English is spoken widely in Vilnius — in hotels, most restaurants, and by almost anyone under 40 — so you will never be stranded without it. But Lithuanian is not a language most visitors have ever heard spoken, and that is exactly why a few words of it land so well. Linguists regularly point to Lithuanian as one of the most conservative living Indo-European languages, meaning it kept grammatical features — seven noun cases, a musical pitch accent — that most of its relatives, including English, lost centuries ago. Along with Latvian, it is one of only two surviving members of the Baltic language branch. When 19th-century linguists noticed how closely its vocabulary and grammar echoed Sanskrit, it became a small source of national pride, and that pride is still very much alive. Use a few of these phrases in a market stall or a neighbourhood bar and you will usually get a smile, sometimes a laugh, and occasionally a genuinely warmer conversation than you would have gotten in English.
Greetings and everyday courtesy
Labas — Hello. The all-purpose greeting, fine for almost any casual situation. Say it walking into a small shop and the shopkeeper will appreciate it.
Viso gero — Goodbye. Literally "all the best," and the standard way to sign off.
Ačiū — Thank you. Pronounced roughly "ah-choo," like a sneeze, which is the joke every guidebook makes because it is genuinely useful for remembering it. Labai ačiū — thank you very much — is worth learning too.
Prašau — Please. Also used to mean "here you go" when handing something over, and "you're welcome" in reply to thanks.
Atsiprašau — Sorry, or excuse me. This is the word you will use constantly — squeezing past someone on a crowded trolleybus, getting a waiter's attention, or apologising for stepping on a foot.
Malonu susipažinti — Nice to meet you. A little more formal, but it registers as effort, which is the whole point.
Getting around and shopping
Kiek kainuoja? — How much does it cost? The single most useful phrase for markets, especially Halės Market, where not everything is priced on a sign.
Kur yra...? — Where is...? Follow it with a pointed finger and a photo on your phone and you will get directions even from someone with no English at all.
Ar kalbate angliškai? — Do you speak English? Asking in Lithuanian first, even if the answer is yes, tends to soften the whole interaction.
Taip / Ne — Yes / No. About as basic as it gets, but worth knowing cold.
At the table
Skanaus! — Said to you as your food arrives, roughly equivalent to "bon appétit." The correct reply is a quick ačiū, not skanaus back.
Į sveikatą! — Cheers, used when toasting. Lithuanians toast often and somewhat formally compared to many countries, so this one earns real goodwill at a bar table.
Restoranas — Restaurant. Not exactly a stretch to remember, but it confirms you are reading a sign correctly rather than guessing.
If something goes wrong
Aš sergu — I'm sick. Useful to know even if you never need it.
Kvieskite daktarą — Call a doctor. Worth having memorised, or at least saved as a note on your phone, before you need it in a hurry.
Prašau, padėkite — Please help me. The phrase to fall back on when everything else fails.
Kur yra tualetas? — Where's the toilet? Deserves its own line — it is the question every traveller ends up needing eventually.
A note on pronunciation
Lithuanian spelling is more consistent than English, which helps: once you know that č sounds like "ch," š like "sh," and ž like the "s" in "treasure," most words become readable. Stress is trickier — Lithuanian uses a pitch accent that genuinely takes practice — but locals are used to hearing foreigners get it wrong, and a slightly off accent will not stop anyone from understanding you.
You do not need fluency, or even a phrasebook's worth of grammar, to notice the difference these phrases make. Vilnius is a city where most people can switch to English without missing a beat, which makes it all the more noticeable when a visitor chooses not to rely on that. A labas at the counter and an ačiū on the way out cost nothing and tend to come back to you many times over.
About the author
Greta Vilčiauskaitė
I'm a Vilnius-born travel writer and food enthusiast. I've spent a decade mapping the capital's courtyards, markets, and trailheads — and I still discover something new every week.