lühikese

Lühikese is the genitive singular form of the Estonian adjective lühike, which means short. In Estonian, adjectives inflect to agree with the nouns they modify in number and case, so lühikese appears before a noun when the noun is in genitive singular. This form is a routine part of the language’s grammatical system and is common in both written and spoken Estonian.

Usage of lühikese typically occurs in phrases describing duration, possession, or characteristics linked to a noun in the genitive case. A well-known example is lühikese aja jooksul, meaning “during a short period of time.” In such constructions the adjective lühike takes the genitive singular form lühikese to agree with the noun that is itself in genitive or a corresponding case.

Etymology and related forms reflect Estonian’s Finnic roots. The base adjective lühike is cognate with similar forms in neighboring Finnic languages, such as Finnish lyhyt, which also changes to genitive-like endings in various constructions. While lühikese is not a standalone lexical entry, it plays a functional role in grammatical agreement and sentence structure.

In practice, speakers encounter lühikese most often in formal writing, news reporting, and descriptive prose where precise noun-adjective agreement is needed. It is one of several inflected forms of lühike that allow concise, case-accurate expression of time, possession, and attributes in Estonian.