---

to collect; to gather; to accumulate; to bring or gather something from different places into one place (by searching); to save something and put it aside as a reserve

Building blocks

• kogu- → from the noun kogu (whole, entire, total)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally koguma means: “to bring into a whole”

How to use it

What to remember

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

Example

Lapsed koguvad sügisel pargis kastaneid ja lehti

Literally: “Children collect autumn-on park-in chestnuts and leaves”

Idiomatically: “Children collect chestnuts and leaves in the park in autumn”

Lapsed - Noun - Nominative Plural: "Children"
koguvad - Verb - 3rd Person Plural, Present Tense: "collect"
sügisel - Noun - Adessive Singular: "on autumn"
pargis - Noun - Inessive Singular: "in park"
kastaneid - Noun - Partitive Plural: "chestnuts"
ja - Conjunction - Indeclinable: "and"
lehti - Noun - Partitive Plural: "leaves"

challenging; demanding; deliberately provocative; attention-seeking in a sexual way

Building blocks

• välja- → out/forth

• -kutsuv → calling/inviting/summoning (from kutsuma = to call, invite)

So literally it means calling out or inviting forth

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “väljakutsuv” ⬇️

Examples

Uue ettevõtte alustamine võib olla väljakutsuv

Literally: “New business starting can be challenging”

Idiomatically: “Starting a new business can be challenging”

Uue - Adjective - Gentitive Singular: "New"
ettevõtte - Noun - Genitive Singular: "business"
alustamine - Noun - Nominative Singular: "starting"
võib - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "can"
olla - Verb - da-Infinitive: "be"
väljakutsuv - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "challenging"

---

to prepare; to make; to manufacture; to produce; (mainly about objects, products, food:) to make; (usually about some feeling:) to evoke, to cause, to create

Building blocks

• valmis- → ready/finished/prepared

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

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally valmistama means: “to make ready”

How to use it

What to remember

What you prepare or cause, is in the Partitive case (third base form)

Example

Lapse edu valmistas vanematele suurt uhkust

Literally: “Child’s success caused parents-onto great pride”

Idiomatically: “The child’s success made the parents very proud”

Lapse - Noun - Genitive Singular: "The child's"
edu - Noun - Nominative Singular: "success"
valmistas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "caused"
vanematele - Noun - Allative Plular: "to/for the parents"
suurt - Adjective - Partitive Singular: "great/big"
uhkust - Noun - Partitive Singular: "pride"

successful, effective, high-performing, accomplished, well-regarded

Building blocks

• edu- → means success, progress, good results, advancement

• -kas → adjective-forming ending → “having/full of”

So edukas literally means: “having success/characterized by success”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “edukas” ⬇️

Examples

Õige ajastus mängib suurt rolli edukas ettevõtmises

Literally: “Right timing plays big role successful-in venture-in”

Idiomatically: “Timing plays a big role in a successful venture”

Õige - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "Right"
ajastus - Noun - Nominative Singular: "timing"
mängib - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "plays"
suurt - Adjective - Partitive Singular: "big"
rolli - Noun - Partitive Singular: "role"
edukas - Adjective - Inessive Singular: "in successful"
ettevõtmises - Noun - Inessive Singular: "in venture"

---

to belong; to be part of; to be in someone’s possession; to belong to a group or category; to be in the right/suitable place

Building blocks

• kuulu- → stem (belonging/being part of something/fitting somewhere)

• -ma → infinitive ending

It’s borrowed from the Finnish kuulua (to be heard, to belong)

How to use it

What to remember

To whom or what something belongs is in the Allative case (ending -le)

Example

See kunstiteos kuulub muuseumile ja seda ei tohi loata välja viia

Literally: “This artwork belongs museum-onto and it not must without permisson out to take”

Idiomatically: “This artwork belongs to the museum and it must not be taken out without permission”

See - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "This"
kunstiteos - Noun - Nominative Singular: "artwork"
kuulub - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "belongs"
muuseumile - Noun - Allative Singular: "to museum"
ja - Conjunction - Indeclinable: "and"
seda - Pronoun - Partitive Singular: "this/it"
ei tohi - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Negative Present Tense: "must not"
loata - Noun - Abessive Singular: "without permission"
välja - Adverb - Indeclinable: "out"
viia - Verb - da-Infinitve: "to take"

funny; something that makes you laugh; something that creates a cheerful mood; strange; odd

Building blocks

• nalja- → derived from the word nali (joke)

• -kas → adjective-forming ending → “having / full of”

So naljakas literally means: “full of jokes”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “naljakas” ⬇️

Examples

Naljakas juhtum leidis aset eile õhtul

Literally: “Funny incident found place yesterday night-on”

Idiomatically: “A funny incident took place last night”

Naljakas - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "Funny"
juhtum - Noun - Nominative Singular: "incident"
leidis aset - idiomatic expression meaning “took place” / “occurred” (literally “found place”)
eile - Adverb - Indeclinable: "yesterday"
õhtul - Noun - Adessive Singular: "on night"

---

to deny; to say ‘no’; to disown; to be against something; to consider something wrong or unnecessary

Building blocks

• eita- → deny/not accept

• -ma → infinitive ending

Eitama literally comes from “ei” (no) and means “to say no” or “to deny”

How to use it

What to remember

What you deny is in the Partitive Case (third base form)

Example

Kahtlusalune eitas kuritegu, vaatamata selgetele tõenditele

Literally: “Suspect denied crime despite clear-onto evidence-onto”

Idiomatically: “The suspect denied the crime despite clear evidence”

Kahtlusalune - Noun - Nominative Singular: "Suspect"
eitas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "denied"
kuritegu - Noun - Partitive Singular: "crime"
vaatamata - Converb form (from vaatama) - Indeclinable: "despite"
selgetele - Adjective - Allative Plural: "onto clear"
tõenditele - Noun - Allative Plural: "onto evidence"

convincing; making someone believe something; certain, leaving no doubt

Building blocks

• veene- → root (related to convincing/persuation)

• -v → participle ending (adds the sense of “being” or “that is”)

So convincing literally means: “something that makes (someone) believe”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “veenev” ⬇️

Examples

Vastus ei olnud piisavalt veenev

Literally: “Answer not was enough convincing”

Idiomatically: “The answer was not convincing enough”

Vastus - Noun - Nominative Singular: "Answer"
ei olnud - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Negative Past Tense: "was not"
piisavalt - Adverb - Indeclinable: "enough"
veenev - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "convincing"

---

to achieve, to accomplish, to attain; to reach a desired (successful) situation; to attain the highest level or another desired outcome; to gain or obtain something (through effort)

Building blocks

• saavuta- → achieve/attain/reach a goal

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally “saavutama” means something like: “getting something all the way to the result”

How to use it

Example

Organisatsioon saavutas rahvusvahelise tuntuse

Literally: “Organization achieved international recognition”

Idiomatically: “The organization achieved international recognition”

Organisatsioon - Noun - Nominative Singular: "Organization"
saavutas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "achieved"
rahvusvahelise - Adjective - Genitive Singular: "international"
tuntuse - Noun - Genitive Singular: "recognition"

exciting; interesting; thrilling; exciting and engaging due to a certain tension; vague sense of danger

Building blocks

• põne- → root (related to inner tension/excitement)

• -v → participle ending (adds the sense of “being” or “that is”)

So põnev literally means: “something that creates excitement or tension”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “põnev” ⬇️

Examples

Põnev päev pakkus palju üllatusi

Literally: “Exciting day offered many surprises”

Idiomatically: “An exciting day offered many surprises”

Põnev - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "Exciting"
päev - Noun - Nominative Singular: "day"
pakkus - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "offered"
palju - Adverb - Indeclinable: "many"
üllatusi - Noun - Partitive Plural: "surprises"

---

to clarify; to specify; to make more detailed, clearer, and more precise; to determine more precisely

Building blocks

• täpsus- → precision, accuracy

• -ta- → verb-forming suffix (“to make something…”)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally “täpsustama” means something like: “to make precise / to make more accurate”

How to use it

What to remember

• What you clarify is in the Partitive case (thrid base form)

Example

Tööandja täpsustas enne alustamist juhiseid

Literally: “Employer clarifies before starting instructions”

Idiomatically: “The employer clarified the instructions before starting”

Tööandja - Noun - Nominative Singular: "Employer"
täpsustas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "clarified"
enne - Adverb - Indeclinable: "before"
alustamist - Noun - Partitive Plural: "starting"
juhiseid - Noun - Partitive Singular: "instructions"

different; distinct; various

Building blocks

• eri- → root meaning “different” or “separate”

• -ne- → adjective-forming suffix (turns the root into an adjective)

• -v → participle ending (adds the sense of “being” or “that is”)

So erinev literally means: “that which is different”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “erinev” ⬇️

Examples

Projektis kasutatakse erinevaid tööriistu

Literally: “Project-in are used different tools”

Idiomatically: “Different tools are used in the project”

Projektis - Noun - Inessive Singular: "In project"
kasutatakse - Verb - Impersonal Present: "are used"
erinevaid - Adjective - Partitive Plural: "different"
tööriistu - Noun - Partitive Plural: "tools"

---

to restrict; to constrain; to limit; to enclose; to surround; to mark off (with boundaries or markers); to encircle (militarily); to trim; to prune

Building blocks

• piira- → comes from piir (border, limit, boundary)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally “piirama” means something like: “to do a boundary” or “to act by setting a limit/border”

How to use it

What to remember

• With what you restrict something is in the Comitative case (ending -ga)

Example

Linnavalitsus piirab autoliiklust kesklinnas uute liiklusmärkidega

Literally: “City-government limits car-traffic city-centre-in new traffic-signs-with”

Idiomatically: “The city government limits car traffic in the city center with new traffic signs”

Linnavalitsus - Noun - Nomiantive Singular: "City government"
piirab - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "limits"
autoliiklust - Noun - Partitive Singular: "car traffic"
kesklinnas - Noun - Inessive Singular: "in city centre"
uute - Adjective - Genitive Plural: "new"
liiklusmärkidega - Noun - Comitative Plural: "with traffic signs"

possible; something that can or could happen, exist, or be carried out; (about a person:) someone who can do something or take part in something

Building blocks

• võima- → comes from the word võima – to be able to, may, can.

• -lik → adjective-forming ending meaning “having the quality of /characterized by/able to be”

So literally võimalik = “able to be or capable of happening”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “võimalik” ⬇️

Examples

Seda projekti ei ole võimalik õigeks ajaks lõpetada

Literally: “This project is not possible right-into time-into to finish”

Idiomatically: “It is not possible to finish this project on time”

Seda - Pronoun - Partitive Singular: "This"
projekti - Noun - Partitive Singular: "project"
ei ole - Verb - Negative Present: "is not"
võimalik - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "possible"
õigeks - Adjective - Translative Singular: "for the right"
ajaks - Noun - Translative Singular: "by (a certain) time"
lõpetada - Verb - da-Infinitive: "to finish"

---

to repeat; to review/revise; to do, say, or bring something up again, a second time, or repeatedly; to go over learned material again, additionally, or as a reminder; to imitate something

Building blocks

• korda- → related to the word kord (“time, occasion”), carries the meaning again / repetition / another time

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally “kordama” means something like: “to do again / to do another time.”

How to use it

What to remember

• Kordama can take an et-clause to introduce the statement or idea that is being repeated

Example

Juht kordas, et projekt tuleb lõpetada sel nädalal

Literally: “Manager repeated that project must-be finished this-on week-on”

Idiomatically: “The manager repeated that the project must be finished this week”

Juht - Noun - Nominative Singular: "Manager"
kordas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "repeated"
et - Conjunction - Indeclinable: "that"
projekt - Noun - Nominative Singular: "project"
tuleb - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "must be"
lõpetada - Verb - da-Infintive: "finished"
sel - Pronoun - Adessive Singular: "this-on"
nädalal - Noun - Adessive Singular: "week-on"

necessary; needed; required; something or someone that is needed for some reason

Building blocks

• vaja- → need, necessity

• -lik → adjective-forming ending meaning “related to / characteristic of”

So literally vajalik = “having the quality of being needed”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “vajalik” ⬇️

Examples

Mõnikord on kriitilistes olukordades vajalik kiire otsustamine

Literally: “Sometimes is critical-in situations-in necessary quick decicion-making”

Idiomatically: “Sometimes, quick decision-making is necessary in critical situations”

Mõnikord - Adverb - Indeclinable: "Sometimes"
on - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "is"
kriitilistes - Adjective - Inessive Plural: "in critical"
olukordades - Noun - Inessive Plural: "in situations"
vajalik - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "necessary"
kiire - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "quick"
otsustamine - Noun - Nominative Singula: "decicion-making"

---

to offer; to provide; to suggest; to make a proposal and to encourage or ask someone to accept; to make a price offer when intending to buy; to give or serve (food, drink, etc.) to someone; to present something as a suggestion or assumption

Building blocks

• pakku- → verb stem (derived from pakk “package”)

• -ma → infinitive ending

This shows that pakkuma likely comes from the idea of a package or something offered, and then became the action “to offer/provide.”

How to use it

What to remember

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

Example

See rakendus pakub kasutajale palju võimalusi

Literally: “This app offers user-onto many options”

Idiomatically: “This app offers the user many options”

See - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "This"
rakendus - Noun - Nominative Singular: "app"
pakub - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "offers"
kasutajale - Noun - Allative Singular: "onto user"
palju - Adverb - Indeclinable: "many"
võimalusi - Noun - Partitive Plural: "options"

self-aware; self-concious; appreciating one’s own knowledge, skills, and abilities, and aware of one’s rights and responsibilities

Building blocks

• enese- → “of oneself”/“self-

• tead- → comes from the verb “teadma” (to know)

• -lik → adjective-forming ending meaning “related to / characteristic of”

So literally eneseteadlik = “aware of oneself”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “eneseteadlik” ⬇️

Examples

Eneseteadlik suhtleja väljendab mõtteid selgelt

Literally: “Self-aware communicator expresses thoughts clearly”

Idiomatically: “A self-aware communicator expresses their thoughts clearly”

Eneseteadlik - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "Self-aware"
suhtleja - Noun - Nominative Singular: "communicator"
väljendab - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "expresses"
mõtteid - Noun - Partitive Plural: "thoughts"
selgelt - Adverb - Indeclinable: "clearly"

---

to respond; to answer; to answer or respond to a question, suggestion, opinion, etc., verbally or in another way; to correspond to something; to match with something; reciting in school

Building blocks

• vasta- → verb stem (core meaning: in response / against)

• -ma → infinitive ending

So literally vastama = “to act in response to something”

How to use it

What to remember

• Whom or What you answer to is in the Allative case (ending -le)

• What you answer with is in the Comitative case (ending -ga)

Example

Õpetaja vastas küsimusele rahulikult

Literally: “Teacher answered question-onto calmly”

Idiomatically: “The teacher answered the question calmly”

Õpetaja - Noun - Nominative Singular: "Teacher"
vastas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "answered"
küsimusele - Noun - Allative Singular: "onto question"
rahulikult - Adverb - Indeclinable: "calmly"

Ta vastas e-kirjale täpsete andmetega

Literally: “He replied email-onto precise information-with”

Idiomatically: “He replied to the email with precise information”

Ta - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "He/she"
vastas - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "answered"
e-kirjale - Noun - Allative Singular: "onto email"
täpsete - Adjective - Genitive Plural: "precise"
andmetega - Noun - Comitative Plural: "with information"

national; typical of a nation; related to national feeling; state-related; related to (certain) ethnic groups or people

Building blocks

• rahvus- → nation/people

• -lik → adjective-forming ending meaning “related to / characteristic of”

So literally rahvuslik = “related to a nation or people”

How to use it:

Here is how you use the word “rahvuslik” ⬇️

Examples

Eesti Vabariigi aastapäeval tõuseb esile rahvuslik uhkus ja ühtekuuluvustunne

Literally: “Estonia Republic anniversary-on rises front-onto national pride and sense-of-unity”

Idiomatically: “On Estonia’s Independence Day, national pride and a sense of unity stand out”

Eesti - Noun - Genitive Singular: "Estonia"
Vabariigi - Noun - Genitive Singular: "Republic"
aastapäeval - Noun - Adessive Singular: "on anniversary"
tõuseb - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "rises"
esile - Adverb - Indeclinable: "to front"
rahvuslik - Adjective - Nominative Singular: "national"
uhkus - Noun- Nominative Singular: "pride"
ja - Conjunction - Indeclinable: "and"
ühtekuuluvustunne - Noun - Nominative Singular: "sense of unity"