võtma

Võtma is an Estonian verb that is commonly treated as the nonstandard or dialectal infinitive form of the verb meaning “to take.” In modern standard Estonian, the preferred infinitive is võtta; võtma appears mainly in historical texts, regional speech, or in the study of older language forms. The word is cognate with Finnish ottaa, reflecting the shared Finnic roots of the two languages.

In standard practice, the verb that corresponds to võtma is conjugated around the stem võt- in the present tense: I take is võtan, you take is võtad, he/she takes is võtab, we take is võtame, you (plural) take is võtate, they take is võtavad. The past tense uses the forms võtsin, võtsid, võttis, võtsime, võtsite, võtsid, and the past participle is võtnud, which appears in compound perfect tenses (olen võtnud, oled võtnud, on võtnud). The noun form võtmine denotes “the act of taking.”

Usage notes: Võtma is used to express taking in a general sense, but in contemporary Estonian most speakers use võtta in everyday language. Võtma may be encountered in older texts, in regional speech, or when describing the historical development of Estonian verbs. The sense of to take can cover physical taking of objects, adopting a plan, or making a decision, all expressed with the corresponding standard forms in modern prose.

Etymology: Võtma shares its roots with other Finnic languages, aligning with the common cognate Finnish ottaa, which underlines the close historical relationship within the Finnic language family. In contemporary dictionaries, võtta is the entry form, while võtma is noted as a nonstandard or archaic variant.