tükki

Tükki is an Estonian term that functions as the inflected form of the base noun tükk, meaning a piece, chunk, or slice. It is most commonly used to express a discrete portion of something, such as food or other countable items.

Usage and grammar

Tükki appears in constructions with numerals to indicate quantity of a portion. It is widely seen in phrases like kaks tükki leiba (two pieces of bread), kolm tükki kooki (three pieces of cake), or neli tükki juustu (four pieces of cheese). In these expressions, tükki denotes the portion and the accompanying noun names the item being portioned. The form is especially common after numerals and in everyday speech.

Etymology

The word tükk is a basic Estonian noun for “piece” or “chunk.” Tükki is the typical inflected form used in quantity expressions. The word belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family; cognates appear in related Finnic languages.

Context and related terms

Tükki is usually not used as a standalone plural noun. Its function is to quantify and separate portions of a larger whole. Related terms include tükk (the base singular), and phrases that use similar counting patterns with other count nouns.

See also

Tükk, Estonian nouns, Estonian grammar, counting expressions.