary) barn and the (animal) barn

starp diviem punktiem var novilkt tikai vienu taisni

between two points (one) can draw only one straight line

used to locate an object in the space defined by two others; between

sēdēt starp draugiem

starp kokiem redzams šķūnis

putns nozūd starp ēkām

the bird disappeared among the buildings

bibliotekāre rosās starp grāmatu plauktiem

the librarian is busy among the bookshelves

used to locate an object in a space defined by many others; among, amid

attālumi starp zvaigznēm ir miljoniem reižu lielāki par pašām zvaigznēm

the distances between stars are millions to times larger than the stars themselves

used to locate an object in a space defined by many others pairwise; among, between

starp pirmo un septīto oktobri

starp rītu un vakaru

atpūta starp siena pļauju un labības pļauju

(period of) rest between the hay harvest and the grain harvest

used to correlate a time period within a larger time period defined by two events or points in time; between

temperatūra starp desmit un divpadsmit grādiem

temperature between ten and twelve degrees

kravas masa ir starp 100 un 120 kilogramiem

the mass of (this) load is between 100 and 100 kilograms

used to estimate a value or measurement within a certain interval; between

sāk izzust atšķirība starp laukiem un pilsētu

he began to feel the difference between the countryside and the city

starp gleznotāja darbiem šis ir labākais

among the painter's works, this is the best

used to indicate a comparison between two or more elements; between, among

sākumā viņš savu brīvu laiku dalīja starp šo grāmatu un veco harmoniju kaktā

at first he divided his time between this book and the old harmonium in the corner

used to indicate a division between two or more goals; between

starp mums runājot, arī tava ceļazīme bija tikai formalitāte

speaking between us, your voucher was also only a formality

used to indicate a certain level of secrecy; between, among

starp viņiem nav saskaņas

miers starp tautām

cīņa starp divām komandām

the fight between the two detachments, brigades

used to indicate a mutual relationship; between, among

zēns stāvēja uz robežas starp pasaku un īstenību

the boy was standing on the border between fairy tale and reality

tava dzīve: izvilkta stīga starp darbu un mīlestību

your life: a string pulled between work and love

tas bija brauciens starp dzīvību un nāvi

this was a journey between life and death

(figuratively) used to indicate a boundary or transitional zone between events, states, situations; between


pēc

As adverb (the nowadays more frequent prepositional use is a later development), pēc is the reflex of an earlier pēdis (“after(wards)”), still found dialectally and in folk songs, itself from *pēdies, an old instrumental plural form of pēds, a morphological variant of pēda (“foot sole; footprint”). The original meaning was therefore sequentiality, like footprints: “one after the other,” from which later “after that,” “after...”.

pēc tam

pēc brīža istabā ienāca māte

ierasties pēc divām stundām

vilciens atiet pēc stundas

the train leaves in (lit. after) an hour

pēc darba braucu uz mājām

pēc pusnakts sākās vētra

pēc lietus labi aug sēnes

pēc diviem mēnešiem būs pārbaudījumi

pēc koncerta notika pārrunas

after the concert there were discussions

nodarbības turpināsies pēc pārtraukuma

aizrit diena pēc dienas... bet vēstules no brāļa kā nav, tā nav

day after day passes... and yet, no letters from (his) brother

used to refer to a time posterior to a certain action or event; after, in

pēc diviem kilometriem būs krustceļš

after two kilometers there will be a crossroads

pēc kāda gabala gājējs apstājās

after a certain distance the (walking) traveler stopped

used to refer to a place located further away than a certain reference point or distance; after

dot dzert visiem pēc kārtas

to give to drink to everyone in a row (lit. after order, in order)

lopus citu pēc cita izveda no kūts

they drove the animals out of the barn one after the other

viņi nolēma atpūsties pēc katriem pieciem kilometriem

they decided to rest after every five kilometers

used in reference to a sequence in time or space; after, by

iet uz aku pēc ūdens

aiziet uz veikalu pēc maizes

sniegties pēc grāmatas

jautāt pēc saimnieces

kliegt pēc palīdzības

censties pēc izglītības

skumt pēc Rīgas

ilgas pēc dzimtenes

kāre pēc medus

alkt pēc zemenēm

“ko tā vālodze sauc?” “vālodze sauc pēc lietus”

“what is the oriole calling?” “the oriole is calling for rain”

used to indicate the purpose or goal of an action; for, after, in order to get

skata pēc

dziedāt gara laika pēc

audzēt puķes košuma pēc

strādāt bērnu pēc

to work for (the benefit of) the children

pieklājības pēc viņš pateica dažus vārdus

he said a few words for the sake of politeness

(postnominally, as a postposition) used to indicate the cause or reason for something, the motive of an action; for, because of, for the sake of

pēc rakstura saticīgs cilvēks

pēc izglītības ķīmiķis

spriest par cilvēku pēc viņa darbiem

sakārtot kastes pēc lieluma

līdzskaņu klasifikācija pēc aktīvā runas orgāna

a classification of consonants according to the active organ of speech

used to indicate the basis, the grounds for something; by, according to

strādāt pēc plāna

rīkoties pēc vajadzības

uzmest skici pēc atmiņas

izvēlēties krāsu pēc savas gaumes

to choose a color according to one's taste

strādāt pēc labākās sirdsapziņas

to work according to one's (best) conscience

ganos dziedāju, jo ganam pēc paraduma ir jādzied

I sing in the pastures, because by tradition shepherds must sing

used to indicate the way, the method, the example being followed; by, according to

īstenība pēc direktora viņš nemaz neizskatās

in truth, he doesn't look at all like the director

te ož pēc dūmiem

arāja rokas smaržo pēc zemes, sējēja rokas pēc graudiem

the plower's hands smell like earth, the sower's hands like grain

used to indicate similarity; like, after


pirms

viņš stāveja pirms manis

alfabētiskā secībā, "cat" ir pirms "dog"

in alphabetical order, "cat" comes before "dog"


dēļ

From Proto-Slavic *děľa (“because of”). Cognate with Lithuanian dėl.

vētras dēļ

vecuma dēļ

mazgadības dēļ

neuzmanības dēļ

tā vai cita iemesla dēļ

viņa dēļ

es uztraucos tevis dēļ


viņpus

on the other side of
on the other side of