näidata

Näidata is an Estonian verb meaning to show, display, or demonstrate. It is a transitive verb used to indicate presenting something to another person or making information visible. The infinitive is näidata; the imperative forms are näita (singular) and näitage (plural). In present tense the verb conjugates as näitan, näitad, näitab, näitame, näitate, näitavad. Past tense forms include näitasin, näitasid, näitas, näitasime, näitasite, näitsid (colloquial variant); the perfect construction uses the participle näidanud together with a form of olema (e.g., olen näidanud = I have shown). The passive or impersonal form näidatakse means “is shown” or “will be shown.”

Objects of näidata are typically direct objects in the accusative case, describing what is being shown. The verb is commonly used in everyday speech and in written Estonian, ranging from casual requests such as “Näita mulle fotod” (Show me the photos) to formal descriptions of demonstrations or presentations.

In digital and UI contexts, näita appears on buttons or links that reveal content, often paired with peita (“hide”) as an opposite action. The noun form näide (example) and related forms such as näitus (exhibition) derive from the same root concept of presenting or displaying.

Etymology traces the root näi- to the broader Finnic family of words related to seeing and showing; it is cognate with Finnish näyttää, which carries a similar meaning.