Latvian

Verb

runāt tr. or intr., 2nd conj., pres. runāju, runā, runā, past runāju

1. to speak, to talk (to express oneself with language)

   jautri runāt‎ ― to talk merrily, cheerfully

   dedzīgi runāt‎ ― to talk eagerly, fierily

   runāt mierīgi‎ ― to speak calmly, quietly

   runāt skaidri, klusi‎ ― to speak clearly, softly

   runāt pa telefonu‎ ― to speak on the telephone

   es sāku runāt‎ ― I began to talk

   mācīt bērnu runāt‎ ― to teach a child to speak

2. to speak in a certain language

   runāt latviski, franciski‎ ― to speak Latvian, French

3. to tell, to speak, to pronounce

   runāt taisnību‎ ― to tell the truth

   runāt glaimus‎ ― to speak flatteries

   runāt melus‎ ― to tell lies

   runāt dedzīgus vārdus‎ ― to speak, pronounce eager, enthusiastic words

   nav ko runāt‎ ― there is nothing to talk (about)

   tēvs ir grūtu mūžu nodzīvojis, un viņš niekus nerunās‎ ― father has lived a difficult life, he won't speak nonsense

   Nora prot izteiksmīgi runāt dzejoļus‎ ― Nora can say, read poems eloquently

4. to talk (to someone), to converse, to communicate orally (with someone)

   runāt savā starpā‎ ― to talk to each other

   runāt ar draugu‎ ― to talk to a friend

   plašā apkārtnē par kāzām runāja rītā un vakarā‎ ― (people from) all around talked day and night about the weading

   pie tēva atnāca zvejas biedrs, viņi runāja, ka vajadzētu iemest vakar izžautos tīklus‎ ― a fellow fisherman came to father, they talked (about the fact) that it would be necessary to throw the net that had been hung out

5. to talk, to say, to speak, to express (e.g., writing, a work of art)

   A. Upīts savā lugā bija pateicis kaut ko tādu, par ko līdz tam nebija runājuši latviešu dramaturgi‎ ― A. Upīts had said in his play something about which Latvian playwrights had not talked until then

   ir neliela dziesmu grupa, kas runā par draudzīgām attieksmēm ar poļiem, leišiem, igauņiem‎ ― there is a small group of songs that speak of friendly attitudes towards the Poles, the Lithuanians, the Estonians

   krāsām uz audekla jārunā pašām, jārunā tā, lai nosaukums kļūst lieks‎ ― the colors on the canvass must speak by themselves, they must speak in such a way that the name becomes unnecessary

6. (in the 3rd person) to talk, to speak, to say (to provide information; to be such that one can get or deduce information from it)

   aktrise spēlē arī klusējot; viņas klusums ir sprieguma pilns, jo uz skatītāju runā acu izteiksme, sejas vaibsti, rokas un augums‎ ― an actress plays also in silence; her silence is full of tension, because her eye expression, her facial features, her hand and posture speak to the viewers

   izskaidrot, kas īsti te noticis, nebija laika, bet tas nemaz nebija vajadzīgs: Makša izskats runāja pats par sevi‎ ― there was no time to explain what had really happened here, but this wasn't necessary: Makšs' appearance spoke by itself

Conjugation

Synonyms

• sacīt
• stāstīt
• teikt

Derived terms

prefixed verbs:

other derived terms:

• runājums
• runāties
• runātājs, runātāja

Related terms

• runa
• runīgs, runīgums, runība

References

1. ↑ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “runāt”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7