Estonian Language
Estonian Language
Estonian Language
Estonian is an Finnic language closely related to Finnish spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia. The
main difference between Estonian and Finnish is that Finnish has a lot of loan words from Swedish, while
Estonian contains many words of German origin, plus some words from Russian, Latin, Greek and English.
There is considerable mutual intelligibility between Estonian and Finnish.
The oldest examples of written Estonian are names, words, and phrases found in early 13th century
chronicles. The earliest surviving longer text dates from the 16th century. An Estonian textbook first appeared
in 1637. Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann published the comprehensive Estonian-German dictionary in 1869,
and a grammar describing the Estonian language in 1875.
Estonian alphabet (eesti keele thestik)
Estonian pronunciation
Notes
Stress almost always falls on the first syllable of words. but quite a few words of foreign origin and a
few native Estonian words, such as aith, don't follow this pattern.
Vowels and consonants can be short (written with one letter), long or extra long (written with two or
three letters).
The letter y is also called igrek.
The letters f, , z and are only used in words of foreign origin.
The letters c, q, w, x and y are used in personal names, placenames and foreign words.
Information about the Estonian alphabet and pronunciation compiled by Wolfram Siegel, with corrections by
Allan Kiisk, and some details from: http://www.eki.ee/knn/ungegn/un7_gdl.htm
Phrases - Here are some basic Estonian phrases which you can use in everyday conversation, as well as
some common words you will see on signs.
What is your name?:
Nice to meet you:
How are you?:
I'm good, thanks:
And you?:
kas sa rgid inglise keelt?
kas te rgite inglise keelt?
ma ei rgi eesti keelt
ma ei rgi palju eesti keelt
ma rgin natuke eesti keelt
ma rgin testi vhe eesti keelt
ilusat peva!
palun rkige aeglasemalt
pole viga
tere hommikust
tere pevast
tere htust
head d
head aega
kus asub tualettruum?
Words Tere!
jah
ei
palun
aith
tnan
tnan vga
tere
tervist
tere tulemast
ngemist!
vabanda
vabandage
vabandust
ma saan aru
ma ei saa
aru
ma tean
ma ei tea
Hi
yes
no
please; you're welcome
thanks
thank you
thank you very much
hi, hello
hello
welcome
bye, see you!
excuse me (familiar)
excuse me (polite)
sorry
I understand
I don't understand
I know
I don't know
Vocabulary
Estonian vocabulary divided into themed lists.
Language partners
Find someone to practise your Estonian with.
About the Estonian language
Estonian is spoken by about 1.1 million people worldwide, around 950,000 of whom live in Estonia itself.
It is a member of the Finno-Ugric language family, being closely related to Finnish and more distantly so to Hungarian. It's
not an Indo-European language such as French or Spanish, and as a result the vast majority of words in Estonian will look
thoroughly unfamiliar to someone whose mother tongue is English.
Estonian is certainly not considered to be an easy language to learn for English-speakers. However, don't be put off! With a
little practice, you should soon find yourself able to get by in most everyday situations.
So why learn Estonian? You enjoy a challenge - With fourteen different cases and an utterly unrecognisable vocabulary,
Estonian should test even the most capable linguist! If you've studied other European languages in the past, you may find it
refreshing to learn one where you effectively have to start entirely from scratch. It sounds beautiful - Estonian, with its
exotic vowel-rich words and almost song-like intonation, is arguably one of the world's most beautiful-sounding languages.
It's rewarding - Estonians are enormously appreciative of any attempts by foreigners to speak their language, which makes
practising what you've learnt a particular pleasure. Any trip or stay in Estonia will undoubtedly be enriched if you take the
time to learn a little of the language before you go.
how's it going?
how are you? (familiar)
how are you? (polite)
how are you?
how are you? (familiar)
I'm fine, thanks
I'm ok
it's going ok
bad
what's your name? (familiar)
what's your name? (polite)
my name is ...
I'm ...
good to meet you (familiar)
a pleasure to meet you (polite)
how old are you? (familiar)
mis td sa teed?
mis td te teete
kes sa ametilt oled?
ma olen ...
petaja
lipilane
arst
ma ttan ajakirjanikuna
ma ttan veebidisainerina
kas sa suitsetad?
kas te suitsetate?
jah, ma suitsetan
ma ei suitseta
kas ma tohin suitsetada?
mis on su telefoninumber?
kas sa oled vaba tna htul?
kas sa oled vaba homme prastlunal?
kas sa oled vaba homme htul?
kas sul on ndalavahetuseks plaane?
I work as a journalist
I work as a web designer
do you smoke? (familiar)
do you smoke? (polite)
yes, I smoke
I don't smoke
do you mind if I smoke?
what's your phone number? (familiar)
are you free this evening? (familiar)
are you free tomorrow afternoon? (familiar)
are you free tomorrow evening? (familiar)
do you have any plans for the weekend? (familiar)
Emergencies - Here are some Estonian phrases and exclamations for use in emergencies and other difficult
situations. Hopefully you won't need to use them!
Telling the time - Learn how to tell the time in Estonian. The 24-hour clock is widely used in Estonian,
although the 12-hour clock is also common, particularly in less formal situations.
mis kell on?
kell ks
kell kaks
kell kolm
Travel - Here are some general Estonian phrases useful for various types of travel.
kus on ...?
where is ...?
bussijaam
the bus station
lennujaam
the airport
rongijaam
the train station
kust ma saan takso? where can I get a taxi?
buss
bus
lennuk
plane
rong
train
laev
ship, boat
takso
taxi
auto
car
jalgratas
bicycle
bussiga
lennukiga
rongiga
laevaga
jalgsi
vasak
parem
otse edasi
head reisi!
by bus
by plane
by train
by boat
on foot
left
right
straight ahead
have a good journey!
Reservation...
see on pisut rohkem kui oleksin nus maksma
kas saaksite mulle pakkuda allahindlust?
kas teil on midagi ...?
odavamat
suuremat
vaiksemat
kas ma saaksin tuba nha?