lihtvormid

Lihtvormid are the base or lemma forms of words in Estonian linguistics. They function as the dictionary forms that identify a word and serve as the starting point for generating all inflected forms. The term combines liht (simple) and vorm (form). In practice, a lihtvorm for a verb is typically the infinitive, such as sööma, lugema, kirjutama. For nouns, the lihtvorm is the nominative singular form, for example raamat; for adjectives, the base form is the singular nominative form, such as ilus.

In lexicography, lihtvormid are used as entry forms; dictionaries list the lihtvorm and then provide the various inflections. In corpus linguistics and language teaching, lihtvormid help in lemmatization and in searching for word families, since many surface forms originate from a single lihtvorm.

The concept illustrates how Estonian morphology relates to word formation, showing how many inflected variants derive from a single lihtvorm. While the general idea is widely used in linguistic analysis, there can be dialectal or theoretical differences in how exactly a given word’s lihtvorm is chosen or treated. Lihtvormid are thus central to understanding lexicon organization, morphological paradigms, and language learning in Estonian.

See also Lexeme, Lemma, Inflected form, Morphology.