mõnessugune

Mõnesugune is an Estonian determiner and adjective meaning “of some kind” or “such,” used to refer to an unspecified or non-specific type of something. It functions to indicate indefiniteness, similar to how English speakers use “some kind of …” in describing a person, object, or situation.

The word is formed from mõni (some) and sugune (kind of; such). It is typically placed before a noun to create a noun phrase that characterizes the item in a non-definitive way. For example, mõnesugune inimene means “a person of some kind,” and mõnesugune olukord means “a situation of some kind.” The phrase allows speakers to generalize about a category without naming a particular example.

Grammatical behavior and inflection align with other Estonian adjectives. It precedes the noun and agrees with it in number and case. Illustrative forms include nominative singular: mõnesugune inimene; genitive singular: mõnesuguse inimese; partitive singular: mõnesugust inimest; nominative plural: mõnesugused inimesed; genitive plural: mõnesuguste inimeste; partitive plural: mõnesuguseid inimesi. Exact endings depend on the noun’s case and number.

Related terms include mitmesugune (“various, diverse”), which is more common in formal or standard usage when referring to a range of kinds. The interrogative variant missugune asks “what kind?” in questions. A common note for learners is that the standard spelling is mõnesugune; mõnessugune is frequently considered an incorrect or nonstandard variant.

See also: missugune, milline, mitmesugune.