Latvian

Adjective

tāls (def. tālais, comp. tālāks, sup. vistālākais; irreg. adv. tālu)

1. far, far away, distant (situated, living, coming from, happening in, a place which is at a relatively big distance away)

   tāls ciemats‎ ― distant village

   tāls nostūris‎ ― far corner

   tālas pilsētas, jūras‎ ― distant cities, seas

   tāla šalkoņa‎ ― distant roar

   tālas atbalsis‎ ― distant echos

   tāla gaisma‎ ― distant light

   doties tālos darbos‎ ― to go to distant (= long-distance) works

   apciemot tālus draugus‎ ― to visit distant friends

   sagaidīt tālus ciemiņus‎ ― to expect distant visitors

   saimnieks ar visiem zirgiem un puišiem devās uz tālo plāvu, kur šķūnī sabāzts siens gulēja jau no jūlija mēneša‎ ― the farm owner, with all horses and boys (= servants), went to the far-away meadow, where the hay storned in the barn had been llying since the month of July

   Aldona cepa tortes tuvākiem un tālākiem kaimiņiem — Aldona baked pies to (our) closer and farther neighbors

   drīz vien Mazuriju durvis sāka virināt tuvi un tāli ļaudis‎ ― soon people (from) near and far began to open and close the doors of Mazurija

2. distant (without close ties; such that one does not relate to it; not familiar)

   meitai tāls un garlaicīgs šķiet viss, ko pārdzīvojusi māte, vecaistēvs...‎ ― to the girl, everything that (her) mother and grandfather had experienced seemed distant and uninteresting

   Ģirts jūt, ka tas brālim arvien bijis tāls; bet vai tad brālis nevar būt brāļa draugs?‎ ― Ģirts feels that that (one) was always distant to (= from) (his) brother; but can't a brother be friends with a brother (= can't two brothers be friends)?

3. (of plans, dreams) distant (difficult to realize)

   es nevaru gulēt; miegs, īsts miegs man ir kā tāls sapnis no jaunības laikiem‎ ― I can't sleep; sleep, real sleep is to me like a distant dream from (my) youth

4. (of paths, trips) long, far (covering or reaching a large distance)

   iet tālu ceļu‎ ― to go far, to go a long way (lit. to go a far way)

   tāls pārgājiens, ceļojums‎ ― a far (= long) trek, trip

   tāls lidojums‎ ― a far (= long) flight

   tāla ekspedīcija‎ ― a far expedition (= to a distant place)

   es gāju jau dienā, jo bija tāls gabals ejams‎ ― I went also during the day, because there was a far (= long) piece (of road) to go

   priekšā tāls ceļš līdz Vladivostokai un vēl garāks līdz mājām‎ ― ahead (of him), the far (= long) road to Vladivostoka and further to home

5. (of processes, activities) far, distant, remote (executed from a distance)

   tāla mehānismu vadīšana‎ ― remote control of a mechanism

   tāli kosmiskie sakari‎ ― remote spatial communication

6. (of time periods, events) far, distant (separated from the present by a relatively long period of time)

   tāli gadsimti‎ ― distant centuries

   tāla senātne, nākotne‎ ― distant past, future

   tālie studiju gadi‎ ― the distant (= old) study years

   tāli jaunības sapņi‎ ― distant (= ancient) youth dreams

   tāli nākotnes plāni‎ ― distant future plans

   tāls priekštecis‎ ― distant predecessor

   atcerēties tālās bērnības dienas‎ ― to remember (one's) distant childhood days

   tālos, tālos aizvēstures laikos jūras viļņi skalojušies pāri Ķekavai, Baldonei, Jaunjelgavai‎ ― in the far, far prehistoric times, the sea waves washed over Ķekava, Baldone, Jaunjelgava

   atminos senas dienas un tālus notikumus, Mindaug‎ ― I remember the old days and the distant (= old, ancient) events, Mindaugs

7. far, distant (having little in common)

   tāla radniecība‎ ― distant relation

   tāli radi‎ ― distant relatives

   savstarpēji tālas augu sugas‎ ― mutually distant (= distantly related) plant species

   pat vistālākajās valodu grupās var atrast apbrīnojami līdzīgus vārdus‎ ― even in the most distant (= distantly related) language families it is possible to find surprisingly similar words

8. broad, wide (covering a large distance, territory)

   tas bija tālā apkārtnē nedzirdēts gadījums, ka meita bez laulāšanas aiziet pie puiša‎ ― it was unheard of in the distant (= broad, wide) surroundings that a girl would marry a guy without a wedding

Declension

Synonyms

• (of "distant, not familiar"): svešs

Antonyms

• tuvs

Derived terms

References

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