Sportlikuks

Sportlikuks is an Estonian translative form of the adjective sportlik, meaning sporty or sport-like. It is used to express a change of state or the emergence of a particular quality, typically in phrases with verbs such as saama (to become) or muutuma (to become). In this form, the adjective signals that something or someone has entered into the state of being sporty.

Morphology and usage notes: The word is formed from the base adjective sportlik with the translative ending that marks a transition into a new state, roughly corresponding to “into being sporty” in English. It is common in constructions that describe a transformation or a result, for example after verbs like saama or muutuma. The form is masculine and feminine neutral in function as a predicative complement in sentences like “Ta sai sportlikuks” (He/She became sporty) or “Laps muutus sportlikuks.”

Common contexts: Sportlikuks is widely used in educational, coaching, and youth sport contexts to describe developing athletic traits or adopting a more sport-oriented lifestyle. It can describe individuals, groups, or even activities that are turned toward sporting characteristics. It is less common in everyday adjectives that describe a current state without a sense of change.

Related terms: sportlik (sporty), sportlikkus (sportiness), and related compound forms that describe traits or states connected to athletic activity.

In brief, sportlikuks denotes the transition into a sport-like state and is a standard translative form in Estonian grammar for expressing change of state with the adjective sportlik.