Õnnestus

Õnnestus is an Estonian verb form meaning to succeed or to come off successfully. It is the past tense, third-person singular form of the verb õnnestuma, used to state that a goal, plan, or action has been achieved. The verb conveys a completed positive outcome and is commonly used in reporting results or outcomes of efforts.

The root idea behind õnnestuma is related to luck or fortune, with the sense of an event turning out well. In everyday speech, õnnestus is often used in impersonal or evaluative statements about plans or attempts. For example, Lõpuks õnnestus meil projekti lõpule viia (Finally, we succeeded in completing the project). Another common use is in the construction Mul õnnestus lõpetada töö enne tähtaega (I managed to finish the work before the deadline). The form can also appear in phrases like Katse õnnestus esimesel katsel (The experiment succeeded on the first try).

Grammatically, õnnestus is limited to past tense and does not, by itself, indicate who achieved the success beyond the subject of the sentence. The related infinitive is õnnestuma, and related forms exist for present and other moods, such as õnnestub (it succeeds) or õnnestunud (succeeded, having succeeded) depending on tense and construction. In language usage, õnnestus often appears in factual, neutral reporting of outcomes rather than subjective evaluation.

See also: õnnestuma, Estonian verb conjugation, Finnish onnistu(a)̄.