to confess; admitting or acknowledging something, often related to guilt or wrongdoing
Building blocks
üles – "up" or "forth" used here to indicate revealing
tunnistama – "to testify" or "to admit"
When combined, the compound verb üles tunnistama means "to confess," implying the act of revealing the truth or admitting guilt.
How to use it
To Confess or Admit
Süüdistatu tunnistas üles oma osaluse juhtumis.
Translation: The accused confessed to their involvement in the incident.
Examples
Pärast pikka ülekuulamist tunnistas kurjategija lõpuks oma teo üles
Literally: “After long interrogation confessed criminal finally his/her action up”
Idiomatically: “After a long interrogation, the criminal finally confessed to their actions”
Pärast - Adverb - Indeclinable, "After"
pikka - Adjective - Partitive Sg, "long"
ülekuulamist - Noun - Partitive Sg, "interrogation"
tunnistas (üles) - Compound Verb - 3P Past Sg, "confessed"
kurjategija - Noun - Nomiantive Sg, "criminal"
lõpuks - Adverb - Indeclinable, "finally"
oma - Prounoun - Genitive Sg, "his/her"
teo - Noun - Genitive Sg, "action"
(tunnistas) üles - Particle - Indeclinable, "up"