Põhinõuet

Põhinõuet, literally the genitive form of põhinõue, is an Estonian term used to denote a fundamental or core requirement. In formal contexts it refers to the essential criteria that must be met for a product, service, contract, or process to be considered compliant or acceptable. It distinguishes core obligations from optional or supplementary requirements.

Etymology and usage. The term is a compound of põhi, meaning base or main, and nõue, meaning demand or requirement. It is common in legal, technical, and standards language, and appears frequently in plural as põhinõuded to denote multiple core requirements. In everyday Estonian, speakers may still use the base form põhinõue when referring to a single essential criterion.

Contexts and examples. Põhinõuet is used across fields such as legislation, quality management, engineering, information technology, and project documentation. For instance, a standards document might specify põhinõuded ohutusele and reliability, which are the minimum conditions that must be satisfied. In project management, distinguishing põhinõuded from nice-to-have features helps define scope, testing, and acceptance criteria.

Related terms and translations. In English, põhinõuet is typically translated as core requirement or fundamental requirement. Related concepts include optional or supplementary requirements and a broader set of criteria that may be desirable but are not mandatory. The term is most often found in formal or technical registers and is less common in casual speech.

See also concepts such as core requirements in standards, quality management practices, and contractual compliance to understand the role of fundamentos in specification and evaluation.