Käänatavaid

Käänatavaid is Estonian for words that can take inflectional endings, i.e., words that change form to reflect grammatical case, number and related grammatical features. In Estonian grammar, the property of being inflectable is central to how meaning and syntax are conveyed through word forms rather than fixed word order.

Most common word classes that are käänatavad include nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numerals. Nouns and adjectives form inflectional paradigms that cover multiple cases (such as nominative, genitive, partitive, and others) and the distinction between singular and plural. Adjectives typically agree with the noun they modify in case and number, while pronouns and numerals also show inflection to align with their syntactic role.

Verbs are treated separately in Estonian grammar as conjugable rather than inflectable in the same sense, since they change form to express tense, mood, voice, person and number, rather than showing case inflection like nouns and adjectives.

The concept of käänatavus is useful for understanding agreement and morphology in Estonian sentences. It helps explain why certain word forms must align with a noun’s case or a pronoun’s person, and how inflectional patterns (paradigms) govern the appearance of many word forms. While most core content words are käänatavad, some fixed expressions or invariable elements can be described as less inflected in particular grammatical analyses.

See also: inflection, declension, Estonian grammar, morphology.