Inimeste

Inimeste is the genitive plural form of the Estonian noun inimene, which means person or human being. In this form, inimeste is used to indicate possession or association with a group of people, roughly translating to “of the people” or “people’s” in English. It appears in noun phrases to express relationships such as ownership, attributes, or characteristics that pertain to people as a group.

Common uses include indicating possession or relation, such as inimeste õigused (the rights of the people) or inimeste heaolu (the well-being of the people). It also occurs in phrases describing quantities or collections associated with people, for example, inimeste arv (the number of people). Additionally, inimeste appears in expressions referring to groups of people, such as inimeste hulgas (among the people).

Morphology and grammar: inimeste is the genitive plural form of inimene. Estonian nouns decline for number and case, and the genitive plural is typically used to denote “of” a plural noun. The exact form and alternatives depend on the surrounding syntax, but inimeste consistently marks a possessive or relational sense with a plural human noun.

Etymology: Inimene originates from Estonian’s native vocabulary and is cognate with related Finnic terms such as Finnish ihminen. The genitive plural inimeste is the standard Estonian form for “of the people,” reflecting common Finnic patterns of deriving possessive forms for plural human nouns.

Related terms include inimese (genitive singular of inimene) and inimesed (nominative plural). In language use, inimeste is a frequent building block in discussions of society, rights, demographics, and social policy, where statements often describe what belongs to or concerns people as a group.