kiekviena

Kiekviena is a Latvian determiner and pronoun used to express the sense of “every” or “each” when placed before a feminine singular noun. It functions to indicate distribution across all members of a group and is common in both written and spoken Latvian.

In practice, kiekviena appears in phrases such as kiekviena diena (every day), kiekviena puķe (every flower), and kiekviena cilvēka uzskats (each person’s view). Because it accompanies feminine nouns, its usage is tied to gender and number rules in Latvian grammar. When referring to groups in a more general or masculine context, other words such as katrs or ikviens are typically used, rather than kiekviena.

Etymologically, kiekviena is believed to derive from a combination of kiek (how many) and viena (one), forming a compound that expresses distributive quantification. It is a well-established element of standard Latvian grammar and appears across formal and informal registers.

Usage notes emphasize that while kiekviena highlights universality, it can also carry a nuance of emphasis or inclusivity, especially in persuasive or descriptive writing. It coexists with related quantifiers such as katrs (each, every) and ikviens (everyone), which are used in parallel but with different gender and discourse implications.

See also: katrs, ikviens, katra.