Läbipaistvates

Läbipaistvates is an Estonian grammatical form derived from the adjective läbipaistv, which means transparent or translucent. In linguistic terms, läbipaistvates is a present participial form used to describe something that possesses a state of transparency and to connect that state in non-finite clauses. It is most often found in formal or technical registers and is less common in everyday speech.

Function and meaning: The core sense of the form is physical transparency—where light passes through a material—as well as figurative clarity or openness. In descriptive or scientific writing, läbipaistvates appears in phrases describing layered, laminated, or otherwise see-through structures. In such contexts it can convey characteristics like translucence or visibility through a medium. The form can modify plural nouns and is thus used in noun phrases to specify which items are transparent.

Relation to related terms: The abstract noun for the property is läbipaistvus (transparency). The opposite concept is läbipaistmatu or opaque, used to describe lack of transparency. Läbipaistvates sits within the broader Estonian participle system, representing one of several non-finite forms used to create descriptive phrases.

Usage notes: Because läbipaistvates is specialized and somewhat technical, it tends to appear in scientific, architectural, design, or material descriptions rather than in casual conversation. Its exact distribution and case-marking depend on the surrounding noun and syntactic structure.

See also: läbipaistvus, läbipaistv (transparency, transparent), Estonian grammar: participles.