Latvian

Noun

jēga f (4th declension)

1. meaning, sense, point (deeper content of something, motivation for something)

   teikuma jēga‎ ― the meaning, sense of a sentence

   runas, raksta jēga‎ ― the meaning of a speech, of a written piece

   dzīves jēga‎ ― the meaning of life

   tur nebija nekādas jēgas‎ ― there was no point in that

   kāda jēga tā runāt?‎ ― what is the point of talking like that?

   runāt bez jēgas‎ ― to talk without sense (= nonsense)

   cilvēkam dzīvē vajag lielu mērķi un neatlaidību... tad viņš var dzīvot; tad vien viņa dzīvei ir jēga‎ ― a person needs goals and perseverance in (his) life... then he can live; only then his life has meaning

   ja esi filatēlists, tad par savu tematu jāsavāc viss... tur slēpjas kolekcionēšanas jēga‎ ― if you are a stamp collector, then you must collect everything about your theme... therein lies the meaning of collecting

2. mind, understanding, knowledge

   viņš ir galīgi zaudējis jēgu‎ ― he has definitely lost his mind (= he only talks nonsense)

   viņam par to nav nekādas jēgas‎ ― he has no understanding, knowledge of that

   vajag runāt ar jēgu!‎ ― we must talk knowingly! (lit. with knowledge)

   par celtniecības stiliem arī man nebija daudz jēgas‎ ― I didn't have much knowledge, understanding of construction styles

   sapņot arī vajag ar jēgu, lai labums sev un citiem‎ ― it is also necessary to dream with understanding (= not chaotically), so that there is benefit for oneself and others

Declension

Synonyms

• (of "meaning, sense"): nozīme, saturs
• (of "mind, understanding"): izpratne, prāts, saprāts

Derived terms

• jēdzīgs

  bezjēdzīgs, bezjēdzīgums, bezjēdzība

• nejēga

Related terms

• jēdziens, jēdzienisks
• jēgt

References

1. ↑ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “jēga”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7