ärrita

ärrita is the second-person singular imperative form of the Estonian verb ärritama, meaning to irritate or annoy. It is transitive and used to command someone to irritate a target. The form is familiar, directed at one person, and appears in everyday speech as a direct instruction or expression of exasperation.

Usage and grammar: The imperative ärrita is used with a direct object, which can be a pronoun or a noun in the partitive case, for example: ärrita mind (irritate me) or ärrita teda (irritate him/her). Negation is formed with ära placed before the verb: ära ärrita mind (don’t irritate me). In broader verb conjugation, ärritama serves as the infinitive; other forms such as ärritab (he irritates) appear in ordinary present-tense statements.

Etymology and related forms: ärrita derives from the stem ärrita- within the verb ärritama, which conveys the action of causing irritation. The noun ärritus refers to the state or act of irritation. These terms are used in standard Estonian vocabulary and appear in both spoken and written language.

Usage notes: ärrita is commonly encountered in casual conversation, humor, or sarcasm and is generally not used in formal or polite discourse. Its tone can range from joking to confrontational, depending on context and delivery. As with other imperatives, speaker intention and social frame influence how the word is received.

See also: ärritama, ärritus.

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