paprastas

Paprastas is a Lithuanian adjective meaning simple, plain, or ordinary. It describes things, actions, or people that are uncomplicated, conventional, or unadorned. In everyday language it can carry neutral, positive, or mild critical connotations depending on context, as in paprastas sprendimas (a straightforward solution) or paprastas žmogus (an ordinary person).

Grammatically, paprastas is an inflected adjective that agrees with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case. The basic masculine singular form is paprastas; the feminine singular form is paprasta, and the neuter forms align with the same root in declension patterns. The comparative form is paprastesnis and the superlative form is paprastiausias, used to compare levels of simplicity or ordinariness.

Usage notes: paprastas is commonly used to distinguish everyday, non-specialized things from more elaborate or specialized ones. It often conveys practicality, accessibility, and lack of complexity, but can also imply modesty or dullness depending on tone and context.

Etymology: the word is related to the concept of simplicity and to the noun paprastumas (simplicity, ordinariness) and the adverb paprastai (simply). It is built with the prefix pa- and shares a semantic field with other Lithuanian terms describing commonness and straightforwardness.

See also: prastas, paprastumas, paprastai.