põhjal

Põhjal is an Estonian word that functions as the adessive form of the noun põhi, meaning bottom, base, or underside. It is used to indicate a position on the underside or bottom surface of another object or area. In descriptive or technical registers—such as architecture, marine contexts, or geological descriptions—it can signify that something lies on the bottom side of something else.

The form is built from the noun põhi plus the locative suffix -l, which marks position on a surface. Because it is a specific locational meaning, põhjal is relatively specialized and appears more often in written descriptions, older texts, or dialectal usage than in everyday speech. In common Estonian, speakers may instead convey similar ideas with phrases that explicitly reference the underside or bottom in a more explicit construction.

Põhjal should not be confused with other related terms that indicate different relations or directions. While it shares a root with põhi, its function and meaning are distinct as a surface-location marker rather than a standalone noun meaning “north” or “top” in other contexts. For further context, see Estonian grammar and vocabulary resources that discuss the locative and adessive case forms.