õhukesi

Õhukesi is the partitive plural form of the Estonian adjective õhuke, meaning thin or slim. In Estonian, adjectives agree with the noun they modify in number and case; the partitive plural form for this adjective is õhukesi, used with plural nouns in the partitive case.

The form õhukesi is typically found when the object is indefinite or described in a non-count sense, or after verbs that govern the partitive. For example: Ma nägin õhukesi lehti. In another common construction: Õhukesi paberilehti on vaja, et teha kirjatingimused. By contrast, the nominative plural form is õhukesed, as in Need lehed on õhukesed.

Antonyms for õhuke include paks, meaning thick or dense, used to describe objects with greater thickness or density. Related comparative and superlative forms of the adjective follow standard Estonian patterns, yielding õhuksem (thinner) and õhukseim (thinnest), though usage depends on context and sentence construction.

Etymology traces õhukesi to the base adjective õhuke, with regular Estonian inflection to form the partitive plural. The word is common in everyday Estonian when discussing material thickness, texture, or the degree of thinness in items such as leaves, paper, fabric, and other tangible objects. It is typically used with plural nouns in the partitive case rather than with singular or nominative forms.