pildidena

Pildidena is the Estonian translative plural form of the noun pilt, meaning image or picture. The translative case expresses a change of state or a role, so pildidena translates roughly to “as pictures” or “in the form of pictures.” The singular form is pildina.

In use, pildidena describes how information, data, or representations are presented or interpreted. It is common in technical, academic, and journalistic writing when contrasting modes of presentation. For example, Andmed esitati pildidena (The data were presented as pictures). It can be combined with other plural nouns to indicate multiple forms, such as diagrammidena (as diagrams) or grafikatena (as graphs), as in the phrase tulemused diagrammidena ja piltidena. The construction is also used to indicate that something is being used in a visual capacity rather than in text.

Morphology and notes: pildidena shows the plural stem pildid- plus the translative suffixena. The form is productive in contexts where visual representations are emphasized, such as reports, presentations, and studies. While pildidena is standard in formal Estonian, speakers may choose other expressions to convey the same idea depending on register and emphasis.

See also: Estonian grammar, translative case, list of Estonian case forms.