síða

Süüa is a term encountered in Estonian language resources as a nonstandard or historical variant of the verb meaning “to eat.” In modern standard Estonian, the infinitive is söötma? Actually sööma; the form süüa is not part of the contemporary standard conjugation. The proper root for the verb is söö-, and the common imperative is söö, with other forms following typical -ma verb patterns. The appearance of süüa is mainly restricted to dialectal usage or older orthography rather than current everyday speech.

Etymology and related forms

The verb used for the act of eating in standard Estonian derives from the Proto-Finnic root related to eating actions, commonly reconstructed as *söö-. The modern standard infinitive is sööma, from which the present tense forms are built. The form süüa, when found, is regarded as historical or dialectal and is not used in standard language.

Conjugation and usage

In standard Estonian, the verb to eat is conjugated with the stem söö-, for example: ma söön, sa sööd, ta sööb, me sööme, te sööte, nad söövad. The infinitive is sööma. The form süüa does not appear in the regular conjugation of standard Estonian and is typically absent from modern dictionaries as a verb form. The imperative is söö.

Notes

Süüa may appear in older texts or regional dialects, but for formal writing and communication, sööma and its conjugations should be used. Learners often encounter it as a potential orthographic or dialectal variant rather than a separate grammatical form.

See also

Estonian grammar, Estonian verbs, Sööma.