An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 23 most common Latvian idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Latvian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, turēt īkšķus literally means "to hold thumbs" but is used to mean to wish someone luck and hope things go well for them. This free page ranks the 23 most common Latvian idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 23 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
turēt īkšķus
Literally to hold thumbs
Means to wish someone luck and hope things go well for them
English idiom keep one's fingers crossed
Example Rīt man ir eksāmens, turi īkšķus par mani!
I have an exam tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed for me!
Note Latvians hold their thumbs inside a fist instead of crossing their fingers, so the gesture is different from the English one.
lauzīt galvu
Literally to break one's head
Means to think long and hard about a difficult problem
English idiom rack one's brains
Example Visu vakaru lauzīju galvu, kā atrisināt šo uzdevumu.
I racked my brains all evening over how to solve this problem.
likt aiz auss
Literally to put behind the ear
Means to take careful note of something and keep it in mind
Example Ieliec šo padomu labi aiz auss!
Take good note of this advice and keep it in mind!
zelta rokas
Literally golden hands
Means great skill at making and fixing things by hand
Example Mūsu kaimiņam ir zelta rokas, viņš salabo jebko.
Our neighbour has a real gift with his hands, he can fix anything.
pa galvu pa kaklu
Literally by the head, by the neck
Means in a wild hurry, without stopping to think
Example Viņš pa galvu pa kaklu izskrēja no mājas un aizmirsa atslēgas.
He rushed out of the house in a mad hurry and forgot his keys.
Note Colloquial, at home in everyday speech but out of place in formal writing.
lāča pakalpojums
Literally a bear's favour
Means help that is well meant but only makes things worse
Example Ar savu iejaukšanos viņš izdarīja lāča pakalpojumu.
By stepping in he did more harm than good.
Note The image comes from a fable in which a bear kills his sleeping friend while trying to swat a fly off his face.
runāt caur puķēm
Literally to talk through flowers
Means to speak vaguely and indirectly instead of saying something plainly
English idiom beat around the bush
Example Nerunā caur puķēm, saki taisni, ko domā!
Do not beat around the bush, say plainly what you think!
pirkt kaķi maisā
Literally to buy a cat in a sack
Means to buy or agree to something without checking what you are actually getting
English idiom buy a pig in a poke
Example Pirkt auto bez apskates nozīmē pirkt kaķi maisā.
Buying a car without inspecting it means buying a pig in a poke.
strādāt kā zirgs
Literally to work like a horse
Means to work extremely hard for a long stretch
English idiom work like a horse
Example Visu vasaru viņš strādāja kā zirgs, lai sakrātu naudu studijām.
He worked like a horse all summer to save up money for his studies.
vazāt aiz deguna
Literally to drag someone by the nose
Means to deceive someone and keep them waiting for something that never comes
English idiom string someone along
Example Viņi mani vazāja aiz deguna veselu mēnesi un tā arī nesamaksāja.
They strung me along for a whole month and never paid.
sist dūri galdā
Literally to strike a fist on the table
Means to assert yourself forcefully and state a demand with authority
English idiom put one's foot down
Example Beidzot viņš sita dūri galdā un pateica, ko domā.
He finally put his foot down and said what he thought.
palaist gar ausīm
Literally to let past one's ears
Means to ignore what someone says on purpose
English idiom turn a deaf ear
Example Viņš visus brīdinājumus palaida gar ausīm.
He turned a deaf ear to all the warnings.
sēdēt kā uz adatām
Literally to sit as if on needles
Means to be very anxious, restless, or impatient
English idiom be on pins and needles
Example Pirms eksāmena rezultātiem viņa sēdēja kā uz adatām.
She was on pins and needles before the exam results.
augt kā sēnes pēc lietus
Literally to grow like mushrooms after rain
Means to appear and multiply very fast and in large numbers
English idiom spring up like mushrooms
Example Pēdējā laikā pilsētā kafejnīcas aug kā sēnes pēc lietus.
Lately cafes have been springing up like mushrooms all over the city.
celt degunu gaisā
Literally to lift one's nose into the air
Means to act arrogantly and treat other people as beneath you
English idiom put on airs
Example Kopš viņš dabūja paaugstinājumu, viņš ceļ degunu gaisā.
Ever since he got his promotion he has been putting on airs.
mest naudu vējā
Literally to throw money to the wind
Means to waste money on things that are not worth it
English idiom throw money down the drain
Example Pērkot lietas, kas nav vajadzīgas, tu vienkārši met naudu vējā.
When you buy things you do not need, you are just throwing money down the drain.
akmens novēlās no sirds
Literally a stone rolled off the heart
Means to feel huge relief once a worry is over
English idiom a weight off one's mind
Example Kad uzzināju, ka visi ir sveiki, man kā akmens novēlās no sirds.
When I found out everyone was safe, it was a weight off my mind.
iet kā pa sviestu
Literally to go as if through butter
Means to go very smoothly, with no snags at all
English idiom go like clockwork
Example Pēc pāris mēģinājumiem darbs gāja kā pa sviestu.
After a couple of tries the work went like clockwork.
pūst pīlītes
Literally to blow little ducks
Means to make things up and pass them off as true
English idiom spin a yarn
Example Neklausies viņā, viņš atkal pūš pīlītes.
Do not listen to him, he is spinning yarns again.
Note Informal and a bit mocking, fine among friends but not in serious conversation.
būt uz nažiem
Literally to be on knives
Means to be in open hostility with someone
English idiom be at daggers drawn
Example Kopš tā strīda brāļi ir uz nažiem.
Ever since that argument the brothers have been at daggers drawn.
griezt zobus
Literally to grind one's teeth
Means to be furious at someone and want to take revenge
English idiom bear a grudge
Example Kaimiņš joprojām griež zobus par pagājušā gada strīdu.
The neighbour still bears a grudge over last year's argument.
Note The same words also describe grinding your teeth in your sleep, which is in fact the more frequent sense, so the context decides.
kā sniegs uz galvas
Literally like snow on the head
Means happening completely suddenly, with no warning
English idiom out of the blue
Example Viņa ciemos atbrauca kā sniegs uz galvas, nemaz nepiezvanot.
She turned up for a visit out of the blue, without even calling.
sirds kā uz delnas
Literally heart as if on the palm
Means being completely open and sincere with people
English idiom wear one's heart on one's sleeve
Example Viņai sirds kā uz delnas, viņa nekad neko neslēpj.
She wears her heart on her sleeve, she never hides anything.
Note Also heard as ar sirdi uz delnas and in the fuller form izlikt sirdi uz delnas, meaning to open up completely to someone.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Turēt īkšķus comes out as "to hold thumbs", which makes no sense until you know it means to wish someone luck and hope things go well for them.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Latvian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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The most common Latvian idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with turēt īkšķus, lauzīt galvu, likt aiz auss, zelta rokas, pa galvu pa kaklu. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 23 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In Latvian, "turēt īkšķus" translates literally as "to hold thumbs", but it actually means to wish someone luck and hope things go well for them. The closest English idiom is "keep one's fingers crossed". Example: Rīt man ir eksāmens, turi īkšķus par mani! ("I have an exam tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed for me!")
The Latvian equivalent is "turēt īkšķus", literally "to hold thumbs". Example: Rīt man ir eksāmens, turi īkšķus par mani! ("I have an exam tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed for me!")
In Latvian, an idiom is called frazeoloģisms, and a proverb is sakāmvārds. A frazeoloģisms (also called an idioma) is a fixed phrase whose meaning does not follow from its separate words, a sakāmvārds is a complete sentence that states a piece of folk wisdom, and a shorter figurative saying with no lesson attached is called a paruna.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Turēt īkšķus translates literally as "to hold thumbs", yet it means to wish someone luck and hope things go well for them. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Latvian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.