žiurkė
[¹ˈʒʲʊ̟rʲkʲeː]feminine
Rat in Lithuanian is žiurkė.
žiurkė is the ordinary word for a rat.
Meaning: rodent (noun)
Which one should you use?
The diminutive žiurkėlė is affectionate and is also used for baby rats. Its plural is žiurkėlės.
How does it change in a sentence?
žiurkė is feminine.
Did you know?
- In Lithuanian culture, the phrase žiurkė can be used as a biting insult to describe a person who is perceived as sneaky or treacherous.
- The Lithuanian word žiurkė is a close relative of the Latvian word žurka, showing a shared Baltic connection for this specific rodent.
- The word žiurkė may have been borrowed from Slavic languages, such as the Polish szczur or szczurek.
Examples in context
- Žiurkė perbėgo per kelią.A rat ran across the road.Žiurkė is the subject, the rat that ran across the road.Tatoeba #1607102 by fanty, translation #35798 by CK
- Didžiulė žiurkė sėdi po stalu.A huge rat is sitting under the table.
Example conversation
Andrius and Eglė are looking at a photo of a pest in the basement.
- AndriusPažiūrėk, ką radau rūsyje!Look what I found in the basement!
- EglėAr tai žiurkė?Is that a rat?
- AndriusTaip, ji buvo labai didelė.Yes, it was very big.
- EglėTurelume pakviesti specialistus.We should call the specialists.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “rat” translations and entries žiurkė, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries žiurkė, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
