Consonant Gradation
Many words have two stems, a strong one and a weak one: tuba (room) but toas (in the room), kapp (cupboard) but kapi (of the cupboard).
How It Works
Consonant gradation (in Estonian, astmevaheldus) means that a word's stem appears in two grades. The strong grade has a longer or fuller consonant, and the weak grade has a shorter, softer or missing one.
There are two main kinds:
- Length changes only. kapp (cupboard), kapi (of the cupboard); sepp (smith), sepa. See quantitative gradation.
- The consonant changes or disappears. tuba (room), toa (of the room); pood (shop), poe (of the shop); jalg (leg), jala. See qualitative gradation.
In most nouns that change, the nominative is strong and the genitive is weak, and the genitive stem is then used for many other cases: toas (in the room), poes (in the shop). A smaller group works the other way round, with a weak nominative and a strong genitive: mõte (thought), mõtte. See reverse gradation.
Verbs grade too. The ma-infinitive is often strong and the present tense weak: lugema (to read), loen (I read); rääkima (to speak), räägin (I speak). See present stem changes.
Gradation is closely tied to length, so it helps to know the three degrees of length. Because the pattern is not always predictable, learn each new word with its key forms, which dictionaries such as Sõnaveeb list for you. See the key forms of a noun and the key forms of a verb.
Examples (5)
- Tuba on suur, aga toas on külm.
The room is big, but it is cold in the room.
Word by Word: Room is big, but room-in is cold.
Tuba is strong. In the weak stem toa-, the b disappears and u becomes o.
- Pood on suur. Ma töötan poes.
The shop is big. I work in the shop.
Word by Word: Shop is big. I work shop-in.
The d of pood disappears in the weak stem poe-.
- Kapi uks on lahti.
The cupboard door is open.
Word by Word: Cupboard-of door is open.
Kapp becomes kapi: only the length of the p changes.
- Ma loen raamatut.
I'm reading a book.
Word by Word: I read book.
Lugema becomes loen in the present: the g disappears.
- Ma räägin eesti keelt.
I speak Estonian.
Word by Word: I speak Estonian language.
Rääkima becomes räägin: long k weakens to short g.
Common Mistakes
Keeping the strong stem where the form needs the weak one.
Ma olen tubas.Ma olen toas.The inessive is built on the genitive stem toa-, so "in the room" is toas.
Building the present tense from the ma-infinitive stem.
Ma lugen raamatut.Ma loen raamatut.Lugema has a weak present stem, loe-. Learn verbs with their present form: lugema, loen.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Gradation alternates the short, long and overlong stops.
Related Patterns
- Long to Short Stems
Study the words that change only in length.
Level 3 - Consonants That Change or Vanish
Study the words whose consonant changes or disappears.
Level 3 - Short Nominative, Long Stem
Learn the words that grade the other way round.
Level 4 - Present Stem Changes
See how gradation shapes the present tense.
Level 1 - Key Forms of a Noun
Learn the key forms that show a noun's grades.
Level 2 - Short, Long and Overlong
Gradation is closely tied to short, long and overlong sounds.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Consonant Gradation in Bubblegum
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