Small words with big meanings
Let's talk about small words with big meanings that are commonly used in Latvian. And today the star word is - “Nu”. In the dictionary, you will probably find the translation of Nu to Well. But it’s so much more. Nu is the word with whom you can answer any question in Latvian. Nu itself can be a question and an answer. Nu together with your facial expression is enough to hold a conversation in Latvian. So, if two Latvians speak, the conversation could sound like this:
First-person: “Nu?”
Second person: “Nu..”
And that could be the end of the conversation and they would understand each other perfectly fine.
Here is a small example of the questions and phrases that can easily be replaced with a simple Nu.
Source: Reddit
Nē nu Jā
Another example of Nu is to put between No and Yes and bring a whole new meaning to both words. Latvians have an answer to any story and any question saying Nē nu Jā. Literally translating this means No well Yes. So, a negative and positive answer at the same time? You will often hear this saying in moments when people don’t have something to add to the conversations because it is either absurd, self-explanatory, or weird enough that you lack words to explain yourself. It can also imply sarcasm or a reaction to a situation. So basically, any time you lack words or want to react to a conversation you can use the phase Nē nu Jā.
But to understand the meaning of Nu you must look at the facial expression and the context of the situation. So, I encourage you to watch people carefully to understand what one means by their Nu because sometimes it can really be tricky and even cause some misinterpretations.
Have you noticed how often people say Nu? Share in the comment section your favorite saying with Nu!
Vita, OLS Community Manager - Latvian