Bedeutung
Something stopping working or dying.
Kultureller Hintergrund
Many Estonian idioms come from the sea. 'Otsi andma' reflects the importance of ships and ropes in historical Estonian life. Estonians often use dry, non-emotional language for failure. Saying a car 'gave its ends' is a way of accepting the situation without drama. In modern Estonia, this idiom is used more for digital devices than for ships, showing how language evolves with technology. In rural areas, you might hear this more often regarding farm machinery or livestock, while in cities it's all about gadgets.
Avoid at Funerals
It sounds like you don't care about the person who died. Use 'lahkus' or 'suri' instead.
Use for Batteries
This is the most natural way to complain about a dead phone battery among friends.
Bedeutung
Something stopping working or dying.
Avoid at Funerals
It sounds like you don't care about the person who died. Use 'lahkus' or 'suri' instead.
Use for Batteries
This is the most natural way to complain about a dead phone battery among friends.
The 'Otsad' variation
You will hear 'andis otsad' much more often than 'andis otsi'. Both are correct, but 'otsad' is the standard spoken resultative.
Teste dich selbst
Complete the sentence with the correct form of the idiom.
Mu vana auto _______ eile maanteel otsad.
The sentence is in the past tense (eile - yesterday), so 'andis' is the correct 3rd person singular past form.
Which situation is appropriate for 'otsi andma'?
In which case can you say 'See andis otsad'?
'Otsi andma' is perfect for informal mechanical or battery failure.
Match the Estonian phrase with its English equivalent.
Match the following:
This exercise helps distinguish between the idiom and literal/neutral terms.
Fill in the missing part of the dialogue.
A: Miks sa ei helistanud? B: Sest mu telefoni aku ______ ______.
'Andis otsad' is the most natural way to say a battery died in a casual conversation.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Otsi andma vs Otsa saama
Aufgabensammlung
4 AufgabenMu vana auto _______ eile maanteel otsad.
The sentence is in the past tense (eile - yesterday), so 'andis' is the correct 3rd person singular past form.
In which case can you say 'See andis otsad'?
'Otsi andma' is perfect for informal mechanical or battery failure.
Ordne jedem Element links seinen Partner rechts zu:
This exercise helps distinguish between the idiom and literal/neutral terms.
A: Miks sa ei helistanud? B: Sest mu telefoni aku ______ ______.
'Andis otsad' is the most natural way to say a battery died in a casual conversation.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenIt's risky. It's very informal. Only use it if you are being intentionally blunt or humorous about a historical figure or someone you aren't close to.
Both are used. 'Otsi andma' is the infinitive, but 'andis otsad' is the most common past tense form.
Yes, it's very common to say a houseplant 'andis otsad' if you forgot to water it.
It literally means 'to give the ends', referring to ship ropes.
Yes, it is considered informal slang/idiomatic language.
Only if the atmosphere is very casual and you are talking about a broken printer or server.
Similar, but 'otsi andma' implies it's finished/dead, while 'katki minema' just means it's broken (and maybe fixable).
Mu auto andis otsad.
Finnish has similar maritime idioms, but they use 'heittää veivinsä' (throw the crank) more often for this specific meaning.
Yes, but 'Ma olen omadega läbi' is more common for exhaustion.
Verwandte Redewendungen
saba andma
synonymto give the tail (to die/break)
vedru välja viskama
similarto throw out a spring
otsa saama
confusingto run out of something
hingusele minema
similarto go to rest
lusikat nurka viskama
synonymto throw the spoon in the corner
