põleb

Põleb is an Estonian verb meaning to burn or to be on fire. It denotes a situation in which something is undergoing combustion or already burning. The verb is used for a wide range of subjects, including buildings, trees, objects such as candles, and natural phenomena like fires in forests. In everyday language, it also appears in phrases describing ongoing fire events and can be used in both literal and descriptive contexts related to burning.

Põleb is the third-person singular present tense form of the infinitive põlema. Other forms include ma põlen (I burn), sa põled (you burn), me põleme (we burn), te põlete (you burn), nad põlevad (they burn). Common present-tense examples are Maja põleb (The house is burning) and Küünal põleb laual (The candle is burning on the table). The past tense is põles, as in Talu põles eile (The farm burned yesterday).

Origin and related terms: The verb põlema belongs to Estonian intransitive verbs with the root põle-. Related nominal forms include põlemine (combustion) and tulekahju (fire). The term põleb is widely used in news reporting, safety instructions, and everyday speech to describe active burning.