| Gender | In Latvian, nouns are either masculin or feminine. (There
is no neuter gender "it".) Masculine nouns end with the following letters: s,  , is,
us.Feminine nouns end with the following letters: a, e, s ("s" is more common for masculine nouns) |
| Word Endings | The endings of words change depending on the gender of the word, how it is used in the sentence, the desired meaning, etc. |
| Formal and Informal Address | In Latvian, there are two ways to say "YOU". For
family and close friends, you would likely use the informal (casual)
form "tu". The more formal or polite way to say YOU
is  .
(This is equivalent to the French option
of saying "tu" or "vous", depending on the
situation.) |
| Pronunciation/Intonation | Emphasis (or stress) is generally on the first syllable. For example, bikses (pants), nauda (money) (some exceptions:  , labdien, paldies) |
| Emphasis and Intonation in Sentences | The emphasis (or stress) also generally is lighter at the beginning of a sentence and heavier at the end. |
| Word Order | Word order in a sentence is quite free. For example, 
"In the glass there is water."
"The water is in the glass."The form used usually depends what the speaker wants to emphasize. (The word at the end of the sentence has more emphasis.) |
| No Articles (no "the, an,a") | There are no words equivalent to "an, a, the" in
Latvian. The house =  He is in the house =  |
| Language differences between Regions | The language has evolved differently throughout regions in
Latvia and the rest of the world and, as a result, there are minor
differences in the language. For example, "ch" is not used in Latvia but is still used outside of Latvia. tehnika - spelling in Latvia technika - spelling outside Latvia. |