Täheldad

Täheldad is an Estonian verb form, specifically the second-person singular present indicative of the verb täheldama. The verb means to notice, observe, perceive, or detect. In use, täheldama can describe noticing something deliberately or noticing a detail that might be easy to miss. The form täheldad thus translates to “you notice” or “you perceive.”

In Estonian, täheldada belongs to a class of verbs that add the common -da/-ta infinitive ending and carry typical present tense endings. The full present tense paradigm for täheldama is: ma täheldan, sa täheldad, ta täheldab, me täheldame, te täheldate, nad täheldavad. The noun täheldus is related and denotes the act or process of noticing or detecting.

Usage notes and nuance: täheldama is somewhat formal or literary, and within everyday speech Estonian speakers more frequently use märka or näha to express noticing or seeing. Täheldada emphasizes careful perception or detection of something that may not be immediately obvious, and it can appear in descriptive or analytic writing, as well as in formal speech. The word can pair with clauses or direct objects, for example: Sa täheldad, et valgus muutub, meaning “You notice that the light is changing.”

Related forms include the past participle täheldatud (noticed, detected) and the noun täheldus (the act of noticing). Overall, täheldad serves as a precise, slightly formal forma of noticing within Estonian.