Vocab: alahindama
to undervalue, to underrate, to misprize
Building blocks
ala - under
hind- price
-da-causative (“make something be X”),-ma- infinitive ending
In order to break down alahindama further we have to look at two words:
hindama - to appreciate, to value, to price. Or even further broken down into hind - price. This word is derived from the Proto-Finnic word: hinta
alla - below, down, under. So alahindama is actually formed quite similarly to English (under+estimate).
It’s a compound verb that consists of: ala+hindama (adverb+verb)
NB! Alla hindama is also commonly used and it means to discount.
How to use it
Whom/what you are underestimating is indicated by the partitive case (third base form).
Examples
Laps alahindas olukorra tõsidust
Literally: “Child underestimated situation’s seriousness”
Idiomatically: “The child underestimated the seriousness of the situation”
Laps - Noun - Nom Sg, "Child"
alahindas - Verb - 3P Past Sg, "underestimated"
olukorra - Noun - Gen Sg, "situation's"
tõsidust - Noun - Part Sg, "seriousness"Alahindasin oma vastast
Literally: “Underestimated own opponent”
Idiomatically: “I underestimated my opponent”
Alahindasin - Verb - 1P Past Sg, "I underestimated"
oma - Pronoun, "my"
vastast - Noun - Part Sg, "opponent"