kuulda

Kuulda is an Estonian verb meaning to hear or to listen. It describes perceiving sound and is used with a direct object such as a sound, voice, or speech. The infinitive form is kuulda, and the verb is regularly used in everyday perception and listening contexts.

Conjugation and usage: In the present tense, the typical forms include ma kuulen (I hear), sa kuuled (you hear), ta kuuleb (he/she hears), me kuuleme, te kuulete, nad kuulevad. Past tense forms exist for each person, for example, ma kuulsin (I heard), sa kuulsid (you heard), ta kuulis (he/she heard). The perfect tense is formed with the auxiliary olema plus the past participle, as in olen kuulnud (I have heard), oled kuulnud, on kuulnud.

Usage notes: Kuulda is transitive, commonly taking a direct object when specifying what is heard, such as a sound or a person’s words. It can be used both in literal listening and in figurative senses, for example to indicate that someone has heard about something.

Relation to other languages: Kuulda is cognate with Finnish kuulla, reflecting shared Finnic roots in the two languages and similar meanings.

See also: Estonian language, Finnish language, Finnic languages.