mõõtvad

Mõõtvad is a nonstandard Estonian verb form that sometimes appears as a variant of the standard present tense, 3rd person plural, of the verb mõõtma, meaning to measure. In normative Estonian, the correct written form is mõõdavad. Mõõtvad is not part of the standard orthography and is primarily found in informal contexts such as social media, casual transcripts, or rapid speech.

Linguists typically classify mõõtvad as a misspelling, a phonetic variant, or a dialectal form rather than a separate lexical item. Its appearance can reflect rapid articulation, regional pronunciation, or editing practices that omit or alter consonant sequences. Despite the different spelling, the intended meaning in contexts where it occurs is generally the same as in the standard form: “they measure.”

Because mõõtvad is nonstandard, it should not be used in formal writing or official texts. For learners and in dictionaries or grammar guides, the recommended form is mõõdavad, which represents the standard present tense, 3rd person plural. When encountered in user-generated content, mõõtvad may be interpreted as a communicative variant rather than a valid alternative in formal Estonian.

See also: mõõtma, mõõdavad, Estonian verb conjugation, Estonian orthography.