Missuguses

Missuguses is an Estonian word that functions as the inessive singular form of the interrogative adjective missugune, meaning “what kind of” or “which kind of.” It is used to ask about the kind or category of something within a context, typically before a noun in the inessive case.

In use, missuguses introduces a question or a relative clause that specifies the situation, place, or state being described. It often appears together with nouns in the inessive form, such as olukord (situation), riik (country), or töö (work). For example: Missuguses olukorras oled? “What kind of situation are you in?” Missuguses riigis elad? “In which country do you live?” These constructions convey inquiry about type, quality, or category rather than a specific object.

Morphology is typical of Estonian adjectives and pronouns: missugune is the base form, and missuguses is its inessive singular form. Other forms include missugune (nominative), missugust (partitive), missuguse (genitive), and missugused (nominative plural). The form is chosen to agree with the case and number of the noun it modifies.

Usage notes: missuguses is common in everyday language, teaching materials, and formal writing when a precise “kind of” distinction is needed. It is part of a family of Estonian interrogatives that adapt to case and number, alongside mis-, miss-, and other sugune forms. English equivalents include “what kind of” or “in what kind of.”

See also: missugune, mis, kuidas, mis.