# ņemt
## Latvian
### Etymology

From the convergence of two dialectal forms, nemt and jemt, from Proto-Baltic *nem-, *yem-, two parallel forms ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em-, *h₁m̥- (“to take”). The reason for the existence of two parallel forms is unclear. There are several hypotheses: two independent stems that merged in pre-Proto-Indo-European; irregular palatalization of an original n- to y-, an irregular perfect form ni-em that became an independent word; derivation with (e)n- “in”, etc. Cognates include (from the full form *h₁em-) Latin emō (“to buy, to acquire”); Old Irish arfo-emet (“they take”); (from the reduced form *h₁m̥-:) Lithuanian im̃ti (via Proto-Baltic *imtei), present imù, past ėmiaũ, dialectally present also jemù, emù, jamù, imiù, past imiaũ, jėmiaũ; Old Prussian imt, Sudovian emt (maybe *jemt?); Proto-Slavic *ęti, first person singular present *jьmǫ (Old Church Slavonic ѩти (jęti), first person singular present имѫ (imǫ), Russian dialectal ять (jatʹ), standard взять (vzjatʹ, “to take”), Ukrainian я́ти (játy, “to begin”), Czech jmout (“to grab, to begin”), Polish jąć (“to grab, to take”)); (with an initial n-:), Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (niman), Old High German nēman, German nehmen, Russian dialectal нять (njatʹ) (cf. standard Russian prefixed forms like подня́ть (podnjátʹ)), Ukrainian ня́ти (njáty, “to take”), Belarusian няць (njacʹ, “to take, to grab”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ɲɛ̂mt], IPA: [ɲɛ̄m̄t]

### Verb

ņemt (transitive, 1st conjugation, present ņemu, ņem, ņem, past ņēmu)
* to take; to seize with one's hands for some purpose
    ņemt rokā lāpstu ― to take the shovel with (lit. in) (one's) hands
    ņemt karoti un sākt ēst ― to take the spoon and begin to eat
    ņemt adatu pirkstos ― to take the needle with (lit. in) (one's) fingers
    ņemt bērnu pie rokas ― to take the child by the hand
    ņem zīmuli un raksti! ― take the pen and write!
    ņem medu ar karoti ― take the honey with a spoon
    ņem ābolus no groza ― take the apples from the basket
    ņemt nost cepuri ― to take off (one's) hat
    ņemt griešanai asu nazi ― to take a sharp knife for cutting
    ņemt grāmatu no bibliotēkas ― to take a book from the library
    suns ņem kaulu zobos ― the dog took the bone with (lit. in) (his) teeth
    Liene turēja roku izstieptu, bet Ernests vilcinājās paciņu ņemt ― Liene kept her hand stretched, but Ernests hesitated to take the packet
    lūdzu, ņemiet vēl kādu konfekti! ― please, take some more candy!
    karš spieda grāmatvedi ņemt rokās ieroci ― war forced the accountat to take up arms (lit. to take a weapon in (his) hands)
* to take; to accept, to enjoy
    ņemt dāvanas ― to take, accept presents
    ņemt kukuļus ― to take, accept bribes
    ņemt naudu ― to take, accept money
    ņemt atvaļinājumu ― to take a vacation
    ņemt saules vannas ― to take a sunbath
    laimi jau vajag mācēt ņemt, dārgā, neviens to mums klāt nenesis ― we have to know how to take, seize happiness, dear, nobody is going to bring it to us
    viņš savu atvaļinājumu gribēja ņemt februāra beigās ― he wanted to take his vacation at the end of February
    trīs pāri apakšbikšu esmu pašuvis... bet nezinu, cik ņemt maksas ― three pairs of underpants I have sewn... but I don't know, how (much) to take (as) payment, price
    gaidīt un cerēt ir labi, / un rātni ir prasīt un lūgties; / labāk ir negaidīt daudz, / neprasīt, nelūgties: ņemt ― to wait and to hope is good, / it is sensible to ask for and beg: / better is to not wait much, / to not ask, not beg: (just) take
* to take; to cause someone to act in a certain way, to do a certain job; also, to hire someone, to put someone to work
    ņemt meiteni dejot ― to take a girl to dance
    ņemt apakšīrnieku ― to take a subtenant (i.e., to sublet)
    ņemt palīgā ― to take (someone) as help, to use (someone) in some work
    ņemt dzīvokļa remontam krāsotājus ― to take (= hire) painters to rennovate the apartment
    es nau nezinu, vai mani ņems ― I don't know if they will take (= hire) me
    gribot negribot bija jāņem zāģeri, lai sagriež dēļos ― willingly or not, (they) had to take (= hire) a carpenter to cut the boards, planks
    gandrīz visos gājienos viņu ņēma par ceļvedi, un šo goda uzdevumu viņš uzņēmās labprāt ― in almost all processions they took him as a guide, and this
    Marčuls zināja: šeit Randenē būs viņa pēdējais darbs... citur neviens vairs neņems baltu veci neveiklām rokām ― Marčuls knew: his last work would be here, in Randene... elsewhere nobody will take a white (= gray) old man with clumsy hands
    mēs ņemam talkā matemātiku... visu, ko var pastāstīt medicīniskie dokumenti, pārtulkojam skaitļu valodā ― we took mathematics to the rescue (= used mathematics to solve the problem)... we translated everything that the medical documents could tell into the language of numbers
* to take; to put someone in a certain situation, condition
    ņemt aizbildnība, aizgādnība, glabāšanā ― to take into custody
    ņemt gūstā ― to take into captivity
    tu ņēmi mani savā aizsardzībā un aizstāvēji ― you took me under your protection and defended (me)
* to take; to call for duty
    ņemt armijā, karā ― to take (someone) into the army, to war
    vienīgos dēlus neņēma kara dienestā ― (they) didn't take only sons to military service
* to take; to marry
    ņemt skaistu līgavu ― to take (= marry) a beautiful bride
    ņemt vīru ― to take a husband
    tu gan esi briesmīgi smuks, Belamī; varbūt tu mani par seivu ņemsi? ― you are terribly handsome, Belamī; maybe you'll take me as your wife?
* (in combination with līdzi) to take along; to cause something, someone to go or be somewhere together with oneself
    ņēmt ceļojumā līdzi mugursomu ― to take a backpack along to the trip
    vienmēr ņēmt līdzi pulksteni ― to always take along (one's) watch
    man te nepatīk; ņem mani līdzi! ― I don't like it here; take me with (you)!
    ņēmt bērnus līdzi tūristu pārgājienā ― to take the children along in a tourist trip
* to take, to get; to obtain something for a certain purpose, use; to learn, to hear about something
    nezināt, kur ņemt naudu ― to not know where to take money (from)
    ņemt citātus no dažādu autoru darbiem ― to take quotes from the works of several authors
    kādu audumu ņemsi mētelim? ― which fabric will you take (= use) for the coat?
    bērniem vajag skolas, apģērba, kur to visu lai ņem? ― children need school, clothes, where are you going to take (= get) all that?
    bet pasakiet, kur lai mēs ņemam skolotājus? ― but tell (me), where should we take (= get, find, hire) teachers?
    kur tu esi ņēmusi tādas tenkas? ― where did you take (= hear) such gossip (from)?
    Annele nevar saprast, kur Lulīte ņem tādus nedzirdētus vārdus ― Annele cannot understand where Lulīte takes (= finds, hears) such unheard(-of) words
* to take; to get, to obtain, to acquire, to borrow, to buy
    ņemt grāmatas no bibliotēkā ― to take books from the library
    ņemt kinoteātrī biļeti pēdējā rindā ― to take (= get, buy) movie tickets in the last row
    ņemt piena produktus tuvējā veikalā ― to take (= get, buy) dairy products in a nearby shop
    ņemt restorānā dažādus ēdienus ― to take (= buy, have) several dishes in a restaurant
    kur tu ņemi tik skaistu drānu? ― where did you take (= get, buy) such beautiful cloth?
* to take; to gather fruits, grains, the harvest
    jā, rudens klāt; jau mātes ņem kāpostus ― yes, autumn has arrived; mothers are already taking (= gathering) cabbage
    pēc skolas gāju pie saimniekiem ravēt cukurbietes, tad sienu grābt, kartupeļus ņemt ― after school I went to the farmers to weet the beets, then to rake in hay (and) take (= gather, harvest) potatoes
* to take; to remove a part of, to work on, to make by removing (also figuratively, about people)
    ņemt platu vālu (pļaujot) ― to take a wide swath (while mowing, reaping, harvesting)
    vālu ņem tik platu, cik izkapts atļauj ― take as wide a swath as the scythe will let you
    šis arkls ņem šaurāku vagu ― this plow takes (= makes) a narrower furrow
    vienu dienu centrā pie ciemata aparu zemi nākamajam parkam... dziļi tur bija jāņem: četrdesmit, četrdesmit pieci centrimetri ― one day at the center by the village I plowed the land for the future park... (I) had to take (= work it) (really) deep: forty, forty-five centimeters
    cilvēki nāca pie viņa un asos vārdos pārmeta, ka viņš esot par daudz mīksti ņēmis baronu, vajadzējis tūlīt vakarā prasīt atbildi ― people came to him and complained with sharp words that he had taken (= treated) the baron too softly, (he) should have demanded an immediate answer, that (same) evening
* to take; to shoot, to kill someone, to “take someone out”
    “ES ņemšu malējo, lai tas neielec krūmos”, Līdaka pačukstēja Amatniekam, kas jau bija sagatavojies šaušanai ― “I will take (= shoot) the one (German soldier) further away, so that he doesn't jump into the bushes,” the Pike whispered to the Craftsman, who was ready to shoot
* (in combination with a verb) used to reinforce the intensity or suddenness of the action; to up and…
    ņemt un izdarīt ― to up and do it
    ņemt aiziet uz teātri ― to up and go to the theater
    viņš ņēma un pateica visu ― he up and said everything
    tā ir pirmā reize, kad Valdis ņēmis viņu nopēlis, līdz šim viņš uz meiteni skatījies gandrīz ar apbrīnu ― this is the first time that Valdis up and (= really) gave her a reprimand, up until then he had rather looked at the girl with admiration
* to take, to consider, to treat, to accept (something as something)
    ņemt dzīvi tādu, kāda tā ir ― to take life as it is
    ņemt ļaunā, par ļaunu ― to take (something) badly (= to be offended)
    ņemt par labu ― to take (something) well (= to consider it good)
    ņemt viegli ― to take (something) lightly
    ņemt nopietni ― to take (something) seriously
    juridiski ņemot ― juridically taking (= speaking)
    vienu istabu ierīkoju par savu buduāru, ņemdama paraugam Laines istabu ― I will decorate one room as my boudoir, taking as example Laine's room
    vispār ņemot, dzīvnieku valodai piemīt sugu specifika: līdzīgs sazinās ar līdzīgu ― generally speaking (= taking), animal language is essentially about the specific: similar is connected to similar
    vai tā bija laime? jā, protams; visu savu dzīvi kopā ņemot, viņš nevarēja to nosaukt citādi kā par laimīgu ― was that happiness? yes, of course; taking all life together (= into account), he could not call it anything but happy
* (of animals, especially fish) to take, to get and eat; to bite
    labi zināms: dienas vidu līdakas neņem ― (it is) well known: in the middle of the day, pikes don't bite
    vasarā bija daudz zivju, bet tagad rudenī mēs braucam ar velci, un mūsu vizulīti neņem neviena pati ― at the creek in summer there were many fish, but now in autumn we go with a draging pen, and not one (of the fish) takes (= bites) our little bait
* (colloquial, of sharp tools) to cut
    Uģis atvāza savu kabatas nazi un pārbaudīja asmeni... “ņems labi”, nosprieda ― Uģis opened his pocket knife and examined the blade... “it will take (= cut) well,” he thought
    šķembu bojāts zāģis vairs nav uzasināms, jo vīle tādus zobus neņem ― the saw damaged by splinters can no longer be sharpened, because the file won't take (= sharpen) such teeth
    jaunais vīles pirms lietošas vienmēr ieberzējamas ar krītu vai koka ogli, lai tās sākumā tik asi neņemtu ― new files before being used are always rubbed with chalk or charcoal, so that they don't take (= cut) so sharply at first (use)
* (often with nost) to take away; to cause someone to lose something
    karš pirmo dēlu ņēma mātei; no frontes nāca nāves ziņa ― the war took mother's first son; the news of (his) death came rom the front
    cilvēks visu var aizliegt, visu var aizturēt, bet ne domāšanu, jo tad jāņem pati dzīvība papriekšu ― you can prohibit everything, stop everyghing, but not thought, because then you have to take life (= kill) before (you can do that)
    Marga ir mana tēva drauga meita; bet viņa tev Hariju nost neņems, viņai ir līgavainis ― Marga is my father's friend's daughter; but she will not take Harry away (from) you, she (already) has a fiancé
* (dated sense) to take a path, road, direction, to set off in some direction
    Antiņš ņēma ceļu uz māju taisni pār purvu ― Antiņš took path (= set off toward) home straight across the swamp
    droši vien prātīgāk būtu uzreiz ņemt uz dienvidiem un tādā veidā saīsināt ceļu ― it would probably be wiser to just take (= set off, go) south and thus shorten the way

#### Synonyms

* grābt
* tvert

#### Derived terms

    prefixed verbs:
* aizņemt
* apņemt
* atņemt
* ieņemt
* izņemt
* noņemt
* paņemt
* pieņemt
* saņemt
* uzņemt
    other derived terms:
* ņemties

### References

* ↑ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “ņemt”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca‎ (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN