värvikas

Värvikas is an Estonian adjective meaning "colorful" or "vivid", used to describe objects, speech, events or personalities that are striking, varied or rich in detail. The word is pronounced with primary stress on the first syllable and can be roughly rendered as [ˈværvikas]. It functions like other Estonian adjectives, taking case and number endings when agreeing with nouns.

Etymology and form: värvikas is derived from the noun värv ("color") combined with the productive suffix -ikas, which conveys abundance or a characteristic quality. The suffix forms adjectives that indicate something is full of or marked by the root concept. Estonian adjectives do not mark gender, but they inflect for case and number; comparative or more/less expressions are typically formed analytically rather than by a dedicated comparative inflection.

Usage: värvikas commonly appears in descriptions of visual art, clothing, language and behavior—e.g., a värvikas maal (colorful painting), värvikas kirjeldus (vivid description) or värvikas isiksus (colorful personality). Its connotations range from neutral to positive, often implying liveliness, expressiveness or diversity, though context can make the sense ironic or critical.

Related terms and equivalents: close synonyms include värviline and elav. The word is cognate with Finnish värikäs and has direct translations in many languages, such as English "colorful" or "vivid", Swedish "färgrik" and German "farbenfroh".