meeldima

Meeldima is an Estonian verb meaning “to be pleasing” or “to like.” It describes something that is agreeable or appealing to someone, with the emphasis on the person who experiences the liking rather than on the thing itself.

Usage and grammar: Meeldima is used with a dative-like pronoun indicating who feels the liking, while the thing that is liked typically appears in the nominative case. A common construction is “Mulle meeldib see” meaning “I like this” or “This pleases me.” The form for the subject in present tense changes with person and number, with “meeldib” often used for the third-person singular impersonal construction. Negative sentences typically use “ei meeldi”: for example, “See ei meeldi mulle” means “I don’t like it.” Past tense is formed with the past tense of the verb, as in “Mulle meeldis see raamat” (That book pleased me).

Examples: Mulle meeldib see laul. (I like this song.) See meeldib mulle. (That pleases me.) See ei meeldi mulle. (I don’t like it.) Mulle meeldis see film. (That film pleased me.)

Etymology and related terms: The verb stems from meel, meaning taste, interest, or inclination, and carries the sense of something being to one’s liking. Related forms include the adjective meeldiv (pleasant) and the noun meelele—though meele is more generally used to refer to mood or disposition. In usage, meeldima is a common, neutral verb for expressing personal preference.

In summary, meeldima is a core Estonian verb for expressing liking or pleasantness toward a person, object, or experience, typically with the beneficiary expressed in a dative-like form.