lõhnab

Lõhnab is the third-person singular present indicative form of the Estonian verb lõhnama, meaning to smell or to have a scent. The verb describes the perception of a smell by the sense of smell and can refer to objects, substances, environments, or people that emit a scent, as well as to situations where a smell is present. The noun lõhn means smell or scent, and related forms reflect the idea of odor or fragrance in different contexts.

In usage, lõhnab can express neutral or subjective evaluation depending on the context. Commonly, speakers pair it with adverbs to convey quality, such as hästi (well) or halvasti (badly). For example, Toit lõhnab hästi means The food smells good. See lõhnab meeldivalt means That smells pleasant. While lõhnab is versatile, negative odors are often described with haiseb, which explicitly means to stink or reek.

The verb is a standard part of everyday Estonian and appears in both spoken and written language. Etymologically, lõhnama derives from the noun lõhn (smell), reflecting the close link between the perception of scent and the linguistic expression of odor in Estonian. Cognates and related terms exist within Finnic languages, illustrating shared roots in the region’s linguistic history.