Latvian

Noun

būšana f (4th declension)

1. verbal noun of būt

   gadsimtu kaimiņu būšana‎ ― being neighbors for centuries

   īpaša kopā būšana un īpašas atmiņas‎ ― a special being together (togetherness) and special memories!

2. (dated) being (somewhere), presence

   būšu, būšu; kā tad nu bez būšanas!‎ ― I will be, I will be; how could it be without (my) being (= presence, existence)!

3. (dated) station, situation, condition; also work, business

   jūs, jaunkungi, neko nesaprotat no laucinieku būšanas‎ ― you, young gentlemen, do not understand anything about the condition, the life of rural people

   Prātnieks ar Oliņu runāja par to pašu mērnieku būšanu‎ ― Prātnieks and Oliņa talked about his (land) surveryor business

4. (colloquial) relation, relationship between people, e.g., when implying advantages, fair or unfair

   “jau ir...” Sīlis teica, un viņa acīs slapstījās prieks: “bet runāsim mēs vienkārši; kaimiņu būšana!”‎ ― “it already is...” Sīlis said, and in his eyes there was hidden pleasure: “but let's talk straight; (it's) being neighbors (= it's how neighbors are)!”

   nez, kā tas izskatīsies, kad vēlēšanās būs divi kandidāti no vienas ģimenes; ka nesāk domāt: radu būšana‎ ― I wonder what it will look like when there are two candidates from the same family in the election; (I hope) they won't start thinking: being relatives (= it's a family deal, it won't be fair)

   var gadīties, ka kādam mostas aizdomas par draugu būšanu... visi tie cilvēki pārāk dedzīgi viņu aizstāv‎ ― it may be that in someone there will be suspicion about friends' being (= some deal between friends)... all those people are too eager to defend him

5. (colloquial) state, situation, especially undesirable

   tur pašreiz zivju nav; sasodīta būšana!‎ ― there are no fish there now; damn being (= situation)!

   kas tā par būšanu? kad es beidzot dabūšu traktoru? cik ilgi man tā jādzīvo bez darba?‎ ― what being (= bad situation) is this? When will I finally get a tractor? How long do I have to live without work?

   Dauka sāka dzīt ganos; no rītiem gan agri vajadzēja celties, bet drīz tas bija apradis ar šo būšanu‎ ― Dauka began to take (cattle) to pasture; he had to wake up early in the morning, but soon he had gotten used to this being (= situation, state of affairs)

Declension

Synonyms

• (of "being", "existing"): esamība, esība, eksistence
• (of "state", "situation", "condition"): situācija, stāvoklis, apstāklis

Related terms

• būt
• būtība
• būtisks
• būtne