nägin

Nägin is the first-person singular past tense form of the Estonian verb nägema, meaning "to see." It is used to state that the speaker saw something in the past, typically in simple narrative statements such as "Ma nägin teda eile."

In Estonian, past tense forms vary by person, and for nägema the standard past tense forms are ma nägin, sa nägid, ta nägi, me nägime, te nägite, nad nägid. The 1st-person singular form nägin is thus the basic past-tense form for “I saw.” The infinitive nägema is the base from which these forms are derived, and the stem used for past tense is built around nägi- with person-specific endings.

Usage examples include a wide range of observations and events. Common sentences are of the form "Ma nägin [something] [time/place]" such as "Ma nägin teda eile pargis" (I saw him/her yesterday in the park) or "Ma nägin head uudised" (I saw good news). Nägin appears in both spoken and written Estonian and is a foundational form for recounting past experiences or observations.

Notes about related forms: no special orthographic or pronunciation changes occur beyond the standard Estonian pronunciation of ä and g. The verb nägema, with its past tense nägin, is part of everyday Estonian grammar and is frequently used in storytelling, reporting, and conversation to convey past seeing or perceiving. Related topics include Estonian verb conjugation and the broader structure of Estonian grammar.