Vocab: vastand

opposite (noun)

opposite, reverse, contrary

Building blocks

• vasta[ma]- to answer, to respond, to reply

• -nd - noun-forming suffix (derives nouns from verbs that express something that is in some way related to the action, thing or quality indicated by the verb)

Derived from the verb vastama, which comes from the Proto-Finnic root vasta, meaning "to meet, to oppose".

How to use it

Opposites (vastandid) can:

• välistada teineteist - exclude each other

• tõmbuda teineteisele ligi - attract each other (NB! the term “ligi tõmbuma” literally translates to “closer to attract”, idiomatically “to attract”)

• täiendada teineteist - complement each other

• tasakaalustada teineteist - balance each other

Examples

Vastandid täiendavad teineteist

Literally: “Opposites complement each other”

Vastandid - Noun - Nom Pl, "Opposites"
täiendavad - Verb - 3P Present Pl, "complement" 
teineteist - Pronoun - Partitive Sg, "each other"

Must ja valge on vastandid

Literally: “Black and white are opposites”

must - Adjective - Nom Sg, "Black"
ja - Conjunction, "and"
white - Adjective - Nom Sg, "white" 
on - Verb - 3P Present Pl, "are" 
vastandid - Noun - Nom Pl, "opposites"