Reference

Building words from words

A handful of endings turn verbs into nouns, nouns into adjectives and back.

All grammar

The ending that carries it: -mine
Called: sõnamoodustus; derivation in an English grammar book

What it is for

Any verb gives a noun for doing it, like "reading"
- Vabandamine on talle võõras.
  Apologizing is foreign to him.
- Suitsetamine on kahjulik harjumus.
  Smoking is a harmful habit.
An adjective gives a noun for the quality, like "kindness"

Practice these in the app, on words you are learning, with every answer marked. Sign in, it’s free

Meid seob ammune sõprus.
We are bound by a long-standing friendship.
Ega rikkus pole häbiasi.
There is no shame in being wealthy.

Adjectives meaning "-ish" and "-less"

Kõlas arglik koputus.
A timid knock sounded.
Abikaasad on võrdõiguslikud.
Spouses are equal.

Watch out

Six endings make thousands of words readable without a dictionary, which is the quickest win at B2. The trap is assuming the meaning is always the sum of the parts.

Where the course teaches it

4 units

Character and personalityB1Describe someone's character with more than two adjectives.
Building words from wordsB2Spot the suffix on a word you've never seen and work out what it probably means.
Mind and behaviorB2Talk about motivation, habits and behavior in abstract terms.
Turning clauses into phrasesC1Pack a clause into a noun phrase, the way formal Estonian expects.

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