asju

Asju is an Estonian noun form meaning “things” or “matters” in the partitive plural. It is the partitive plural of the word asi, which in its base sense is “a thing” or “an issue.” In Estonian, the noun has several cases and numbers: nominative plural asjad (things), genitive plural asjade (of the things), and partitive plural asju (some things or some matters). The partitive form is used after numerals or quantifiers or when the object is indefinite or not fully specified.

Usage and examples

Asju is commonly used to refer to physical objects, belongings, or, more abstractly, matters or issues in a non-definite sense. Examples include: Mul on palju asju (I have many things), Ma ostsin mõned asju (I bought some things). The partitive form often accompanies words denoting quantity or indefiniteness, such as palju (many/much), vähe (few), või some.

Etymology and cognates

Asju derives from the Estonian noun asi, which means “thing” or “matter.” The Estonian vocabulary in this area is cognate with Finnish asia, reflecting the shared Finnic roots of the two languages.

Notes

Although primarily an Estonian word, asju may appear in multilingual contexts where Estonian text is translated or transliterated, but its meaning remains tied to the partitive plural of asi. It is not typically used as a proper noun.