An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 25 most common Lithuanian 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 Lithuanian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, sukti galvą literally means "to twist the head" but is used to mean to think hard about a problem, to puzzle over something. This free page ranks the 25 most common Lithuanian 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 25 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
sukti galvą
Literally to twist the head
Means to think hard about a problem, to puzzle over something
English idiom rack one's brains
Example Visą vakarą sukau galvą, kaip išspręsti šią užduotį.
I spent the whole evening racking my brains over how to solve this task.
nuleisti rankas
Literally to lower the hands
Means to give up and stop trying after losing heart
English idiom throw in the towel
Example Nenuleisk rankų, dar turi laiko viską ištaisyti.
Don't give up, you still have time to put everything right.
kaip du vandens lašai
Literally like two drops of water
Means exactly alike, indistinguishable from each other
English idiom like two peas in a pod
Example Dvynukai panašūs kaip du vandens lašai.
The twins are like two peas in a pod.
laikyti liežuvį už dantų
Literally to hold the tongue behind the teeth
Means to keep quiet and not give a secret away
English idiom hold one's tongue
Example Apie tai geriau laikyk liežuvį už dantų.
You had better hold your tongue about that.
kaip žuvis vandenyje
Literally like a fish in water
Means completely at ease, doing what one is good at
English idiom in one's element
Example Scenoje jis jaučiasi kaip žuvis vandenyje.
On stage he feels completely in his element.
žiūrėti pro pirštus
Literally to look through the fingers
Means to ignore something on purpose, to let it slide
English idiom turn a blind eye
Example Mokytoja kartais žiūri pro pirštus į smulkius pažeidimus.
The teacher sometimes turns a blind eye to minor rule-breaking.
vėjas galvoje
Literally wind in the head
Means frivolous and scatterbrained, not thinking about anything serious
Example Jam dar vėjas galvoje, apie ateitį visai negalvoja.
He is still scatterbrained, he doesn't think about the future at all.
Note Usually said about young people, often with more affection than real criticism.
laikyti kumščius
Literally to hold fists
Means to wish someone luck before something important
English idiom keep one's fingers crossed
Example Rytoj tavo egzaminas, laikysiu už tave kumščius.
Your exam is tomorrow, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Note Lithuanians squeeze their fists instead of crossing their fingers, so the gesture differs from the English one.
šaukštai po pietų
Literally spoons after lunch
Means too late to be of any use now
English idiom too little, too late
Example Dabar atsiprašinėti jau šaukštai po pietų.
Apologizing now is too little, too late.
kišti nosį į svetimus reikalus
Literally to stick the nose into other people's affairs
Means to meddle in things that are none of one's business
English idiom poke one's nose into someone's business
Example Nemandagu kišti nosį į svetimus reikalus.
It's rude to poke your nose into other people's business.
kaip ant delno
Literally like on the palm
Means in full view, perfectly clear or visible
English idiom plain as day
Example Nuo bokšto miestas matėsi kaip ant delno.
From the tower the city lay in full view.
iš piršto laužti
Literally to break something out of a finger
Means to make something up with no basis in fact
English idiom pull something out of thin air
Example Ta istorija visiškai iš piršto laužta, nieko panašaus nebuvo.
That story is completely made up, nothing of the sort happened.
Note Most often heard in the passive form iš piršto laužtas, said of a story or an accusation.
nertis iš kailio
Literally to slip out of one's own hide
Means to try as hard as one possibly can
English idiom bend over backwards
Example Jis neriasi iš kailio, kad viršininkas jį pastebėtų.
He is bending over backwards to get his boss to notice him.
sukasi ant liežuvio galo
Literally it is spinning on the tip of the tongue
Means almost remembered but not quite coming out
English idiom on the tip of one's tongue
Example Jo pavardė man sukasi ant liežuvio galo, bet niekaip neprisimenu.
His surname is on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember it.
pūsti miglą į akis
Literally to blow fog into the eyes
Means to mislead someone and cover up the truth
English idiom pull the wool over someone's eyes
Example Nebandyk man pūsti miglos į akis, aš žinau tiesą.
Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes, I know the truth.
sudurti galą su galu
Literally to join one end with the other end
Means to have just enough money to cover the basics
English idiom make ends meet
Example Su tokia alga sunku sudurti galą su galu.
It's hard to make ends meet on a salary like that.
kaip perkūnas iš giedro dangaus
Literally like thunder from a clear sky
Means completely unexpected, with no warning at all
English idiom out of the blue
Example Ta žinia mus užklupo kaip perkūnas iš giedro dangaus.
The news hit us out of the blue.
vienas kaip pirštas
Literally alone like a finger
Means completely alone, with no family or friends around
Example Po persikraustymo jis liko vienas kaip pirštas.
After the move he was left completely on his own.
pinigai slysta pro pirštus
Literally money slides through the fingers
Means money disappears fast, however much of it comes in
English idiom money slips through one's fingers
Example Jis uždirba daug, bet pinigai slysta pro pirštus.
He earns a lot, but the money just slips through his fingers.
žadėti aukso kalnus
Literally to promise mountains of gold
Means to promise far more than one can actually deliver
English idiom promise the moon
Example Prieš rinkimus politikai visada žada aukso kalnus.
Before elections politicians always promise the moon.
kišti pagalius į ratus
Literally to stick sticks into the wheels
Means to obstruct something on purpose
English idiom put a spoke in someone's wheel
Example Kolega nuolat kiša pagalius į ratus, todėl projektas stringa.
A colleague keeps getting in the way, so the project is stalling.
kirsti šaką, ant kurios sėdi
Literally to cut the branch one is sitting on
Means to damage one's own position through one's own actions
English idiom shoot oneself in the foot
Example Meluodamas viršininkui, jis kerta šaką, ant kurios sėdi.
By lying to his boss he is shooting himself in the foot.
pilti iš tuščio į kiaurą
Literally to pour from an empty vessel into a leaky one
Means to keep discussing the same thing without getting anywhere
English idiom go round in circles
Example Nustokime pilti iš tuščio į kiaurą ir pagaliau priimkime sprendimą.
Let's stop going round in circles and finally make a decision.
ne mano kiaulės, ne mano pupos
Literally not my pigs, not my beans
Means it is none of my concern and I am not getting involved
English idiom not my circus, not my monkeys
Example Tegul patys aiškinasi, ne mano kiaulės, ne mano pupos.
Let them sort it out themselves, not my circus, not my monkeys.
Note Folksy and rather blunt, so it sounds callous if the matter is actually serious.
gyventi kaip inkstas taukuose
Literally to live like a kidney in fat
Means to live very comfortably and without worries
English idiom live in clover
Example Persikėlęs pas tetą, jis gyvena kaip inkstas taukuose.
Since he moved in with his aunt, he has been living in clover.
Note The picture is of a kidney sitting in its layer of fat; the variant vartosi kaip inkstas taukuose is just as common.
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: Sukti galvą comes out as "to twist the head", which makes no sense until you know it means to think hard about a problem, to puzzle over something.
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 Lithuanian 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 Lithuanian idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with sukti galvą, nuleisti rankas, kaip du vandens lašai, laikyti liežuvį už dantų, kaip žuvis vandenyje. 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 25 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In Lithuanian, "sukti galvą" translates literally as "to twist the head", but it actually means to think hard about a problem, to puzzle over something. The closest English idiom is "rack one's brains". Example: Visą vakarą sukau galvą, kaip išspręsti šią užduotį. ("I spent the whole evening racking my brains over how to solve this task.")
The Lithuanian equivalent is "sukti galvą", literally "to twist the head". Example: Visą vakarą sukau galvą, kaip išspręsti šią užduotį. ("I spent the whole evening racking my brains over how to solve this task.")
In Lithuanian, an idiom is called frazeologizmas, and a proverb is patarlė. A frazeologizmas is a fixed figurative phrase that sits inside a sentence, while a patarlė is a complete sentence that states a piece of folk wisdom.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Sukti galvą translates literally as "to twist the head", yet it means to think hard about a problem, to puzzle over something. 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 Lithuanian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.