Signification
Doing something incorrectly.
Contexte culturel
In Estonian schools, mistakes are treated as data points. The phrase 'Vigadest õpitakse' is ingrained from kindergarten. Estonians value 'otsekohesus' (directness). If you make a mistake, it's best to admit it immediately with 'Ma tegin vea' rather than making excuses. Estonians are very proud of their complex language (14 cases!). They are extremely forgiving of foreigners who 'teevad vigu' and will usually encourage you. In the 'Silicon Valley of Europe', 'vigu tegema' is part of the 'fail fast' mentality. Coding errors are just 'bugid' (bugs).
Don't be afraid!
Estonians respect effort. Making a mistake while trying to speak is better than staying silent.
Case matters
Remember to use 'vea' for a finished mistake and 'vigu' for general ones. Using 'viga' in the past tense sounds like 'I did a fault' (incomplete).
Signification
Doing something incorrectly.
Don't be afraid!
Estonians respect effort. Making a mistake while trying to speak is better than staying silent.
Case matters
Remember to use 'vea' for a finished mistake and 'vigu' for general ones. Using 'viga' in the past tense sounds like 'I did a fault' (incomplete).
Use 'ikka'
Add 'ikka' (still/anyway) to sound more native: 'Ma teen ikka vigu' (I still make mistakes).
Teste-toi
Fill in the correct form of 'viga' or 'tegema'.
Ma ______ eile ühe suure vea.
Since the sentence says 'eile' (yesterday), we need the past tense 'tegin'.
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
Choose the correct sentence:
'Ma teen vigu' (I make mistakes) is a correct general statement in the partitive plural.
Match the Estonian phrase with its English translation.
Match the pairs:
All pairs are correctly matched.
Complete the dialogue.
A: Kas sa kontrollisid teksti üle? B: Jah, aga ma ikka ______ ______.
B is admitting they still made (multiple) mistakes despite checking.
🎉 Score : /4
Aides visuelles
Banque d exercices
4 exercicesMa ______ eile ühe suure vea.
Since the sentence says 'eile' (yesterday), we need the past tense 'tegin'.
Choose the correct sentence:
'Ma teen vigu' (I make mistakes) is a correct general statement in the partitive plural.
Associez chaque element a gauche avec son pair a droite :
All pairs are correctly matched.
A: Kas sa kontrollisid teksti üle? B: Jah, aga ma ikka ______ ______.
B is admitting they still made (multiple) mistakes despite checking.
🎉 Score : /4
Questions fréquentes
5 questionsNo, it can be for anything from a tiny typo to a major life error.
No! That means 'I am a mistake'. Always use 'ma tegin vea' (I made a mistake).
The nominative plural is 'vead', but with 'tegema', we usually use the partitive plural 'vigu'.
In Estonia, it's usually seen as helpful, especially in a learning or work context.
You can say 'Ma tegin trükivea' or 'See oli näpuviga'.
Expressions liées
eksima
synonymto err / to be mistaken
valesti tegema
similarto do wrongly
puusse panema
slangto mess up badly
viga parandama
builds onto fix a mistake
näpuviga
specialized formtypo
