Uurima

Uurima is an Estonian verb meaning to examine, study, investigate, or research. It is commonly used in academic, legal, journalistic, and scientific contexts to describe the act of looking into something carefully and systematically.

In everyday usage, uurima forms the standard present and past tenses like other Estonian verbs. Examples of present tense: ma uurin (I examine), sa uurid (you examine), ta uurib (he/she examines), me uurime (we examine), te uurite (you examine, plural), nad uurivad (they examine). Simple past forms include ma uurisin (I examined), sa uurisid (you examined), ta uuris (he/she examined), me uurisime (we examined), te uurisite (you examined), nad uurisid (they examined). The infinitive is uurima, and the imperative forms are Uuri! (informal singular) and Uurige! (formal/plural).

The word has derivate forms that expand its meaning in noun and adjective forms. Uurimine denotes the act of examining or investigating. Uurija refers to a person who investigates or studies, i.e., an investigator or researcher. The participles uuriv and uuritud describe an ongoing examiner or something that has been examined, respectively.

Common collocations include phrases such as uurima teemat (to study the topic), uurima dokumente (to examine documents), and uurima tõendeid (to examine evidence). The verb is versatile and used across disciplines to indicate careful inquiry, inspection, or research.

Etymology-related notes: uurima is a native Estonian verb formed with the common infinitive ending -ma and belongs to a broader word family related to examination and inquiry, including uurimine and uurija. It is typically used with objective cases appropriate to the object of examination.