Vocab: kahtlustama

to suspect

Building blocks

• kahtlus- suspicion

• -ta- causative (“make something be X”)

• -ma - infinitive ending

In Estonian we have two similar words kahtlustama and kahtlema, let’s clear up the differneces:

• Kahtlustama means to suspect, to have doubts about someone or something. Compared to kahtlema, it is a stronger verb and it suggests that you have some evidence to support your suspicions. For example, you might say "Ma kahtlustan teda varguses" (I suspect him of theft) if you have seen him near the scene of the crime or have found incriminating evidence in his possession.

• Kahtlema means to doubt, to be uncertain about something. It is a weaker verb than kahtlustama, and it does not necessarily imply that you have any evidence to support your doubts. For example, you might say "Ma kahtlen, kas ta on aus" (I doubt whether he is honest) if you have heard some rumors about his honesty, but you do not have any concrete proof.

How to use it

Whom you are suspecting is in the Partitive (third base form).

What you are suspecting someone of is indicated by the Inessive case (ending -s).

Examples

Politsei kahtlustab teda mõrvas

Literally: “Police suspects him/her in murder”

Idiomatically: “(The) police suspects him/her of murder”

Politsei - Noun - Nom Sg, "Police"
kahtlustab - Verb - 3P Present Sg, "kahtlustab"
teda - Pronoun - Part Sg, "him/her"
mõrvas - Noun - Inessive Sg, "in murder"

Sportlast kahtlustati dopingu tarvitamises

Literally: “Athlete suspected performance drugs in consumption”

Idiomatically: “Athlete was suspected of consuming performance drugs”

Sportlast - Noun - Part Sg, "Athlete"
kahtustati - Verb - Impersonal Past, "suspected"
dopingu - Noun - Gen Sg, "performance drugs"
tarvitamises - Noun - Inessive Sg "in consumption"