Vocab: alla andma - to give up

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to give up; to surrender; to give up resistance; to admit defeat; to lose; to accept a situation; to yield

Building blocks

• alla → “down”

• andma→ "to give”

In English, we say "give up," but in Estonian, the expression is the opposite — "give down" (alla andma). Despite the different directions, both phrases mean to surrender, yield, or admit defeat.

How to use it

What to remember

• To whom or to what you surrender to is expressed in the Allative case (ending -le)

See this in use ⬇️

Pärast pikka sõda andis riik siiski vaenlasele alla

Literally: “After long war gave country still enemy-onto down”

Idiomatically: “After a long war the country still surrendered to the enemy”

Pärast - Adverb - Indeclinable: "after"
pikka - Adjective - Partitive Singular: "long"
sõda - Noun - Partitive Singular: "war"
andis (alla) - Compund verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "gave (down)"
riik - Noun - Nominative Singular: "country"
siiski - Adverb - Indeclinable: "still"
vaenlasele - Noun - Allative Singular: "onto enemy"
(andis) alla - Particle - Indeclinable: "down"