to wish; to want; to desire; to express good wishes to someone; (in polite/formal use:) to request

Building blocks

• soovi- → verb stem, from the noun soov (wish, desire)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally soovima means: “to make a wish”

How to use it

What to remember

• The person you wish something to is in the Allative case (ending -le).

• The thing being wished is in the Partitive case (third base form).

Example

Soovin sulle head reisi!

Literally: “I-wish you-onto good trip”

Idiomatically: “I wish you a good trip!”

Soovin – Verb – 1st Person Singular, Present Tense: “I wish”
sulle – Pronoun – Allative Singular: “to you”
head – Adjective – Partitive Singular: “good”
reisi – Noun – Partitive Singular: “trip”

complicated; complex; intricate; difficult; made up of many interconnected parts; hard to understand or deal with

Building blocks

• keeru- → root, from the noun keer (a twist, coil, turn)

• -line → adjective ending (turns it into an adjective: “characterised by, full of”)

So literally keeruline means: “full of twists and turns”—something all tangled up.

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “keeruline” ⬇️

Example

Oleme praegu üsna keerulises olukorras, aga leiame kindlasti lahenduse

Literally: “(We) are now quite complicated-in situation-in, but (we) find definitely solution”

Idiomatically: “Right now we're in quite a complicated situation, but we'll definitely find a solution”

Oleme - Verb - 1st Person Plural, Present Tense: "(we) are"
praegu - Adverb - Indeclinable: "now, right now"
üsna - Adverb - Indeclinable: "quite, fairly"
keerulises - Adjective - Inessive Singular: "complicated"
olukorras - Noun - Inessive Singular: "in a situation"
aga - Conjunction - Indeclinable: "but"
leiame - Verb - 1st Person Plural, Present Tense: "(we) will find"
kindlasti - Adverb - Indeclinable: "definitely, certainly"
lahenduse - Noun - Genitive Singular (total object): "solution"

to ripen; to mature; to become ready or finished; (of fruit and crops:) to ripen; (of something being made or built:) to be completed; (of a plan or idea:) to take shape, to come to fruition

Building blocks

• valmi- → stem, from valmis (ready, ripe, finished)

• -ma → ma-infinitive ending

So literally valmima means: “to become ready”

Valmima is intransitive — a thing becomes ready on its own. Add the causative -ta- and you get valmistama — to make something ready.

How to use it

What to remember

• Valmima is intransitive — the thing that ripens or gets finished is the subject, in the Nominative case. There is no object, so nothing goes in the Partitive here.

Example

Meie aia õunad valmivad alles sügisel

Literally: “Our garden’s apples ripen only autumn-on”

Idiomatically: “The apples in our garden don’t ripen until autumn”

Meie - Pronoun - Genitive Singular: "our"
aia - Noun - Genitive Singular: "garden's"
õunad - Noun - Nominative Plural: "apples"
valmivad - Verb - 3rd Person Plural, Present Tense: "ripen"
alles - Adverb - Indeclinable: "only/not until"
sügisel - Noun - Adessive Singular: "in autumn"

expedient; practical; purposeful; well-suited to its purpose; efficient in serving its aim

Building blocks

• otstarve → the noun “purpose, intended use, function” (stem otstarbe-)

• -kas → adjective suffix (“having/characterised by”)

So literally otstarbekas means: “having a purpose” → fits its purpose.

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “otstarbekas” ⬇️

What to remember

When otstarbekas describes an action worth doing, the verb that follows is in the da-infinitive: on otstarbekas + oodata (to wait)

Example

Vahel on otstarbekam oodata kui kiirustada

Literally: “Sometimes is more-expedient to-wait than to-rush”

Idiomatically: “Sometimes it’s wiser to wait than to rush”

Vahel — Adverb - Indeclinable: “sometimes”
on — Verb — 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: “is”
otstarbekam — Adjective — Comparative (Nominative Singular): “more expedient/wiser”
oodata — Verb — da-infinitive: “to wait”
kui — Conjunction — Indeclinable: “than”
kiirustada — Verb — da-infinitive: “to rush”

independent; not dependent on someone or something; free from outside control or influence; self-reliant

Building blocks

• sõltu- → verb stem from sõltuma (”to depend”)

• -matu → negative adjective suffix (”not/un-”) — turns “depend” into “not depending”

So literally sõltumatu means “not depending”—independent.

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “sõltumatu” ⬇️

What to remember

The thing you are independent of goes in the Elative case (ending -st)

Example

Ajakirjandus peab olema võimust sõltumatu

Literally: “Press must to-be power-from independent”

Idiomatically: “The press must be independent of those in power”

Ajakirjandus – Noun – Nominative Singular: "the press"
peab – Verb – 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "must"
olema – Verb – ma-infinitive: "to be"
võimust – Noun – Elative Singular: "from/of power"
sõltumatu – Adjective – Nominative Singular: "independent"

to pick (berries, mushrooms, flowers); to gather; to collect (money); to pick up

Building blocks

• korja- → root/verb stem meaning “pick, gather, collect”

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally korjama means: “to do the picking/gathering”

How to use it

What to remember

• What you pick or gather is in the Partitive case (third base form)

Example

Laps korjab põõsast marju

Literally: “Child picks bush-from berries”

Idiomatically: “The child picks berries from the bush”

Laps – Noun – Nominative Singular: "child"
korjab – Verb – 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "picks"
põõsast – Noun – Elative Singular: "from the bush"
marju – Noun – Partitive Plural: "berries"

restrained; reserved; composed; self-controlled; showing calm and moderation in one's behaviour, emotions, or expression; not openly showing strong feelings

Building blocks

• vao- → stem of vagu (”furrow”)

• -s → inessive case ending (”in”)

• hoi(d)- → root of the verb hoidma (”to hold, to keep”)

• -tud → past passive participle ending (”kept, held”)

So literally vaoshoitud means: “kept in the furrow” → i.e. “held in check” → composed, restrained.

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “vaoshoitud” ⬇️

Example

Ta on väga vaoshoitud inimene.

Literally: “He/She is very restrained person.”

Idiomatically: “He/She is a very reserved person.”

Ta - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "He/She"
on - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "is"
väga - Adverb - Indeclinable: "very"
vaoshoitud - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "reserved/restrained"
inimene - Noun - Nominative Singular: "person"

to relax; to unwind; to loosen up; to become calm and free of tension; (about a person:) to rest and let go of stress

Building blocks

• lõõgast- → from lõtv (slack, loose)—the idea of tension being released

• -u- → reflexive suffix: “to become / to do to oneself”

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally lõõgastuma means: “to make oneself slack” → to let the tension go.

How to use it

What to remember

• Because it's intransitive, it doesn't take a partitive object. Instead you add where or how you relax — and the place is usually in the Inessive case (ending -s).

Example

Pärast pikka nädalat lõõgastun ma saunas

Literally: “After long week relax I sauna-in”

Idiomatically: “After a long week, I relax in the sauna”

Pärast — Preposition — Partitive Singular: "After" 
pikka — Adjective — Partitive Singular: "long" 
nädalat — Noun — Partitive Singular: "week" 
lõõgastun — Verb — 1st Person Singular, Present Tense: "I relax" 
ma — Pronoun — Nominative Singular: "I" 
saunas — Noun — Inessive Singular: "in the sauna"

safe; secure; free from danger or risk; giving a feeling of protection; (of a place, situation, choice) that one can rely on without fear of harm

Building blocks

• turva- - root from the noun turve (safety, security)

• -line - adjective ending (turns a noun into a describing word: “having the quality of”)

So literally “turvaline” means “having safety” → safe

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “turvaline” ⬇️

Example

Otsime lapsele turvalist mänguväljakut.

Literally: “We-look-for child-onto safe playground.”

Idiomatically: “We’re looking for a safe playground for the child.”

Otsime - Verb - 1st Person Plural, Present Tense: “we look for”
lapsele - Noun - Allative Singular: “for the child”
turvalist - Adjective - Partitive Singular: “safe”
mänguväljakut - Noun - Partitive Singular: “playground”

to shape; to form; to design; to mould; to give form to something; (figuratively:) to shape or form an opinion, a worldview

Building blocks

• kujund- → base (a figure, image, design; from kuju “shape, form”)

• -a- → verb-forming suffix

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally kujundama means: “to give shape/form to something”

How to use it

What to remember

• What you shape or design is in the Partitive case (third base form)

Example

Disainer kujundab parasjagu uut plakatit

Literally: “Designer designs just-now new poster”

Idiomatically: “The designer is designing a new poster right now”

Disainer — Noun — Nominative Singular: "the designer"
kujundab — Verb — 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "is designing"
parasjagu — Adverb: "just now, at the moment"
uut — Adjective — Partitive Singular: "new"
plakatit — Noun — Partitive Singular: "poster"

happy; joyful; cheerful; glad; feeling or expressing joy

Building blocks

• rõõm- → root: the noun rõõm (”joy”)

• -us → adjective ending (turns the noun into an adjective — “full of joy”)

So literally “rõõmus” means “having joy/full of joy”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “rõõmus” ⬇️

What to remember

To say what you are happy about, use the postposition üle ("over/about") with the genitive: rõõmus millegi üle.

Example

Ma olen väga rõõmus sinu edu üle

Literally: “I am very happy your success over”

Idiomatically: “I'm very happy about your success.”

Ma – Pronoun – Nominative Singular: "I"
olen – Verb – 1st Person Singular, Present Tense: "am"
väga – Adverb, Indeclinable: "very"
rõõmus – Adjective – Nominative Singular: "happy"
sinu – Pronoun – Genitive Singular: "your"
edu – Noun – Genitive Singular: "success"
üle – Postposition (governs genitive): "about/over"

to meet; to come together with someone; to encounter or run into someone; (of parties/people) to hold a meeting

Building blocks

• koht- → root (linked to koht = “place”)

• -u- → reflexive (the action happens mutually, by itself)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally kohtuma means: “to come together (in one place)”

How to use it

What to remember

• Whoever you meet takes the Comitative case (ending -ga)

Example

Ma kohtun homme kliendiga

Literally: “I meet tomorrow client-with”

Idiomatically: “I'm meeting a client tomorrow”

Ma - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "I"
kohtun - Verb - 1st Person Singular, Present Tense: "meet"
homme - Adverb - Indeclinable: "tomorrow"
kliendiga - Noun - Comitative Singular: "with a client"

foresighted; prudent; able to anticipate what is coming and plan for it; showing foresight

Building blocks

• ette- → ahead/forward/in advance (adverb-prefix)

• näge- → root of nägema “to see”

• -lik → adjective ending (turns it into an adjective)

So literally “ettenägelik” means “seeing ahead” → someone who can see what’s coming.

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “ettenägelik” ⬇️

Example

Ettenägelikul inimesel on alati varuplaan

Literally: “Foresighted-on person-on is always backup-plan”

Idiomatically: “A foresighted person always has a backup plan”

Ettenägelikul – Adjective – Adessive Singular: "foresighted"
inimesel – Noun – Adessive Singular: "person (has)"
on – Verb – 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "has / is"
alati – Adverb – Indeclinable: "always"
varuplaan – Noun – Nominative Singular: "a backup plan"

---

to be mistaken; to be wrong; to make a mistake; to lose one's way, to get lost; to stray from the right path

Building blocks

• eksi- → root (idea of going off course, straying)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally eksima means: “to go astray”

⚠️ Don't mix up eksima (to go wrong yourself) with eksitama (to lead someone else astray, to mislead)

How to use it

What to remember

• The concrete thing you got wrong takes the Comitative (ending -ga): eksisin nimega, kuupäevaga, numbriga

Example

Ma eksisin sinu nimega

Literally: “I was-mistaken your name-with”

Idiomatically: “I got your name wrong”

Ma - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "I"
eksisin - Verb - 1st Person Singular, Past Tense: "was mistaken"
sinu - Pronoun - Genitive Singular: "your"
nimega - Noun - Comitative Singular: "with the name"

lazy; idle; unwilling to work or make an effort; (about time, movement) slow, unhurried, sluggish

Building blocks

• laisk → a root adjective—no suffix

So there is nothing to take apart here—the work happens at the end of the word, not inside it.

⚠️ Three base forms to memorise: laisk – laisa – laiska

Don't mix up the family:

• laisk = lazy (adjective)

• laiskus = laziness (noun)

• laisklema = to laze around (verb)

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “laisk” ⬇️

Example

Laiskadel inimestel on alati hea vabandus

Literally: “Lazy-on people-on is always good excuse”

Idiomatically: “Lazy people always have a good excuse”

Laiskadel - Adjective - Adessive Plural: "lazy"
inimestel - Noun - Adessive Plural: "people"
on - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "is/have"
alati - Adverb - Indeclinable: "always"
hea - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "good"
vabandus - Noun - Nominative Singular: "excuse"

---

to interpret; to explain or understand the meaning of something; to give a particular reading to words, actions, or events; (about art:) to render a work in one's own way

Building blocks

• tõlgen- → root, from tõlge (”translation”) or tõlk (”interpreter”)

• -da- → builds the verb stem — not causative here

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally tõlgendama means: “to work out the meaning of something”

How to use it

What to remember

• What you interpret is in the Partitive case (third base form)

• When you interpret X as Y, the Y takes the Essive ending -na (nõusolekuna = “as agreement”)

Example

Kohtunik tõlgendas seadust rangelt

Literally: “The judge interpreted the law strictly”

Idiomatically: “The judge interpreted the law strictly”

Kohtunik - Noun - Nominative Singular: "The judge"
tõlgendas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "interpreted"
seadust - Noun - Partitive Singular: "the law"
rangelt - Adverb: "strictly"

Ta tõlgendas mu vaikimist nõusolekuna

Literally: “He/She interpreted my silence agreement-as”

Idiomatically: “He/She took my silence as agreement"

Ta - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "He/She"
tõlgendas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "interpreted"
mu - Pronoun - Genitive Singular: "my"
vaikimist - Noun - Partitive Singular: "silence"
nõusolekuna - Noun - Essive Singular: "as agreement"

probable; likely; plausible; something that can be expected to happen or be true with high probability

Building blocks

• tõe- → genitive stem of tõde — “truth”

• -näo- → genitive stem of nägu — “face/look/appearance”

• -line → adjective suffix — “having the quality of”

So literally tõenäoline means: “having the look of truth” → likely to be true

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “tõenäoline” ⬇️

Example

Kõige tõenäolisem seletus on tavaliselt kõige lihtsam.

Literally: “Most probable explanation is usually most simple.”

Idiomatically: “The most likely explanation is usually the simplest.”

Kõige - Adverb - Indeclinable: “most”
tõenäolisem - Adjective - Comparative, Nominative Singular: “more probable”
seletus - Noun - Nominative Singular: “explanation”
on - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present: “is”
tavaliselt - Adverb, Indeclinable: “usually”
kõige - Adverb - Indeclinable: “most”
lihtsam - Adjective - Comparative, Nominative Singular: “simpler / simplest”

---

to finish; to end; to complete; to conclude; to bring something to an end; (about school:) to graduate

Building blocks

• lõpe- → from the noun lõpp (end)

• -ta- → causative suffix (to make something happen)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally, “lõpetama” means “to make something end/to bring to an end.”

How to use it

What to remember

What you finish takes the Genitive case (second base form)

Example

Ma lõpetasin raamatu eile õhtul.

Literally: “I finished book yesterday evening-on.”

Idiomatically: “I finished the book last night."

Ma - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "I"
lõpetasin - Verb - 1st Person Singular, Past Tense: "finished"
raamatu - Noun - Genitive Singular (total object): "book"
eile - Adverb - Indeclinable: "yesterday"
õhtul - Noun - Adessive Singular: "in the evening"

careful; cautious; acting with care to avoid danger, risk or mistakes; wary, prudent

Building blocks

• ette- → “ahead/forward/in advance”

• vaat- → verb stem of vaatama (“to look, to watch”)

• -lik → adjective-forming suffix (“-ful”, characterized by)

So literally ettevaatlik means: “looking ahead” → careful

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “ettevaatlik” ⬇️

What to remember

What you are careful with is in the Comitative case (ending -ga)

Example

Ole terava noaga ettevaatlik!

Literally: “Be sharp knife-with careful!”

Idiomatically: “Be careful with the sharp knife!”

Ole - Verb - 2nd Person Singular, Imperative mood: "Be"
terava - Adjective - Genitive Singular: "sharp"
noaga - Noun - Comitative Singular: "with (the) knife"
ettevaatlik - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "careful"

---

to characterize; to describe the traits, nature, or character of someone or something; to be typical or representative of

Building blocks

• iseloomu- → stem of iseloom (”character, nature”)

• -sta- → verb-forming suffix (”to provide with / to treat as”)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally iseloomustama means: “to give character to” → to characterize

How to use it

What to remember

What or whom you characterize is in the Partitive case (third base form)

Example

Kuidas sa iseloomustaksid oma sõpra?

Literally: “How you would-characterize your friend?”

Idiomatically: “How would you describe your friend?"

Kuidas - Adverb - Indeclinable: "How"
sa - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "you"
iseloomustaksid - Verb - 2nd Person Singular, Conditional Mood: "would characterize"
oma - Pronoun - Indeclinable: "your own"
sõpra - Noun - Partitive Singular: "friend"