Sügavad

Sügavad is the Estonian nominative plural form of the adjective sügav, meaning "deep." It is used to describe plural nouns and agrees in number and case with the noun it modifies (for example, "sügavad veed" — "deep waters"). As an adjective form, sügavad appears both attributively before plural nouns and predicatively with plural subjects ("Jõed on sügavad" — "The rivers are deep").

Pronunciation is typically rendered as /ˈsyɡɑvɑd/ in IPA. The adjective belongs to a common Estonian lexical family concerned with depth and intensity; the derived noun sügavus means "depth." Comparative and superlative forms are sügavam and sügavaim, respectively.

Etymologically, sügav and its forms have cognates in other Finnic languages, notably Finnish syvä, and are generally traced to Proto-Finnic roots conveying the concept of depth. In usage, sügavad covers both literal senses (physical depth of water, holes, or containers) and figurative senses (deep thoughts, deep feelings, or complex problems). It appears in idiomatic expressions and descriptive language across registers from everyday speech to literary contexts.