Reikia

Reikia is a Lithuanian verb meaning “to be necessary” or “to need.” It is used as an impersonal predicate; the person who needs something is expressed in the dative, and the thing needed is in the genitive. For example: Man reikia vandens (“I need water”), Tau reikia laiko (“You need time”). There is no explicit grammatical subject in these sentences.

Tense and mood forms exist beyond the present: past is reikėjo (Man reikėjo vandens = “I needed water”), future is reikės (Man reikės vandens = “I will need water”), and the conditional is reikėtų (Reikėtų pasikalbėti su juo = “One should talk to him” or “It would be advisable to talk”). The infinitive often follows to express what is necessary: Reikia daryti (“it is necessary to do”).

Usage notes emphasize that the construction highlights the object of necessity rather than an agent performing an action. It frequently appears in everyday speech, planning, instructions, and statements of need. The pronoun in the dative (man, tau, jam, mums, jums, jiems) indicates who is needing something, while the thing itself appears in the genitive (vandens, laiko, etc.).

Etymology and relation: Reikia derives from the Lithuanian verb reikti, part of a Baltic root meaning necessity. Related forms include reikėjo, reikės, and reikėtų, which extend the meaning across different tenses and moods. The present form reikia is the standard, widely used form in contemporary Lithuanian.