keturi

Keturi is the Lithuanian word for the cardinal number four. It is used to indicate quantity and appears in counting, dates, and measurements. The basic masculine or mixed-gender form is keturi, which is used with masculine or neuter nouns (for example, keturi vyrai, four men). For feminine nouns, the corresponding form is keturios (keturios moterys, four women). Like most Lithuanian numerals, keturi changes its ending to agree with the noun in case and number, so forms such as keturių (genitive), keturiems (dative), keturis (accusative masculine), and keturias (accusative feminine) occur in different contexts.

In compound numbers, keturi serves as the stem for some numbers formed with ten or hundred. For example, keturiolika is fourteen, and keturiasdešimt is forty. The numeral also appears in larger phrases such as keturi šimtai (four hundred).

Etymology and cognates: keturi belongs to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It shares cognates with related Baltic languages; for instance, Latvian has četri, reflecting a common Baltic heritage for the word four.

See also: Lithuanian numerals; Lithuanian grammar; number agreement.