väikesi

Väikesi is the partitive plural form of the Estonian adjective väike, meaning small or little. In Estonian, adjectives inflect to agree with the noun they modify in number and case, and väikesi specifically marks the plural partitive. This form is used with plural nouns when the quantity is indefinite, partial, or in negations.

In practice, väikesi is used with nouns in the partitive case to describe non-specific or incomplete groups. For example, väikesi lapsi means small children (an unspecified number or a subset of children), and väikesi esemeid means small items. The word order in Estonian typically places the adjective before the noun: väikesed loomad, väikesed asjad, väikesi lapsi.

Common contrasts include: väikesed (plural nominative) for “small ones” as a subject or predicate noun; väikest (singular partitive) for “of a small [one]” or “a small amount” in singular usage. The forms reflect the broader Estonian system where adjectives agree with the noun and carry case information through endings rather than separate articles.

Etymologically, väike derives from Proto-Finnic roots linked to other Finnic languages and is the basis for related terms in Estonian describing size and extent. Väikesi, as a grammatical form, does not change for gender, since Estonian lacks grammatical gender.

See also: väike, Estonian grammar, partitive case.