Võitnud

Võitnud is the Estonian past active participle form derived from the verb võitma, meaning “to win.” It expresses a completed act of winning and is commonly used in combination with the auxiliary verb olema to form perfect tenses, for example: olen võitnud (I have won). As a participle, võitnud can also function as an attributive modifier before a noun, indicating that the noun refers to someone or something that has won, such as võitnud mängija (the player who has won) or võitnud meeskond (the team that has won).

Grammatical usage and morphology are typical of Estonian past participles formed with the suffix -nud. The form agrees in number and case with the noun it modifies, and it can appear in various cases within a sentence. It is not a standalone noun; the ordinary noun for “a winner” is võitja. Võitnud emphasizes the action of having won rather than personhood.

In contrast, võitja specifically denotes the winner or victor, a noun identifying a person who has won. While võitnud conveys the sense of “having won” or “having been victorious,” võitja names the one who achieved victory. The two terms often appear in sports, competitions, elections, and achievements, where võitnud highlights the completed victory and võitja the victorious agent.

See also: võitma, võit, võitja.