võõrana

Võõrana is an Estonian grammatical form used to indicate that someone is acting in the role of a stranger or outsider in a specific context. The word is formed from võõras, meaning “stranger” or “foreigner,” with the suffix -na, which in Estonian commonly creates a role or state expressed as a noun phrase (for example õpetajana “as a teacher”). Thus võõrana literally means “as a stranger.”

Usage and nuance: Võõrana is typically used in descriptive or narrative prose to mark perspective or social position rather than a permanent identity. It can denote temporary status in a scene or frame a narrator’s outsider viewpoint. It may occur with verbs of becoming, entering, or presenting oneself, but is more often found in literary contexts, diaries, or ethnographic descriptions. In everyday speech, speakers may prefer periphrastic constructions such as “nagu võõras” or other phrasing to express similar ideas.

Examples: Ta tuli võõrana üritusele, kus ta esitas end kui võõras. The form can also appear in phrases like ta peeti võõrana kuni ta tutvus kohaga, meaning “he was regarded as a stranger until he got acquainted with the place.” These examples illustrate how võõrana signals a temporary or situational outsider status within the narrative.

See also: võõras, võõrasus, võõranägu. Võõrana is a stylistic and relatively formal device in Estonian, most often encountered in literary or ethnographic contexts rather than in casual speech.