Listen Iām all for Hannibal calling Will Lithuanian nicknames for āsweetheartā like āmylimasis,ā but have you considered???
āmano arbatos puodelisā- āmy cup of teaā
honestly, if some Lithuanian speaker would be willing to compile a list of possible endearments, complete with literal, figurative, and connotative translations, and notes on how common they are as well as their historical origins, Iād love to get familiar with all the various options available
Iām not an author/artist and havenāt contributed to the fandom by more than leaving kudos/comments to fics, so I hope to be able to give just a little bit to the amazing fandom, thatās been nourishing me at least for a couple of last years.Ā
First of all, Lithuanian grammar and syntax are pretty different from English, so a lot of things cannot be translated word by word (and thatās why google translations often fail miserably or just make you laugh histerically :) ) Among other things, we have 7 noun cases, so sometimes (but not always) addressing a person a word might take slightly different form than just speaking about them in third person or using them as an object of some action and so on. Also, nouns and adjectives are intrinsically gendered.Ā
But letās try to overview a few more common endearments. Iāll indicate when addressing form is different from 3rd person form. Disclaimer: opinions on IRL usage are based on personal exposure, hence in no way gives any reliable statistical info and different perceptions might also be valid. :)
Mylimasis - basically ābelovedā. Not very commonly used IRL, but I guess neither is ābelovedā (compared to āhoneyā or ādarlingā). Also, Hannibal does not really speak like mere mortal commoners, so IMHO it suits his flowery aristocratic speech patterns rather well. Can be used as noun and adjective. [female version: āmylimojiā]
Mano meilÄ [when directly addressing a person: mano meile] - very literally āmy loveā and used as (un)commonly as that. But I feel fits Hannibalās pomp.
Brangusis - basically ādarling/dear/preciousā. Iād say IRL usage is rather close to those of ādarling/dearā. Can be used as noun and adjective. [female version: ābrangiojiā]
Mielasis - literally ācute/lovely/dearā, but in essence close to āhoney/sweetheartā. IRL usage is probably a bit less common than ābrangusisā, but not strange. Can be used as noun and adjective. [female version: āmielojiā]
Mažius/mažiukas/mažasis [when directly addressing a person: mažiau/mažiuk/mažasis] - literally āthe little oneā, but could be approximated to ābaby/babeā, however, more on the cute side without sexual connotations. Rather commonly used IRL and does not necessarily relate to actual size of a partner (I have a friend who calls her over 2 meters husband that). [female version: āmažÄ/mažiukÄ/mažojiā]
Å irdelÄ [when directly addressing a person: Å”irdele] - literally ālittle heartā, but in essence close to āsweetheartā, I guess. Not very commonly used IRL, but once in a while you might find a poetic sentimentalist who would call their significant other that.Ā
While English speakers tend to express their affection with sweet things (sweetheart, honey), Lithuanians usually go more direct way for pet names - by actually using animal names. :D Itās actually really common! Almost on the same level as ādarlingā. But I guess they are pretty cheesy, and I have a hard time imagining canon Hannibal using them. Nevertheless, some fic scenarios might call for that, so here we go:
Zuikis [when directly addressing a person: zuiki] - literally ārabbitā. I donāt even know which English pet name could be used for approximation in meaning, but itās rather common for Lithuanians, donāt ask me why, I have no idea. Just an affectionate cute pet name.Ā
Katinas/katukas/kaÄiukas [when directly addressing a person: katine/katuk/kaÄiuk] - literally āmale cat/kitten. Just another pretty common animal pet name.Ā
MeÅ”kius [when directly addressing a person: meÅ”kiau] - basically ābear/little bearā in a cute way. So I guess it approximates to āTeddy Bearā. (Also a rather common name for Lithuanian mongrel hairy dogs.) Not a very frequent thing to encounter in Lithuanian couples, but not a surprise if you do. [mostly used for male partners]
Iād be glad to expand if anyone had more specific questions/requests.Ā
Thank you! This is awesome!Ā
I have two follow up questions (for now): 1, are there any other possible endearments that use the wordĀ āheartā, sort of like the ItalianĀ āCara Miaā (literally, my heart), that kind of thing? 2, with the animal thing...can you think of a cutesy way for Hannibal to call WillĀ āmongooseā in Lithuanian??
Youāre very welcome! ;)
1. To be honest āheartā does not often feature in Lithuanian endearment speech, but we all know Hannibal is not just anybody. One could use āmano Å”irdisā - literally āmy heartā [when directly addressing a person: āmano Å”irdieā]. Given Hannibalās predilection towards anatomy Iād say Itās likely it could be included in his repertoire of pet names. Also, a sort of male version of āÅ”irdelÄā is possible: āÅ”irdukasā [when directly addressing a person: āÅ”irdukā]. Although as endearment āÅ”irdelÄā could be used for any sex, as a noun itās intrinsically feminine (ācause āheartā is a feminine noun in Lithuanian). It should be really strange and not very understandable for speakers of non-gendered languages, but thatās the best I can do to explain it in so many words. So āÅ”irdukasā is a sort of masculinized version of āÅ”irdelÄā (ālittle heartā), itās probably not an actual word you would find in a dictionary, but its meaning would be perfectly clear to any Lithuanian speaker. And now that Iāve started, I canāt stop imagining Hannibal teasing Will by addressing him āÅ”irdukā (in a more lighthearted, fluffy or cracky context), ācause the term is extremely cutesy. :D
2. āMongooseā in Lithuanian is āmangustasā [when directly addressing a person: āmangustaiā]. However, since animal based pet names are more often used in their cutesy/little forms, a ālittle mongooseā would be āmangustÄlis/mangustukasā [when directly addressing a person: āmangustÄli/mangustukā]. And frankly this sounds more natural and less strange than just straightforward āmangustasā.


























