Vocab: uudishimulik
curious, inquisitive, nosy, someone who wants to experience or learn something new
Building blocks
uudis- - news
-himu- - desire
-lik - an adjective-forming ending
This derivation actually is quite straightforward as it pretty much sums up the definition of a curious/nosy person: someone who desires to be up-to-date with all the “news”
How to use it:
It is typically used to describe a positive quality, such as a person's eagerness to learn or their interest in new things.
Uudishimulik laps uuris kõike enda ümber. (An inquisitive child explored everything around them.)
It can also be used in a more negative way to describe someone who is nosy or intrusive.
Uudishimulik kolleeg uuris alati minu isiklikku elu. (The nosy colleague always inquired about my personal life.)
Examples
Uudishimulik naaber ei osanud teiste privaatsust austada.
Literally: “Nosy neighbor didn’t know others privacy to respect”
Idiomatically: “A nosy neighbor didn’t know how to respect other’s privacy”
Uudishimulik - Adjective - Nom Sg, "Nosy"
naaber - Noun - Nom Sg, "neighbor"
ei osanud - Verb - 3P Past Negative Sg, "didn't know"
teiste - Pronoun - Gen Pl, "other's"
privaatsust - Noun - Part Sg, "privacy"
austada - Verb - da-Infinitve, "to respect"Koer hakkas lapsele uudishimulikult lähenema
Literally: “Dog started child-onto curiously to approach”
Idiomatically: “The dog started to approach the child curiously”
Koer - Noun - Nom Sg, "Dog"
hakkas - Verb - 3P Past Sg, "started"
lapsele - Noun - Allative Sg, "child-onto"
uudishimulikult - Adjective - Ablative Sg, "curiously"
lähenema - Verb, ma-Infinitive, "to approach"