Arvonimet

Arvonimet, or ordinal numbers, are a grammatical category used to express the position of an item in a sequence. In Estonian linguistics, arvonimet are closely related to cardinal numbers but serve to indicate order rather than quantity. They appear in contexts such as rankings, lists, dates, or stages in a process.

In Estonian, ordinal numerals function as adjectives and agree with the noun in number and case. The most common forms for basic positions are esimene (first), teine (second), and kolmas (third). After these, many ordinals are formed from the corresponding cardinals with regular ending patterns, although several irregular forms exist and must be learned.

Examples of usage include phrases like "esimene päev" (the first day) and "kolmas lause" (the third sentence). In written form, ordinal numbers can be expressed as words or rendered as digits with a period in lists, for example 1., 2., 3.

Ordinals differ from cardinal numbers in their function and inflection. While cardinals denote quantity, ordinals denote order. Their correct application depends on case and number, and younger learners often focus on the core forms (esimene, teine, kolmas) before mastering the full range of inflected endings.