Vocab: kohtlema

to treat

to treat, to behave in a certain way towards someone or something

Building blocks

• koht- - place

• le- -frequentative (expressing repeated, frequent action)

• -ma - infinitive ending

The Estonian verb "kohtlema" evolved from the Proto-Finnic root kokta, which originally meant "place" or "location". So idiomatically speaking "kohtlema" signifies "to place oneself with someone".

How to use it

Who or what you treat in a certain way is in the Partitive case (third base form):

• "Ma kohtlen oma koera õrnalt." (I treat my dog gently.)

Here are some common situations in which you can use this word:

1. When talking about treat objects or materials:

   • "Palun kohtle seda raamatut ettevaatlikult." (Please treat this book carefully.)

2. When talking about how you treat someone:

   • "Meie perekond kohtleb koera kui pereliiget." (Our family treats dog as a family member.)

3. When talking about how you should treat others:

   • "Hea teenindaja kohtleb oma kliente alati viisakalt." (A good server treats their customers always politely.)

Examples

Õpetaja kohtleb kõiki õpilasi võrdselt

Literally: “Teacher treats all students equally-from”

Idiomatically: “The teacher treats all students equally”

Õpetaja - Noun - Nom Sg, "Teacher"
kohtleb - Verb - 3P Present Sg, "treats"
kõiki - Pronoun - Partitive Sg, "all"
õpilasi - Noun - Partitive Sg, "students"
võrdselt - Adjective - Ablative Sg, "equally"