jauns

Jauns is a Latvian adjective meaning "new" or "young." It is used to describe nouns directly, as in jauns cilvēks (a young man) or jauns darbs (a new job). In standard Latvian, adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number, with common nominative forms such as jauns (masculine singular), jauna (feminine singular), jauni (masculine plural), and jaunas (feminine plural).

The word’s semantic range covers both novelty and youth, so it can be applied to objects, ideas, time periods, or people when the sense is that something is new or newly appearing. Its usage is ubiquitous in everyday speech and writing, including headlines and literature, where concise expression of freshness or modernity is intended.

Etymologically, jauns is derived from Baltic language roots and has cognates in related languages. In Lithuanian, the corresponding form jaunas also means "new" or "young," reflecting a common Proto-Baltic origin. This cross-language connection highlights how the concept of newness or youth is shared across Baltic tongues.

Beyond everyday description, jauns may appear in various proper names and fixed expressions within Latvian, where the word contributes to branding, titles, or cultural phrases. As a general descriptor, however, its primary function remains descriptive, tying together notions of novelty, freshness, and youth in the Latvian language.