väärika

Väärika is the genitive singular form of the Estonian adjective väärikas, meaning “worthy” or “honorable.” In Estonian, adjectives decline for case and number, so väärika appears when the noun it modifies is in the genitive singular, for example in the phrase väärika inimese arvamus, meaning “the opinion of a worthy person.”

Usage of the form väärika is common in formal and literary Estonian, where authors attribute merit, dignity, or respectability to people, organizations, or actions. In ordinary speech, the nominative form väärikas is more typical, as in ta on väärikas mees, “he is a worthy man.”

Etymology and structure: väärikas is built from a root associated with worth or merit, plus a suffix that forms adjectives meaning “having the quality of.” This yields a range of inflected forms across cases and numbers, including the genitive singular form väärika.

Notes: As with many Estonian adjectives, the exact form of väärika is determined by the grammatical role of the noun it describes. While inaccurate to treat väärika as a standalone word with its own independent entry in every context, it functions as an essential inflected form of the common adjective väärikas in written Estonian.

See also: the base adjective väärikas and related discussions of worth or dignity in Estonian.