to wake up; to awaken; to come out of sleep; (about nature, a city, feelings, interest:) to arise, to begin
Building blocks
ärka- → root meaning “awake, alert” (same family as ärkvel – awake)
-ma → infinitive ending
So literally ärkama means: “to become awake”
💡 Don't mix it up: ärkama = to wake up yourself, äratama = to wake someone else up
How to use it
What to remember
What you wake up from is in the Elative case (ending -st)
Example
Karu ärkab kevadel talveunest
Literally: “Bear wakes spring-on winter-sleep-from”
Idiomatically: “The bear wakes up from hibernation in spring”
Karu - Noun - Nominative Singular: "Bear"
ärkab - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Present Tense: "wakes"
kevadel - Noun - Adessive Singular: "on spring"
talveunest - Noun - Elative Singular: "from winter sleep"