tegemist

Tegemist is an Estonian noun that can denote both the act of doing something and a matter or issue that is being discussed or dealt with. In practice, it is most often used in the fixed construction on tegemist, meaning “there is a matter of” or “this concerns.” The word is common in formal, administrative, and journalistic language. It is derived from the verb tegema (to do) and forms an abstract noun of action; the genitive form is tegemise and the partitive form is tegemist.

In use, tegemist serves both senses. For example, Tegemist on tegevusega, mis nõuab hoolikat planeerimist translates roughly as “This is an activity that requires careful planning.” More frequently, on tegemist introduces the matter at hand: Selles asjas on tegemist ebaseadusliku tehinguga means “This case concerns an illegal transaction.” The phrase is stable and commonly appears in official statements and media reports.

Related terms include tegevus (activity), tegemine (the act of doing), and tegu (an act or deed). Tegemist is a neutral term suitable for a range of formal and descriptive contexts, with the following noun forms typically used to complete the meaning: genitive облегч tegemise and partitive tegemist.