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First steps in lerning Estonian language

Study materials
Tuldava, Juhan: Estonian Textbook. Grammar. Exercises. Conversation. (Bloomington, Indiana
1994)
keeleklikk.ee
Estonian language is spoken by roughly 1.1 million people and it is most similar to Finnish. It is quite
unique among European languages, belonging to the Finno-Ugric family along with Finnish and
Hungarian. Most words look to be from a different planet sound mesmerisingly melodic. This so called
"elven" language is spoken by around 1.1 million people globally.
Estonia has one of the highest literacy rates in the world at 99.8% and nearly everyone speaks a foreign
language, most commonly English and Russian, but also Finnish, German or Swedish. This makes getting
around Estonia easy, though an aitäh (thank you) is always appreciated.
https://www.visitestonia.com/en/why-estonia/your-quick-guide-to-the-estonian-language

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uralic_languages
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uralic_languages#/media/File:Linguistic_map_of_the_Uralic_languages_(en).png

About Estonian language: https://estinst.ee/wp-

content/uploads/2017/03/589_Estonian_Language_2015_WEB.pdf
Loan words in Estonian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonian_vocabulary

Estonian-English-Estonian dictionary http://www.eki.ee/dict/ies/

sõnaveeb.ee
Estonian uses the Roman alphabet, with the addition of letters like õ, ä, ö, and ü. 32 (23) letters Aa, Bb,
Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Šš, Zz, Žž, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Õõ, Ää, Öö,
Üü, Xx, Yy. There are 9 vowels and 36 diphthongs, 28 of which are native to Estonian.

Estonian spelling is fundamentally phonetic, which means that words are spelled like they
sound. As a basic rule, single letters signify short sounds and double letters indicate a long (or
overlong) sounds.
In Estonian there exists a differentiation between three quantities. The 2nd and 3rd quantities are
not distinguished in spelling; in that case the meaning and pronunciation of the word becomes
clear from the contents. There are short, long and overlong vowels and consonants:

vere /vere/ 'blood [gen.sg.]' (short) — veere /veːre/ 'edge [gen. sg.]' (long) — veere /veːːre/ 'edge
[ptv. plural] ' but also 'roll [imp. 2nd sg.] ' (overlong)
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lina /linɑ/ 'sheet' (short) — linna /linːɑ/ 'town [gen. sg.]' (long) — linna /linːːɑ/ 'town [ine. sg.]'
(overlong)

kabi /kɑpi/ 'hoof' (short) — kapi /kɑpːi/ 'wardrobe [gen. sg.]' (long) — kappi /kɑpːːi/ 'wardrobe
[ine. sg.]' (overlong)

Estonian vowel phonemes

Front Back
unrounded rounded unrounded rounded
Close i y u
ɤ
Mid e ø o
Open æ ɑ

letter how to pronounce Example

a like a in ’father’ kala ’fish’, aas ’meadow’
e like e in ’send’ tere ’hallo’, see ’this (one)’,
eesel ’donkey’
i like ee in ’see’ mina ’I’, kiire ’fast’
o like o in ’off’ kole ’ugly’, kool ’school’
u like oo in ’moon’ kus? ’where?’, kuu ’month’
ä like a in ’cat’ käsi ’hand’, käärid ’pair of
scissors’
õ No exact counterpart in English. Õ is formed õli ’oil’, õun ’apple’, võõras
with the tongue in the same position as for the ’foreign’
o sound (as in ’off’), but with the lips
unrounded slightly. The Russian Ы sound
comes close, but the Estonian õ is made lower
in the throat.
ö No counterpart in English. Ö is formed with köha ’cough’, töö ’work’
the tongue in the same position as for the e
sound (as in ’send’), but with the lips rounded
and pulled forward. It resembles the ö in
German word ’Öl’ or eu in the French word
’deux’.
ü No counterpart in English. Ü is formed with küla ’village’, süü ’fault’
the tongue in the same position as for the i
sound (as in ’see’), but with lips rounded and
pulled forward to make a small oval opening.
It resembles the ü in German (’für’), or u in the
French word ’sur’.
Consonants
j Like y in ’you’ or ’Maya’ maja ’house’, jaam ’station’
Appears only at the beginning of word and
between two vowels.
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b, d, g are unvoiced and unaspired, without throaty tibu ‘chick’, tuba ‘room’, tigu
sound and puff of breath added in the usual ‘snail’
English pronunciation
p, t, k are also unvoiced and unaspired, and softer pall ‘ball’, talv ‘winter’, käsi
than in English (only slightly harder than b, d, ‘hand’
g). Strong consonant sounds are made when supp ‘soup’, lutt ‘pacifier’,
there are double letters (pp, tt, kk) pakk ‘package’
l is a non-velar sound, made with the very tip of lill ’flower’
the tongue against the back of the front teeth,
as in French, German and Spanish. Usually
the l in English is made with the more of the
tongue against the gumline, slightly back from
the point where the Estonian l is made.
h at the beginning of a word is very week, almost habe ’beard’
silent
between two vowels it is pronounced like h in paha ’bad’
’Aha!’ ;
in front of consonants and at the end of words lahti ’open’
it is quite strong, like ch in Nacht or Achtung. jah ’yes’
ng, nk are like the same combinations in the English sink ’ham’
words ’sing’ and ’sink’ , with the tongue not hing ’soul’
actually touching the gum for the n and an
emphasized g and k at the end
r is trilled like the Spanish r, with the tongue karu ‘bear’
vibrating strongly against the front of the roof
of the mouth
s between vowels it is enunciated lightly with the tasa ’ quietly’
top of the tongue, otherwise like the English s. vastama ‘to answer’
š like sh in English šampoon ’ shampoo’
ž is like s in ’treasure’ or like French i in ’jour’ žanr ’genre’, oranž ’orange
colour’
f, m, n, z, v are like the same sound as in English.

c, q, w, x, y (these are only found in foreign names)

In Estonian there are many diphthongs or two-vowel combinations, which are part of the same
syllable.
Vowel a e I o u
A laevad laiu kaod lauad
E seade leiba teod (reuma)
I (diadeem) (pieteet) (bioloogia) kiurud
O toas koerad oinad soustid
U (suaree) (pueriilne) kuivad (fluor)
Õ lõa nõelad õisi lõoke õunad
Ä – päev säinas näod kräunuma
Ö pöan söed köied – –
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Ü (hüatsint) (müeliit) süüa [syiːjɑ] (krüoliit) –

The accent in Estonian is usually on the first syllable. There are a few exceptions with the stress
on the second syllable: aitäh ('thanks'). The stress is weak.

In some words, the consonants l, n, s, t are softened or palatalized with a slight i- od j (English y) type sound before
the consonant. It is not indicated in written language, in dictionaries it is sometimes noted with ’. Sometimes, it
changes the meaning.

palk ’wage’ - pal’k ’log’

kas’s ’cat’
kot’t ’bag’

Meie Isa, kes Sa oled taevas! Our Father in heaven,

Pühitsetud olgu Sinu nimi. hallowed be your name,
Sinu riik tulgu. your kingdom come,
Sinu tahtmine sündigu your will be done,
nagu taevas, nõnda ka maa peal. on earth as in heaven.
Meie igapäevast leiba anna meile Give us today our daily bread.
tänapäev. Forgive us our sins
Ja anna meile andeks meie võlad, as we forgive those who sin against us.
nagu meiegi andeks anname oma Save us from the time of trial
võlglastele. Ja ära saada meid kiusatusse, and deliver us from evil.
vaid päästa meid ära kurjast. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
Sest Sinu päralt on riik ja vägi ja au now and for ever. Amen.
igavesti. Aamen.

Armastuse kiitus The Way of Love

13 1 Kui ma inimeste ja inglite keeltega 13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,
räägiksin, aga mul poleks armastust, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
oleksin ma vaid kumisev vask ja kõlisev cymbal.
kelluke!
2 Ja kui mul oleks prohvetianne ja ma
teaksin kõik saladused ja kõik tunnetatu, 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all
ja kui mul oleks kõik usk, nõnda et mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so
võiksin mägesid teisale paigutada, aga mul as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am
poleks armastust, siis ei oleks minust nothing.
ühtigi!
3 Ja kui ma jagaksin kõik oma vara 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my
vaestele ja kui ma annaksin oma ihu body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
põletada ja mul poleks armastust, siis ei
oleks mul sellest mingit kasu!
4 Armastus on pikameelne, armastus on 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or
täis heldust; ta ei ole kade, armastus ei boast; it is not arrogant
suurustle, ta ei ole iseennast täis;
5 ta ei ole viisakuseta, ta ei otsi omakasu, 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not
ta ei ärritu, ta ei pea meeles paha; irritable or resentful;
6 ta ei rõõmutse ülekohtust, aga ta 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with
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rõõmutseb ühes tõega; the truth.

7 tema vabandab kõik, usub kõik, loodab 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
kõik, sallib kõik! things, endures all things.
8 Armastus ei hävi ilmaski! Aga olgu 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass
prohveti ennustused, need kaovad; olgu away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for
keeled, need lakkavad; olgu tunnetus, see knowledge, it will pass away.
lõpeb ära.
9 Sest poolik on, mida me tunnetame, ja 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
poolik, mida me ennustame.
10 Aga kui tuleb täiuslik asi, siis kaob see, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass
mis on poolik! away.
11 Kui ma olin väeti laps, siis ma rääkisin 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought
nagu väeti laps, ma mõtlesin nagu väeti like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a
laps ja arvasin nagu väeti laps; aga kui ma man, I gave up childish ways.
sain meheks, siis ma hülgasin selle, mis
on omane väetile lapsele.
12 Sest nüüd me näeme nagu peeglis 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face
tuhmi kujutist, aga siis palgest palgesse; to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,
nüüd ma tunnetan poolikult, aga siis ma even as I have been fully known.
tunnetan täiesti, nagu minagi olen täiesti
tunnetatud.
13 Ent nüüd jääb usk, lootus, armastus, 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
need kolm; aga suurim neist on armastus! but the greatest of these is love.
(Pauluse esimene kiri korintlastele 13) (Corinthians 13)

Estonian ist an agglutinative language (not the auxiliary words change, but the word himself).

It has 14 noun cases.

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# Case Singular Plural

Example in Example in Example in
Example in English
Estonian English Estonian
Nominative beautiful books (as
1 ilus raamat a beautiful book ilusad raamatud
nimetav subject or total object)
of a beautiful
Genitive book;
2 ilusa raamatu ilusate raamatute of beautiful books;
omastav a beautiful book
(as total object)
Partitive a beautiful book beautiful books
3 ilusat raamatut ilusaid raamatuid
osastav (as a partial object) (as a partial object)
Illative ilusasse into a beautiful ilusatesse
4 into beautiful books
sisseütlev raamatusse book raamatutesse
Inessive ilusates
5 ilusas raamatus in a beautiful book in beautiful books
seesütlev raamatutes
Elative ilusast from a beautiful ilusatest
6 from beautiful books
seestütlev raamatust book raamatutest
Allative ilusale onto a beautiful ilusatele
7 onto beautiful books
alaleütlev raamatule book raamatutele
Adessive on a beautiful ilusatel
8 ilusal raamatul on beautiful books
alalütlev book raamatutel
Ablative off a beautiful ilusatelt
9 ilusalt raamatult off beautiful books
alaltütlev book raamatutelt
Translative ilusaks [to turn] (in)to a ilusateks [to turn] (in)to beautiful
10
saav raamatuks beautiful book raamatuteks books
Terminative up to a beautiful ilusate
11 ilusa raamatuni up to beautiful books
rajav book raamatuteni
Essive ilusate
12 ilusa raamatuna as a beautiful book as beautiful books
olev raamatutena
Abessive without a beautiful ilusate without beautiful
13 ilusa raamatuta
ilmaütlev book raamatuteta books
Comitative with a beautiful ilusate
14 ilusa raamatuga with beautiful books
kaasaütlev book raamatutega
Estonian has no gender and no future tense.
It's possible to build long compound words, like the 24-letter long kuulilennuteetunneliluuk. It
means "the hatch a bullet flies out of when exiting a tunnel" and is also a palindrome.
Õueaiamaa (vegetable garden); jää-äär (The edge of a stretch of ice)
The first Estonian language book was printed in 1535. The first northern Estonian language
version of the New Testament was published in 1715, with the whole Bible of Anton Thor Helle
appearing in Estonian in 1739.
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Lesson 1
tulema – ma tule/n (to come)
ma (mina) tulen me (meie) tuleme
sa (sina) tuled te (teie) tulete
ta (tema) tuleb nad (nemad) tulevad
2nd person plural is used to show respect or social distance
paluma – palu/n (to beg)
ma palun me palume
sa palud te palute
ta palub nad paluvad
rääkima – räägi/n (to speak)
ma räägin me räägime
sa räägid te räägite
ta räägib nad räägivad
õppima – ma õpi/n
ma õpin me õpime
sa õpid te õpite
ta õpib nad õpivad
Ma õpin täna. Ma õpin homme.
Olema – olen (to be)
I am I am not I have I haven’t

mina olen mina ei ole mul on mul ei ole

sina /sa oled sina ei ole sul on sul ei ole
tema on tema ei ole tal on tal ei ole
meie oleme meie ei ole meil on meil ei ole
teie olete teie ei ole teil on teil ei ole
nemad on nemad ei ole neil on neil ei ole
Mina olen ameeriklane. Ma elan Ameerikas. Sina oled eestlane. Sa elad Eestis. Mina olen kodus.
Sina oled ka kodus. Sa kirjutad. Tema on siin. Meie tuleme homme. Me oleme täna kodus. Teie
tulete ja räägite. Te räägite eesti keelt. Nemad on seal. Nad räägivad inglise keelt.
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Olen siin. Õpin. Ma õpin eesti keelt. Tema õpib ka eesti keelt. Oleme kodus. Meie kirjutame.
Nemad õpivad. Teie elate Ameerikas. Te räägite hästi inglise keelt. Täname. Sina kirjutad hästi.
Tänan väga. Palun. Püsime kodus!
Vocabulary
Ameerikas – in America

ameeriklane – (an) American

eesti keel – Estonian language
elama, ela/n – to live
homme – tomorrow
hästi - well
inglise keel English language
ja - and
ka – also
kodus – at home
räägin --- keelt – I speak --- language
seal – there
tulema – tule/n – to come
täna – today
väga – very much
Püsime kodus! Let's stay home!
Nationalities
inglane – Inglismaa
eestlane - Eesti
sakslane - Saksamaa
prantslane - Prantsusmaa
soomlane - Soome
rootslane - Rootsi
hiinlane - Hiina
korealane - Korea
lätlane - Läti
venelane - Venemaa
itaallane – Itaalia
hispaanlane – Hispaania
ungarlane - Ungari

leedukas - Leedu
poolakas – Poola

Expressions of Greeting and Thanks

Tere! Hallo!
Tervist! Good day! Good health to you!
Tere tulemast! Welcome!
Palun! Please! Also: You are welcome! (In response to another’s thanks.)
Tänan! Thanks!
Tänan väga! Thank you very much!
Aitäh! Thanks!

Translate into Estonian

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I speak. We are here. He is coming tomorrow. You (pl.) speak well. She is there. You (sg.) are at
home. They are here and are studying. You (pl.) are also here. We speak. They are coming today.
I beg. You (sg.) are coming. Thanks.
Hallo! Welcome! Please!

Lesson 2
Estonian lacks both the definite article (the) and indefinite article (a, an). A noun such as poiss
’boy’, can thus mean ’boy’, ’a boy’, or ’the boy’. Sometimes the number üks ’one’ can serve as a
sort of indefinite article, but this use is rare in written language.
Basic word order: subject, verb, object (straightforward). An adjective precedes the noun it
modifies: noor poiss ’young boy’, vana mees ’old man’- An adverb of time usually precedes an
adverb of place: Poiss on täna kodus ’The boy is at home today’. Reverse order may be used:
Täna on poiss kodus is also possible.
Questions usually begin with question-word ot interrogative term in Estonian. The word order is
the same.
Kus poiss elab? ’Where does the boy live?’
Mis see on? ’What is that?’
Millal sa tuled? ’When are you coming?
Questions such as ’Are you reading? Is the boy coming?’, which can be answered with either
’Yes’ or ’No’ begin in Estonian with a interrogative Kas?, followed by normal order of
declarative sentence.
Poiss loeb. ’The boy is reading.’
Kas poiss loeb? ’Is the boy reading?’
Sina tuled. ’You are coming.’
Kas sina tuled? ’Are you coming?’
In the spoken language such questions sometimes lack kas? and have a reverse order as in
English: Tuled sa? Oled sa kodus?
Occasionally the affirmative answer to a question is given by the verb of question, conjugated to
agree with the implied subject. It is often given by the word küll ’sure(ly)’.
Kas sa oled kodus? ’Are you home’
Olen küll. (Yes.) I sure am.
Kas te tulete? Are you coming?
Tuleme küll. (Yes,) we sure are.
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Kes see on? See on poiss. Kes seal on? Seal on tüdruk. Mis see on? See on laud. Seal on tool. Kas
poiss istub? Poiss seisab, aga tüdruk istub. Mis nad teevad. Nad räägivad. Kas teie ka räägite?
Meie õpime. Kus te olete? Me oleme siin. Kus tema on? Ta on seal. Mis ta teeb? Ta loeb ja
kirjutab. Kas sa tead, mis see on? Tean küll, see on tool. Kas te teate, kus ta elab? Teame küll, ta
elab siin.
A: Hallo, kes räägib?
B: Siin olen mina.
Kas sa oled täna kodus?
B: Jah, olen küll.
A: Kas sa tuled homme?
B: Jah, ma tulen.
A: Mis sa teed?
B: Õpin!
A: Kuidas läheb?
B: Tänan, hästi.
A: See on tore.
Isa on täna kodus. Ta istub ja loeb. Ema on ka siin. Ta kirjutab. Tütar õpib. Poeg tuleb ja küsib:
„Mis te siin teete?“ Õde vastab: „Armas vend, sa näed ju ise, me istume, õpime, loeme ja
kirjutame.“
Vocabulary
hallo – hello armas – dear
isa – father ema – mother
istuma – istu/n – to sit minema, lähe/n - (I) go
elama, ela/n - to live mis – what
jah – yes nägema, näe/n - to see
ju - of cource poeg, poja – son
kas - (questionword in an Yes–no question, like poiss, poisi – boy
the French ‘est-ce que’) see – this
kes – who seisma, seisa/n to stand
kuid – although, but teadma, tea/n – to know
kuidas – how tegema, tee/n – to make
kuidas läheb? – How’s it going? tool, tooli – chair
kus – where tüdruk, tüdruku – girl
küll – sure(ly) tütar, tütre – daugher
küsima – küsin vastama, vastan – to answer
laud, laua – table, board vend, venna – brother
lugema, loe/n - to read õde, õe – sister
aga – but, however
Translate into Estonian
Where do you (sg.) live? Who is asking? Are you (sg.) at home? Where are they? What are you
(pl.) doing here? We are sitting and talking. Is the boy standing? Yes, he is standing here. What is
the girl doing? The girl is sitting and reading. What is this? Do you (pl.) know? Do you (sg.) know
what this is. Brother is here, but sister is there. Where is the father? What is mother doing? I will
ask and you will answer. Please! Thank you so much!

Expressions of Concern
Kuidas käsi käib? How are you?
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Kuidas läheb? How is it going?

Kuidas elad? Kuidas elate? How do you (sg. / pl.) feel?
Tänan, hästi. Fine, thanks.
Kuidas ise elate? How do you feel yourself?
Suur tänu, kõik on hästi. Thanks a lot, everything is fine.
Aitäh, pole viga. Thanks, no problem.
Halvasti. Badly.
Normaalselt. OK, like normal
Mis sa soovid? Mida te soovite? What do you (sg. / pl.) want?
Kas te soovite midagi? Do you (pl.) wish something.
Jah, palun. Ei, tänan. Yes, please. No, thanks.
Kas jah või ei? Yes or no?
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Lesson 3
Imperativ (command) in 2nd person singular: A verbs present-stem, devoid of any endings
For exemple: imperative 2nd pers, singular in the negative
tulema, tule/n (to come) – tule! ära tule (don’t come!)
lugema, loe/n (to read) – loe! ära loe (don’t read!)
rääkima, räägi/n – räägi ! ära räägi (don’t speak)
The negative particle mitte may be used to strengthen the tone of an ordinary negation: ma ei tule
mitte.
Alternative form of ei ole (am/are/ is not), the word pole is often used, with the same meaning.
ta ei ole siin = ta pole siin (he is not here)
ma ei ole valmis = ma pole valmis (I am not ready)
A negative answer to a question often consists of the negative particle ei with verb in the
question.
Kas sa oled kodus? (Are you (sg.) home?) – Ei ole (/No, I/ am not.)
Kas te tulete? (Are you (pl.) coming?) – Ei tule. (/No, we/ are not coming.)
Estonian has many verbs with adverbial particles, corresponding to English phrases such as ‘get
up’, ‘go out’ and the like. For exemple üles tõusma, tõuse/n üles (to get up); püsti tõusma, tõuse/n püsti
(to stand up); aru saama, saa/n aru (to understand), pealt vaatama, vaata/n pealt (to look on)
In these situations, only the verb changes in the process of conjugation. The accompanying
particle remains unchanged.
aru saama - ma saa/n aru
ma saan aru me saame aru
sa saad aru te saate aru
ta saab aru nad saavad aru
The particle may be separated from the verb by other parts of the sentence:
Ma tõusen kohe püsti. (I will get up immediately)
Ma saan hästi aru. (I understand well).
Tekst
Tule siia! Palun, istu. Jutusta, ma kuulan. Räägi kõvasti. Ära räägi nii tasa. Ma ei saa aru, mis sa
ütled. Ma ei kuule hästi. Ma kuulen halvasti.
Ütle, mis see on. Ma ei tea, mis see on. Vaata, kes seal seisab. Kas sa näed? Ei, ma ei näe. Ma
lähen kohe ja vaatan. Mine sinna ja küsi. Tule siia tagasi.
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Enne mõtle, siis ütle!

Kuhu sa lähed, armas sõber? Lähen koju. Perekond on kodus ja ootab. Oota, ma tulen ka kohe!
Poeg on kodus. Tütar ei ole. Ta pole veel kodus.
Kas te õpite? Ei, me ei õpi. Me lamame ja puhkame. Kas te seisate või istute? Vend seisab, aga
õde istub. Palun vasta, kui ma küsin. Tõuse püsti, kui sa räägid. Kas sa saad aru, mis ma ütlen? Ma
kardan, et ma ei saa hästi aru. Kas sa tead, mis seal on? Ma tõesti ei tea.
Vocabulary
aru – anderstanding perekond – family
ei – no, not pole = ei ole – am / are / is not
enne – before, first puhkama, puhka/n – to rest
et – that (conj.) aru saama, saa/n aru – to understand
halvasti – badly siia – (to) here, hither
jutustama, jutusta/n - to narrate, to tell a story siis – then
kartma, karda/n – to fear sinna – (to) there, thither
kodus – at home sõber – friend
kohe – immediately tagasi – back (adv.)
koju – (to) home tasa – quietly
kuhu – where, whither tõesti – truly
kui – when, if, as tõusma, tõuse/m – to rise
kuulama, kuula/n – to listen püsti tõusma, tõuse/n püsti – to stand up
kuulma, kuule/n – to hear vaatama, vaata/n – to watch
lamama, lama/n – to lay around, recline veel – still, more
mine! – go! või – or
mõtlema, mõtle/n – to think ära – don’t
nii – so (adj.) ise - myself
ootama, oota/n - to wait ütlema, ütle/n to say

Exercises
Translate into Estonian
I’ll wait here. You (sing.) talk loudly, but he talks quietly. They understand. You (pl.) narrate well.
I say that we will come immediately. Are you (sing.) coming right away?
They are coming here. We are going there. Come here! (sing.) Go there! (sing.) I will see (for)
myself. Wait here! (sing.) Speak loudly! (sing.) Are you (pl.) standing or sitting? Say, will you
(sing.) come tomorrow? No, I won’t come.

Translate into English

Ma kuulen. Ta kuulab. Sa näed. Me vaatame. Te räägite. Nad ütlevad. Olen kodus. Ta läheb koju.
Mina olen siin. Tule ka siia! Nemad on seal. Mine sinna.

Expressions of Politeness
Kas ma segan? Am I disturbing (you)?
Ei, mitte sugugi. No, not at all.
Pole viga. No problem.
Ei sa / te ei sega. No, you’re not bothering me.
Astu sisse! Come on in! (sing.)
 15

Astuge sisse, palun! Come on in, please! (pl.)

Tule siia! Tulge siia! Come here (sing./ pl.)
Palun, istu / istuge! Please, sit. (sing./ pl.)
Vabanda! Vabandage! Excuse (me)! (sing./ pl.)
Palun vabandust! Vabandust! I beg (your) forgiveness! Sorry!
Vabandage, et ma tülitan. Excuse (me) for bothering (you /pl./).
Palun väga! Please do (accept this).
(Oota) üks hetk! (Wait /sing./ ) a moment!
Räägi, ma kuulan. Talk (sing.), I’m listening.
Ära räägi! Kas tõesti? You don’t say? Really?

Dialoogid
Epp: Tere! Mina olen Epp. Epp: Hello! I'm Epp.
Peep: Mina olen Peep. Tere! Peep: I’m Peep. Hello!
Tiina: Tere! Mina olen Tiina. Tema on Peeter. Tiina: Hello! I’m Tiina. He is Peeter. And this
Ja see on Muki. is Muki.
Peep: Oi, kui nunnu koer! Peep: Oh, what a cute dog!

Direktor: Saage palun tuttavaks: Maarja Director: Maarja Õunapuu and Maria
Õunapuu ja Maria Ivanova. Ivanova, please get acquainted.
Õpetaja: Väga meeldiv! Teacher: Nice to meet you!
Õpetaja: Samad sõnad! Teacher: Nice to meet you too!

Õpetaja: Palun, Anna! Teacher: Anna, please!

Õpilane: Mina ei ole Anna. Mina olen Anton. Pupil: I’m not Anna. I’m Anton.

Kristjan: Tere! Me pole vist varem kohtunud. Kristjan: Hello! We probably have not met
Mina olen Kristjan Karu. before. I am Kristjan Karu.
Anu-Liis: Väga meeldiv! Mina olen Anu-Liis Anu-Liis: Pleased to meet you! I am Anu-Liis
Rebane. Rebane.
https://www.keeleklikk.ee/en/lesson/2/1/2; https://www.keeleklikk.ee/en/lesson/2/1/4; https://www.keeleklikk.ee/en/lesson/2/1/8

Keeleklikk.ee Lesson 2
 16

Lesson 4
Nominative Singular Case
The nominative case from both nouns and adjectives has no particular ending. It can end in almost any
vowel or consonant:
isa (father); õde (sister), käsi (hand), töö (work)
vana (old), terve (healthy), hea (good)
mees (man), sõber (friend), raamat (book), noor (young)
paks (fat), kõhn (skinny), vend (brother), laps (child)
The nominative case (nimetav kääne) answers the question kes? (who?), mis? (what?), milline? or
missugune (what kind?). It is mainly used for subjects of sentences and predicative complements.
Kes kirjutab? Vend kirjutab. Who writes? Brother writes.
Kes ta on? Ta on õpetaja. Who is he? He is a teacher.
Milline ta on? Ta on noor. What (type) is he? (What is he like?) He is young.
Mis seal on? Seal on laud. What is there? There is a table.
Mis see on? See on raamat. What is this? This is a book.
The verb agrees with the personal pronoun and not with the word ’it’ in a clause of the type ’It is I’.
See olen mina. (It is I). See oled sina. (It is you.) See on tema. (It is he/ she.)

In a negative sentence, a double negative is often found. In English, this would result in an affirmation
(’I don’t know anything’ = ’I know something’). In Estonian, on the other hand, the meaning remains
negative, with the extra particle mitte reinforcing the negative impact of ei.
Ma ei tea mitte midagi. I know nothing (lit.: ’I don’t know not anything’)
Ta ei tule mitte kunagi tagasi. He will never come back. (lit.: ’He won’t not ever
come back.’)
Tekst
Vend on juba suur poiss. Ta käib koolis. Õde on väike tüdruk. Ta mängib kodus. Ta on hea laps. Vanaisa
ja vanaema istuvad ja puhkavad. Nad vaatavad pealt, kuidas väike laps mängib. Tädi ja onu tulevad homme
külla. Siis on ka vanemad kodus.
Kas isa on vana mees? Ei ole, isa on veel noor inimene. Ema on ka noor. Ema on noor naine. Onu on aga
juba vana mees. Milline on tädi? Tädi on noor ja ilus.

- Mida te teete, proua Kivisaar, et te nii noor ja ilus olete?

- Ma ei tee mitte midagi.

Rumal räägib, mis teab, tark teab, mida räägib.

Kõik pole kuld, mis hiilgab. (Vanasõna)
Üles läheb, alla ei tule? (Mõistatus) – Suits
Vocabulary
alla – down kõik – all
hea – good koolis käima, käi/n koolis – to go to school
hiilgama, hiilga/n – to glitter külla – on a visit
ilus – pretty laps – child
inimene – person mees – man
juba – already mida – what
koolis in school midagi – anything
kuld – gold milline – what kind
 17

mitte – not suur – big

mitte midagi – nothing tark – smart
mõistatus – riddle tädi – aunt
mängima, mängi/n – to play pealt vaatama, vaata/n pealt – to look on
naine – woman vana – old
noor – young vanaema – grandmother
välja nägema, näe/n välja – to appear vanaisa – grandfather
onu – uncle vanasõna – proverb
proua – Mrs vanemad – parents
rumal – stupid väike – little
suits – smoke üles – up

Exercises
Translate into Estonian:
What is this? This [It] is a table. Who is standing there? It is I. Who is going to school? He is a good boy.
Does Little Sister also go to school? No, she does not go to school yet. She is a little girl. Brother and
sister play home. Are you (pl.) going home? We will be home tomorrow. Grandfather is an old man. Mrs.
Kivisaar is a young woman. She is very pretty. Is Uncle a young person? No, he is not young, he is old. Is
he very old? No, he isn’t. What is Aunt doing today. I don’t know. Do you (sing.) understand what I say?
Say something! (sing.) Don’t talk so quietly! (sing.)

Translate into English:

mees – naine; poiss – tüdruk; isa – ema; vanaisa – vanaema; poeg – tütar; vend – õde
onu – tädi; laps – vanemad – perekond
Expressions of Curiosity
Mis see on? What is this?
Mis see tähendab? What does this mean?
Kes seal on? Kes see on? Who is there? Who is this?
See on härra / proua / preili... It is Mr. / Mrs. / Miss ...
Kas see on proua Palm? Is that Mrs. Palm?
Jah, on küll. – Ei ole. Yes, it (sure) is. – No, it isn’t.
Kuidas te teate? How do you know? (pl.)
Mis sa arvad? Mis te arvate? What did you think? (sing. / pl.)
Kas sa saad aru? Kas te saate aru? Do you understand? (sing. / pl.)
Saan aru. – Ma ei saa aru. I understand. --- I don’t understand.
Kuidas, palun? Pardon me? (What did you say?)
Vabandust, ma ei kuulnud. Sorry, I did not hear.
Palun korda! Palun korrake! Please repeat. (sing. / pl.)
 18

Lesson 5
Grammar
Following a command, a so-called definite or total object is in the nominative case. An object is ’total’ if
all of it is involved in the action. Examples:
Too raamat siia! Bring the book (here)!
Vii laps koju! Take the child home!
Kutsu vend siia! Call your brother over (here)!
Anna mulle üks dollar! Give me one dollar!
Võta see ajaleht! Take this newspaper!
Impersonal constructions of the type ’it is warm’ ot ’ there is’ are expressed in Estonian only through the
verb in the 3rd person singular, without the word ’it’ or ’there’.
On võimalik, et ... It is possible that...
Täna on ilus ilm. There is beautiful weather today.
Toas on soe. It is warm in the room.
Kuidas läheb? How is it going?
Sajab. It is raining.
Mind huvitab, kas... It interests me, whether...
In certain cases, even the verb may be omitted:
Väga võimalik, et... It is very possible that...
Huvitav, kas ... It would be interesting to know if
Imelik, et It is odd, that
Numbers 0-10
0 null
1 üks
2 kaks
3 kolm
4 neli
5 viis
6 kuus
7 seitse
8 kaheksa
9 üheksa
10 kümme
 19

Text
Võta raamat ja tule siia. Ava raamat ja loe! Kas see on huvitav raamat? See on õpik!
Võta see sulepea ja kirjuta. Kirjuta üks kiri! Saada kiri isale. Anna sulepea mulle tagasi.
Ole hea, too pliiats siia! Võta pliiats ja joonista. Joonista üks pilt. See on ilus pilt! Kingi see pilt mulle. Osta
homme uus õpik. Too õpik kaasa, kui sa tuled. Kutsu sõber ka kaasa. Huvitav, kas ta tuleb? Kui on halb ilm,
siis istume toas ja õpime. Kui aga ilm on ilus, läheme jalutama.
Täna sa töötad, aga homme puhkad. Sa õpid hästi. Te olete hea õpetaja.
Väike tüdruk laulab. See on väga ilus laul. Laula veel üks laul.
Kui palju on seitse ja kolm? Seitse ja kolm on kümme. Kui palju on kaks ja viis? Kaks ja viis on seitse. Kui
palju on üks pluss neli? Üks pluss neli on viis. Üheksa miinus kuus on kolm.
- Ütle, palun, mis arv see on: 5?
- See on viis.
- Õige! Aga mis arv see on? 7?
- Kaheksa!
- Vale, see on seitse. Õpi veel!
Üheksa korda mõtle, üks kord ütle. (Vanasõna)

Vocabulary
andma, anna/n – to give ostma, ostan – to buy
palju – much
arv – number pilt – picture
avama, ava/n – to open pliiats – pencil
halb – bad pluss – plus
huvitav – interesting raamat – book
ilm – weather saatma, saada/n – to send
isale – to Father sulepea – fountain pen
jalutama, jaluta/n – to walk toas – indoors
joonistama, joonista/n – to draw tooma, too/n – to bring
kaasa – along töötama, tööta/n – to work
kinkima, kingi/n – to make a gift of uus – new
kiri – letter vale – wrong
kord – time võtma, võta/n – to take
korda – times õige – right
kui palju – how much õpetaja – teacher
kutsuma, kutsu/n – to invite õpetama, õpeta/n – to teach
laul – song õpik – textbook
laulma, laula/n – to sing õpilane – student
miinus – minus
mulle – to me
 20

Exercises
Translate into Estonian:
Father is a teacher. The teacher teaches. The son is a student. The student studies. (You /sing./)
Give me this book! Please open (sing.) the book. Sing (sing.) a song. There’s beautiful weather today
[lit: Today (there) is beautiful weather.] I won’t do anything today. We’ll rest today, but tomorrow
we’ll work. Where are you (pl.) going? We’re walking home. Buy (sing.) a new book. Bring the book
along, when you (sing.) come.

Say in Estonian:
How much is two and four. 1+9=10, 2+6=8, 3+4=7, 5+5=10., 8-7=1, 9-3=6, 2-2=0, 6-5=1
Translate the following phases info English
tõusen püsti saad aru vaatame pealt näete välja
Translate the following phrases into English
Poiss ja tüdruk. Suur või väike? Kas jah või ei? Ma näen, et ... Tüdruk istub, aga poiss seisab. See on
nii ilus. Õde ei ole nii suur kui vend. Kui sa tuled, võta sõber ka kaasa!
Expressions of Evaluation
Kas sa oled rahul? Are you satisfied? (lit. at peace)
Jah, täiesti! Yes, completely.
Suur [= Palju] tänu, kõik on korras. Thanks a lot, everything is in order.
On(s) see tõsi? Is it true?
See on sulatõsi! ˇ It’s the honest truth!
See on puha vale! It’s an outright lie!
Sa eksid! Te eksite! You are mistaken! (sing. / pl.)
Laula üks laul! Sing (sing.) a song!
Ma ei oska. I cannot. (I don’t know how.)
Ah nii?! Oh? (So that’s how it is!)

Lesson 6
Grammar: Present Conditional Tense
The present conditional, which corresponds to expressions with would in English, is constructed in Estonian
with the present stem, followed by –ksi– and the present tense ending in the 1st and 2nd person singular /
plural. The 3rd person singular / plural does not follow this pattern.

Present Present Conditional

Singular 1. ma taha/n ’I want’ taha/ksi/n ’I would want’
2. sa taha/d taha/ksi/d
3. ta taha/b taha/ks/ -
Plural 1. me tahame taha/ksi/me
2. te tahate taha/ksi/te
3. nad tahavad taha/ksi/d
Example: Ma tahaksin minna koju. ’ I would want (like) to go home.’
The negative form of the conditional consists of ei + 3rd person singular of the verb, for all persons.
 21

ma ei tahaks ’I would not want’ me ei tahaks

sa ei tahaks te ei tahaks
ta ei tahaks nad ei tahaks
Exemple: Ma ei tahaks minna koju. ’We would not like to go home.’
In the sum, the present stem of the verb is used to construct both the affirmative and negative forms of:

1) the present tense (see Lesson 1)

2) the imperative for the 2nd person singular (Lesson 3)
3) the conditional tense.

For example:

tulema (infinitive stem) tule/n ’I come’ ei tule ’(I) do not come’

present stem tule! ’come!’ (you sing.) ära tule! ’do not come!’ (you
tule- (’come’) sing.)
tule/ksi/n ’(I) would come’ ei tule/ks ’(I) would not
come*
The infinitive (’to talk’, ’to go’ etc. in English) often has another stem than the present stem in Estonian. Since
the infinitive stem is one of the basic forms in conjugating an Estonian verb, it is necessary to know both the
infinitive and the present stem. In every dictionary, the verb is always listed under the infinitive (in the form
with the –ma ending). The ma-infinitive is then followed the present tense form.
For example:
lugema, loe/n ’to read, I read’
lubama, luba/n ’to permit, I permit’
tahtma, ma taha/n ’to want, I want’

Tekst
Ma lähen jalutama, kui ema lubab. Ma läheksin jalutama, kui ema lubaks. Ma ei lähe sinna, kui sa ka lubad. Ma
ei läheks sinna, kui sa ka lubaksid. Olen siin, kui sa tuled. Oleksin väga rõõmus, kui sa homme siia tuleksid.
Oleks tore, kui sõber ka tuleks.
Õpetaja küsib ja õpilane vastab. Kas ta oskab? Õpilane vastaks, kui ta ainult oskaks. Nemad istuvad, aga sina
seisad. Nad istuksid, kui sa paluksid. Me tahame, et te laulate. Me tahaksime, et te laulaksite. Kas ma tohin? Ma
laulaksin, kui ma tohiksin. Ma tahaksin, et sa õpiksid hästi.
Ma ei tahaks, et sa ainult lamad ja puhkad. Sa saad, kui sa soovid. Kui sa ilusti paluksid, siis sa saaksid. Tee nii,
nagu isa ütleb. Sooviksin, et sa teeksid nii, nagu ma ütlen. Nad ei teeks nii, nagu ma ütlen. Nad ei teeks nii, kui
nad oleksid kodus.
Oleksin laululind
kannaksid tiivad mind!

Istun üksi toas. Keegi koputab.

- Tee uks lahti! hüüab üks hääl.

 22

- Üks silmapilk. Tulen kohe... Ah, sina oled! Tere! Astu sisse, ole hea, pane uks kinni. Istu.
- Tänan väga. Kas lubad, ma suitsetan? Küsib sõber.
- Palun väga. Luba mulle ka üks suits.
- Säh, siin on karp. Võta üks sigarett. Siin on tikud, palun.

Vocubulary
ainult – only rõõmus – happy
aken – window saama, saa/n – to get, I get
astuma, astu/n – to step, I step sigarett – cigarette
avatud – open silmapilk – moment
hääl – voice sisse – inside (movement into)
hüüdma, hüüa/n – to shout, I shout soovima, soovi/n – to wish, I wish
ilusti – nicely suits – smoke
kandma, kanna/n – to carry, I carry suitsetama, suitseta/n – to smoke, I smoke
karp – small box suletud – closed
keegi – someone säh! – here you are! (expression is not as polite in
kinni – closed Estonian as in English)
koputama, koputa/n – to knock, I knock tahtma, taha/n – to want, I want
kui...ka – even if lahti tegema, tee/n lahti – to open, I open
lahti – open tiivad – wings
laululind – songbird tikud – matches
lind – bird toas – indoors
lubama, luba/n – to permit, I permit tohtima, tohi/n - to have permission, I have permission
mind – me uks – door
oskama, oska/n – to be able, I am able üksi – alone
kinni panema, pane/n kinni – to close, I close

Exercises
Conjugate in he present conditional tense: soovin ’I wish’, ütlen ’I say’, laulan ’I sing’, lähen ’I go’, tulen ’I take’, palun
’I peg’.
Translate into Estonian: I would sing, if I could (would be able). He would like you (sing.) to go there. We would
come, if we would have permission. (You sing.) Give me a new book! The weather is beautiful today. Call
Sister over here! (You sing.) Give me a small box. Do you (sing.) smoke a lot? Do you (pl.) permit (it)?
Translate into English: Tee uks lahti (= Ava uks)! Uks on lahti (=Uks on avatud). Pane uks kinni! Aken on kinni
(aken on suletud). Ava raamat (tee raamat lahti). Pane raamat kinni.

Expressions of Invitation and Request

Oleksin väga rõõmus, kui sa tuleksid / te tuleksite I would be very glad if you (sing. / pl.) would come.
Tuleksin heameelega, kuid kahjuks olen täna kinni. I would gladly come, but unfortunately I am tied up today.
Kahjuks ma ei saa. Unfortunately I cannot.
Oleksin sulle / teile väga tänulik. I’d be very grateful to you (sing. / pl.)
Kas oleks võimalik ... Would it be possible...?
Paluksin... I would request... (lit.: beg for)
Kas sa suitsetad? Kas te suitsetate? Do you smoke? (sing. / pl.)
Ei, tänan. Ma ei soovi praegu. No, thank you. I don’t wish to right now.
Ma ei suitseta. I don’t smoke.
Kas tohin? Kas lubate? May I? Do you (pl.) permit?
Luba mulle üks suits / tikk. Let me have a smoke / match.
Ole hea (Palun), võta / võtke üks kook. Please, take one cake.
 23

Siin on salvrätid. Here are the napkins.

Lesson 7

Grammar
All nouns, pronouns and numbers in Estonian have 14 different case forms, in both singular and plural. There
are really only a few basic case forms, upon which the rest of the case system is based. As you will see, the
case system is very regular. The endings are constant and are added to the word stems without change, so it is
easy to distinguish between the stem and the ending.
Genitive Singular
One of the basic case forms is the genitive singular, which is used first and foremost to indicate the possessor or
owner of something. In English, this would be indicated by ending –s to the end of a word: man’s, child’s etc.
The genitive case (omastav kääne) answers the questions kelle? ’whose, belonging to to whom?’ and mille?
’belonging to what?’. As in English, the possessive word comes before the object possessed.

Kelle raamat? Lapse raamat. Whose book? The child’s book.

Mille kaas? Raamatu kaas. The cover of what? The book’s cover
Estonia use the genitive in many cases where English uses the preposition ’of’; linna tänavad ’the streets of the
town [the town’s streets], maja katus ’the roof of the house [the house’s roof], olukorra peremees ’the master
of the situation [the situations master]’.
In Estonian, two genitive forms can stand side by side: poisi venna raamat ’the book of the boys brother [the
boy’s brother’s book].
Note! An adjective that modifies a noun in the genitive singular agrees with the noun. In other words, the
adjective must also be in the genitive singular case: väikese (gen. sing.) lapse (gen. sing.) raamat ’the little
childs book [lit.: the little’s child’s book].
The genitive singular always ends in a vowel. There no set rules for which vowel a word will end with the
genitive singular. In the word list in this textbook, the genitive will be given after the nominative form of the
word. For example:
vend, venna – brother, brother’s
raamat, -u [raamatu] – book, book’s
nai/ne, -se [naise] – woman, woman’s
maja, - [maja] – house, house’s
You will need to learn both these forms when you encounter a new word. If you know the genitive form, you
can construct all the remaining singular case (exept the partitative) and even the nominative plural, simply by
adding fixed endings to the genitative form.
Some examples:

Nominative singular Genitative singular Other cases

raamat ’book’ raamatu ’the book’s’ raamatu/s ’in the book’
raamatu/ga ’with the book’
raamatu/ta ’without the book’
raamatud ’the books
müts ’hat’ mütsi ’the hat’s’ mütsi/s ’in the hat’
mütsi/ga ’with the hat’
mütsi/ta ’without the hat’
mütsi/d ’the hats’
 24

The endings -s, -ga, -ta, which are added to the genitive form, thus have the same meaning as the prepositions
’in, with, without’ in English. Even in English, there are instances where such elements are added to the end
of a word: therein, herewith, hatless. In Estonian, however, such endings can never stand alone as separate
words.
A word with ending a consonant in the nominative singular will always end with one of four vowels (a, e, i, u)
in the genitive singular:

Nominative singular Genitative singular Nominative singular Genitative singular

linn ’town’ linn/a ’town’s’ kool ’school’ kool/i
ilm ’weather’ ilm/a pliiats ’pencil’ pliiats/i
ilus ’pretty’ ilus/a tool ’chair’ tool/i
laps ’child’ laps/e tüdruk ’girl’ tüdruk/u
noor ’young’ noor/e laul ’song’ laul/u
suur ’big’ suur/e raamat ’book’ raamat/u
uks ’door’ uks/e õpik ’textbook’ õpik/u
hääl ’voice’ hääl/e suits ’smoke’ suits/u
lapse raamat ’the child’s book’, tüdruku pliiats ’the girl’s pencil’
Note! Foreign names ending in a consonant usually take the ending –i in the genitive singular:
New York, New Yorgi; Washington, Washingtoni; Berliin, Berliini; Soul, Souli; Viin, Viini (Vienna) etc.

A word ending in a vowel in the nominative singular usually keeps the same vowel as its ending in the
genitive singular; that is, the word remains the same:
isa loeb (nom. sing) ’Father reads.’
isa raamat (gen. sing.) ’Father’s book’
Here some other examples of words for which the nominative and genitive singular cases are the same:
ema ’mother’, tädi ’aunt’, onu ’uncle’, proua ’Mrs.’, härra ’Mr.’, preili ’Miss’, õpetaja ’teacher’, töö ’work’, vana
’old’, hea ’good’
Eesti ’Estonia’, Ameerika ’America’, Rootsi ’Sweden’, Oslo, Tartu, Narva
There are, however, quite a few exeptions, such as nimi ’name’ – gen. nime; meri ’sea’ – gen. mere; veri ’blood’
– gen. vere. In some instance, there may also be a change of sound in the stem.
Most words ending in –ne in the nominative singular take the ending –se in the genitive singular.
inime/ne ’person’ – inimese ’person’s’
milli/ne ’which’ – milli/se
eestla/ne ’an Estonian’ – eestla/se
ameeriklane ’an American’ – ameerikla/se
nai/ne ’woman, wife’ – naise
Some two-syllable words ending in –ne do no change:
kõne ’speech’ kõne
hoone ’building’ hoone
laine ’wave’ laine
Tekst
Kelle raamat see on? See on isa raamat. Kelle maja see on? See on onu maja. Kelle korter see on? See on härra
Palmi korter. Härra Palm on noor kirjanik. Noore kirjaniku uus romaan ilmub varsti. Romaani tegevus toimub
maal.
 25

Laps jookseb väljas. Lapse vanemad on tööl. Kool asub lähedal. Kooli hoone on uus ja ilus. Akadeemia uus
hoone saab varsti valmis. See väike poiss on algkooli õpilane. Siin on eesti keele õpik. Kuidas sulle meeldib
eesti keel?
Kelle auto see on? See on härra Kivisaare auto. Auto uks on lahti. Astu sisse! Ära sõida nii kiiresti! Sõida
aeglaselt!
Kuidas on õpetaja tervis? Õpetaja on vana ja haige. Haige inimese tuju on halb. Sa oled noor ja terve. Terve
inimese tuju on hea. Noore inimese elu on huvitav. Kas see harjutus on raske?
Mõistatus: Isa laps ja ema laps, kuid ta pole ei ühegi inimese poeg. (Tütar)

Vocabulay
aeglaselt – slowly korter, -i – apartment
algkool, -i – primary school lähedal – near(by)
asuma, asu/n – to be located, I am located maal – in the country
auto, - – car meeldima, meeldi/n – to appeal (to)
eesti, - – Estonian (adj.) raske, - – heavy
romáan, -i – novel
ei ühegi – no one's
valmis saama, saa/n valmis – to get ready
ei ühegi inimese – no person's
sulle – to you (sing.)
haige, - – sick (adj.) sick person (n.)
sõitma, sõida/n – to ride, I ride
halb, halva – bad
tegevus, -e – activity
harjutus, -e – excercise
terve, - – healthy
hoone, - – building
tervis, -e – health
härra – Mr.
toimuma, toimu/n – to happen, I happen
ilmuma, ilmu/n – to appear, I appear
tuju, - – mood
inimene, -se – person
tööl – at work
jooksma, jookse/n – to run, I run
valmis – ready
keel, -e – language
varsti – soon
kelle – whose
väljas – outdoors
kiiresti – fast
ühe(gi) – one's
kirjanik, -u – writer
ülikool, -i – university
Kivisaar, -e – Stone-island (name)
kool, -i – school

Expressions of Telephone Conversation

Telefonikõne

Hallo, kas härra / proua / preili Kivisaar on kodus? Hallo, is Mr./ Mrs./ Miss Kivisaar home?
Ma kuulen. Yes, that’s me. [lit.: I’m hearing.]
Üks silmapilk, palun. One moment, please.
Palun oodake, ta tuleb kohe. Please wait (pl.), he isn’t home.
Kahjuks (ta) ei ole kodus. Unfortunately, he isn’t home.
Kui kahju! Too bad! [What a shame!]
Vabandust, kes räägib? Excuse me, who is speaking?
Kas ta tuleb varsti tagasi? Will he come back soon?
Millal tuleb härra Kivisaar koju? When will Mr. Kivisaar come home?
Kahjuks ma ei tea. Unfortunately, I don’t know.
Ta tuleb varsti. He is coming soon.
Helistage homme uuesti. Call again tomorrow. (pl.)
Helista hiljem. Call (back) later. (sing.)
Exercises
 26

Translate into Estonian: Whose house is this? It is Mr. Palm’s house. Here is the girl’s book. Mother’s sister lives
in the country. The teacher’s son goes to [attends] school. This is a hard exercise. Life is interesting. The
young girl’s mother is at work. You (pl.) are an interesting person. When will the author’s new book come
out? Is father sick? No, father is healthy. (You /sing./) Give me the Estonian language textbook!

Translate these contrasting word pairs into English:

noor – vana haige – terve
uus – vana õige – vale
suur – väike kiiresti – aeglaselt
hea – halb kõvasti – tasa

Dialoogid
Kaarel: Tere! Noh, kuidas läheb? Kaarel: Hello! So, how are you?
Jaanus: Tänan küsimast, hästi. Aga sinul? Jaanus: Fine, thanks. And you?
Kaarel: Pole ka viga. Kaarel: Also not too bad.
Leili: Oi, tere ... Kuidas elad? Leili: Oh, hello! How are you?
Annika: Väga hästi! Aga sina? Annika: Very well! And you?
Leili: Normaalselt. Leili: Fine.

Arst: Tere hommikust! Kuidas käsi käib? Arst: Good morning. How are you?
Patsient: Tere! Suurepäraselt! Aga teie? Patsient: Hello! Wonderful! And you?
Arst: Mina ka. Arst: Me too.
Patsient: Väga tore. Patsient: Great.

Mikk: Kuidas sul läheb? Mikk: How are you?

Ott: Halvasti! Pea valutab. Ott: Terrible! I have a headache.
Mikk: Paha lugu! Mikk: I’m sorry to hear that!
(keeleklikk.ee chapter 3)
 27

Lesson 8
Sound changes in Word Stems
In Estonian, there is often a change of sound in the stem of a nouns one moves from one case form to
another. This is called a change in degree or quantity.
Compare for example:

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

lipp ’flag’ lipu pp> p
pikk ’long’ pika kk > k
jutt ’story’ jutu tt > t

You will notice that the stem of the word has two different forms (e.g., lipp, lip-); that a long (double)
consonant at the end of the word is replaced by an short (single) consonant of the same type (pp>p).
Often she change involves a shortening or softening of a consonant to the point where it becomes another
letter: p>b, t>d, k>g.

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

karp ’small box’ karbi p> b
pilt ’picture’ pildi t>d
park ’park’ pargi k>g
In some cases, a change in the quality, not mere quantity, of a sound is involved:

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

leib ’bread’ leiva b>v
sada ’hundred’ saja d> j
selg ’back (of a body)’ selja g>j
More extensive spelling changes may also be involved

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

poeg ’son’ poja e dissappears, g>j
aeg ’time’ aja e dissappears, g>j
aed ’garden’ aia e dissappears, g>i
A special type of change in quantity involves the complete dissappearance of the consonant of the stem.

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

kuub ’suitcoat’ kuue b dissappears
laud ’table, board’ laua d dissappears
õde ’sister’ õe d dissappears
arg ’cowardly’ ara g dissappears
koht ’place’ koha t dissappears
usk ’belief’ usu k dissappears
Through a process called assimilation, the following sound changes occur: nd>nn, ld>ll, rd>rr (also nd>n,
ld>l, rd>r).

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

vend ’brother’ venna
 28

sild ’bridge’ silla

kord ’time, occasion’ korra
keeld ’prohibition’ keelu
kääne ’case form’ käände
In some instances, there is both a disappearance of a consonant and a simultaneous change of vowels:

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

tuba ’room’ toa b dissappears, u>o
viga ’error’ vea g dissappears, i>e
Even more complex changes may occur:

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

sõber ’friend’ sõbra
mees ’man’ mehe
kiri ’letter’ kirja
süda ’heart’ südame
(Similar changes occur in English, among both verbs and nouns: see, saw, seen; wife, wives; goose, geese;
index, indices.)
Possessive Pronouns
The genitive forms of personal pronouns functions as possessive pronouns. As in the nominative case, there
are both long and short forms of each pronoun in the genitive case (except for the 3rd person plural).

Nominative Genitive (Possessive)

mina (ma) ’I’ minu (mu) ’my’
sina (sa) ’you’ (sing.) sinu (su) ’your’ (sing.)
tema (ta) ’he/she/it’ tema (ta) ’his/ her/its’

meie (me) ’we’ meie (me) ’our’

teie (te) ’you’ (pl.) teie (te) ’your’
nemad (nad) ’they’ nende ’their’
These genitive forms remain the same, regardless of the case form of the noun they are linked to:
minu (mu) vend ’my brother’
minu (mu) venna maja ’my brother’s house’
minu (mu) vanemad ’my parents’

Compound words
The Estonian language is rich in combined or compound words. The first word in a compound pair may be
either the nominative ore genitive case.
Exemples where the first word is in the nominative singular
suur ’big’ + linn ’town’ = suurlinn ’big town’
naaber ’neighbor’ + riik ’state’ = naaberriik ’ neighbor state’
paber ’paper’ + raha ’money’ = paberraha ’paper money’
Other examples: käsiraamat ’handbook’, lõpp-peatus ’end station’
Exemples where the first word is in the genitive singular
 29

kooli ’school’s’ + õpetaja = kooliõpetaja ’schoolteacher’

laulu ’song’s’ + lind ’bird’= laululind ’songbird’
Other examples: ausõna ’word of honor’, loomaaed ’zoo’ (lit.: animal yard), emakeel ’mother tongue’, kooliõde
’femal classmate’ (lit.: school sister), koolivend ’male classmate’ (lit.: school brother) etc.
Tekst
Minu vend on kooliõpetaja. Venna sõber on kooli direktor. Mida teeb sinu õde? Mu õde on üliõpilane. Õe
sõber joonistab hästi, ta on kunstnik. Kunstniku elu ei ole kerge, kuid see on alati huvitav. Mis on su õe
sõbranna nimi? Tema nimi on Linda. Mis on ta perekonnanimi? Kahjuks ma ei tea.
Meie korter ei ole suur. Kus asub teie tuba? Siin on meie tuba. Me toa aken on kinni. Ühe akna klaas on katki.
Kus on teie poeg ja tütar? Nad on koolis. Siin on nende tuba. Nende toa uks on lahti. See on poja eesti keele
õpik. See on tütre juturaamat.
Mees istub ja kirjutab. See on mehe sulepea. Naine lamab ja loeb. See on naise arvuti. Poiss seisab ja jutustab.
Kas poisi jutt on huvitav?
Eesti on vabariik. Riigi eesotsas on valitsus. Presidendi elukoht on presidendiloss. Rootsi on Eesti naabermaa.
Rootsi on kuningriik.
Tallinn on Eesti pealinn. See on suur ja ilus linn. Muusikaakadeemia asub kesklinnas Tatari tänaval. Seal elab
mu hea sõber. Kas su sõber on eestlane või venelane? Ta on rootslane. Aga sõbra naine on eestlane. Mis on su
sõbra nimi? Mu sõbra nimi on Tamm. Mis on ta eesnimi? Tamme eesnimi on Mati.
Härra Tamme poeg ja tütar õpivad koolis. Kool ei asu kaugel. Koolimaja asub kodu lähedal. Proua Tamm on
ise kooliõpetaja. Ta on inglise keele õpetaja.
Vocabulary
aken, akna – window loss, -i – castle
alati – always mees, mehe – man
arvuti, – computer muusikaakadeemia, - Music Academy
diréktor, -i – director naabermaa, - – neighbouring country
eesnim/i, -e – first name nai/ne, -se – woman
eesotsas – at the head of nende – their
eestla/ne, -se – Estonian nimi, nime – name
eestlanna, - –Estonian woman pealinn, -a – capital city
elu, - – life peatänav, -a – main street
elukoh/t, -a – dwelling perekonnanim/i, -e – last name
igav, -a – boring poeg, poja – son
jutt, jutu – story poiss, poisi – boy
juturaamat, -u – storybook president, - – president
jutustama, jutusta/n – to narrate, I narrate riik, riigi – state
kahjuks – unfortunately rootsi, - – Swedish
katki – asunder Rootsi, - – Sweden
kaugel – far away rootsla/ne, -se – Swede
kerge, - – easy rootslanna, - – Swedish woman
klaas, -i – glass Soome, - – Finland
koolimaja, - – schoolhouse sõber, sõbra – friend
kooliõpetaja, - – schoolteacher sõbranna, - – female friend
korter, -i – apartment tuba, toa – room
kuninga/s, - – king tütar, tütre – daughter
kuningrii/k, -gi – kingdom tänav, -a – street
kunstnik, -u – artist vabarii/k, -gi – republic
linn, -a – town valitsus, -e – government
 30

venela/ne, -se – Russian

vend, venna – brother
õde, õe – sister
üliõpila/ne, -se – university student

Exercises
Translate into Estonian: My good friend lives here. The friend’s family lives in the country. Where is your (sing.)
new apartment located? His narration is very boring. Our parents are coming for a visit tomorrow. What does
your wife do? What do your children do? This is their room. The door of the room is closed. The window of
the room is open. The young woman’s first name is Elisabeth. Her husband in a schoolteacher. Her husband’s
name is Peeter. What is your last name? My wife is an Estonian (woman). My friend’s brother is a school
principal. Our son goes to school. The son’s school is located not far away. Is your (pl.) daughter home? The
daughter’s (female) friend sings and draws well. Are you (pl.) American or Estonian?

Baaridaam: Tere! Mida teile? Klient: Palun üks Baaridaam: Hello! What will you have?
koorega kohv ja pudel mineraalvett. Klient: One coffee with cream, please, and a bottle of
Baaridaam: Kas gaasiga või gaasita mineral water.
Klient: Ilma gaasita. Baaridaam: ? With gas or without?
Baaridaam: Kas see on kõik? Klient: Without gas.
Klient: Jah. Ma maksan kaardiga. Baaridaam: Will that be all?
Baaridaam: Üks euro ja viiskümmend senti. Klient: Yes. I will pay with my bank card.
Teie PIN-kood, palun. Aitäh! Baaridaam: One euro and fifty cents. Enter your
PIN-code please. Thank you!

Ettekandja: Tere! Ma kuulan teid. Ettekandja: Hello! What would you like?
Klient: Tass rohelist teed palun. Klient: A cup of green tea please.
Ettekandja: Kas veel midagi? Ettekandja: Anything else?
Klient: Ja siis veel pannkoogid moosiga. Klient: And then pancakes with jam.
Ettekandja: Selge. Kas veel midagi? Ettekandja: OK, anything else?
Klient: Ei, see on kõik. Klient: No, that’s all.

Baaridaam: Mida teile? Baaridaam: What will you have?

Klient: Klaas valget veini ja tass kohvi palun. Klient: A glass of white wine and a cup of coffee
Baaridaam: Kas must kohv? please.
Klient: Ei, koorega. Baaridaam: Black coffee?
Baaridaam: Ja mida veel? Klient: No, with cream.
Klient: Üks kook ka palun. Baaridaam: Anything else?
Baaridaam: Kohe. Palun! See teeb kokku Klient: One cake too, please.
täpselt neli eurot. Baaridaam: In a moment. Here you are. That comes
 31

Klient: Palun! to a total of exactly four euros.

Klient: Here you are!

(keeleklikk.ee chapter 4)

Lesson 9
Postpositions and Prepositions
The Estonian language employs postpositions where English usually makes use of prepositions. Postpositions
come after the main word, but otherwise correspond to English prepositions. Many Estonian postpositions
require the genitive case.
raamatu peal ’(up)on the book’
pildi all ’under the picture’
kooli ees ’before (in front of) the school’
ukse taga ’behind the door’
venna juures ’at the brother’s (house)’
mere ääres ’by the see’
Other examples: kunst kunsti pärast ’art for art’s sake’. Kes pole minu poolt, on minu vastu ’whoever is not
for me, is against me’. Silm silma, hammas hamba vastu ’An eye (in exchange) for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’.
There are some prepositions even in Estonian, but their number is small. Many of these call for the genitive
case of the noun that follows.
lähen üle tänava ’I am going across the street’
jalutan läbi linna ’I walk through the town’
These prepositions may also be used as postpositions, but then they have another meaning:
(kaebab) peavalu üle ’(he complains) of a headache’
hooletuse läbi ’on account of carelessness’
Tekst
Siin on meie tuba. Toa uks on kinni. Ukse kõrval on kapp. Kapi uks on lahti. Toa nurgas on ahi. Ahju ja kapi
vahel asetseb riiul. Riiuli peal on raamat. Seina ääres asub voodi. Voodi kohal ripub pilt. Toa keskel on laud.
Laua kohal ripub lamp. Laua peal on vaas. Vaasi sees on lilled. Laua all on väike vaip. Poiss seisab laua juures.
Laua kõrval on tool. Tooli peal on poisi raamat. Laua ääres on tüdruk ja loeb.
Seisan akna ääres ja vaatan välja. Maja ees on suur aed. Aia keskel kasvab kõrge puu. Puu otsas istub orav. Aia
taga on jõgi. Üle jõe on sild. Silla all kiigub väike paat. Jõe taga asub mets. Metsa kohal lendab lennuk.
Mille kohal lendab lennuk? Lennuk lendab linna kohal. Kes elab teie juures? Vend elab minu juures. Kelle
kõrval ta seisab? Ta seisab sõbra kõrval. Kes istub nende ees? Nende ees istuvad mees ja naine. Kus te olete ja
mis te teete? Me seisame akna ääres ja vaatame välja. Mis te seal näete? Väike laps jookseb üle tänava. „Jookse
ruttu üle tänava, muidu jääd auto alla!“

- Te näete täna nii hea välja!

- Tõesti? Tänan komplimendi eest. Ma tunnen end hästi.

Vocabulary

aed, aia – garden ahi, ahju – oven

 32

all – under (stationary) mis, mille – what

alla – to underneath (motion toward) muidu – otherwise
asetsema, asetse/n – to be situated, I am situated nurgas – in the corner
ees – in front of (in space not time) orav, -a – squirrel
eest – for otsas – atop
jutustama, jutusta/n – to recount, I recount paat, paadi – boat
juures – beside peal – on
jõgi, jõe – river puu, - – tree
jään alla – I end up under riiul, -i – shelf
kapp, kapi – cupboard rippuma, ripu/n – to hang, I hang
kasvama, kasvan – to grow, I grow ruttu – fast
kiikuma, kiigu/n – to swing, I swing sees – inside
kohal – above sein, -a – wall
kompliment, komplimendi – compliment sild, silla – bridge
kõrge, - – high taga – behind
kõrval – beside tool, -i – chair
lamp, lambi – lamp tunne/n end – I feel
laud, laua – table vaas, -i – vase
lendama, lenda/n – to fly vahel – between
lennuk, -i – airplane vaip, vaiba – carpet
lilled – flowers voodi, - – bed
läbi – through välja – outside
maja, - – house ääres – by
mets, -a – woods üle – over (prep)

Exercises
Answer the following questions about the text: Mille kõrval asetseb kapp? Kus on ahi? Mis on ahju ja kapi vahel? Kas
pilt ripub riiuli kohal? Mis on toa keskel? Kus on väike vaip? Kes seisab laua juures? Kelle raamat on tooli
peal? Mis teeb õde / tüdruk? Mis sina teed akna juures? Jutusta, mis sa väljas näed!

Translate into Estonian: In front of the school there is a beautiful garden. Behind the house there grows a tall
tree. Up in (Atop) tree sits a little boy. The man runs across the street. You (sing.) are standing by the window
and looking out. What do you (sing.) see there? Above the river flies an airplane. A woman goes over the
bridge. At whose house do you (sing.) live? Whom are you (pl.) sitting beside? Who is sitting besides you (pl.)?

Translate into English: laua kõrval, laua peal, laua ääres, laua kohal, laua all, laua juures
maja ees, maja sees, maja taga, üle maja
linna keskel, linna kohal, läbi linna.

Dialoogid
Kalle: Vaata, see on minu pere! Kalle: Look, this is my family!
Aksel: Oh, kas sul on nii suur pere? Aksel: Oh, do you have such a big family?
Kalle: Nojah, on tõesti. Kas sul ei ole? Kalle: Well yes, I do indeed. Don’t you?
Aksel: Ei, minul on ainult ema ja isa. Ja neil on Aksel: No, I only have a mother and a father.
kassid. And they have cats.
Kalle: Kassid? Kah tore ju! Kalle: Cats? Oh, that’s also nice!
 33

Klient: Nii sümpaatne mees! Client: What an attractive man!

Juuksur: Näita! Tal on väga armas naine ka. Hairdresser: Show me! He has a lovely wife too.
Klient: Jah. Ja neil on ilus kodu Viljandimaal. Client: Yes. And they have a beautiful home in
Juuksur: Tõesti? Kas neil on lapsi ka? Viljandi County.
Klient: Jah, neil on väike tütar. Ja mehel on Hairdresser: Really? Do they have any children?
eelmisest abielust ka lapsed. Client: Yes, they have a young daughter. And the
man has children from a previous marriage too.

Boy: Do you have a grandmother or a

Poiss: Kas sul on vanaema või vanaisa? grandfather?
Tüdruk: Vanaema mul ei ole. Vanaema on Girl: I don’t have a grandmother. She is dead.
surnud. Boy: What about a grandfather?
Poiss: Aga vanaisa? Girl: Yes, I have a very cool grandfather. He lives
Tüdruk: Jah, mul on üks väga vahva vanaisa. Ta in Mustvee.
elab Mustvees. Girl: Does he have his own house there?
Poiss: Kas tal on seal oma maja? Tüdruk: Yes. He has a small house. I am often
Tüdruk: Jah. Tal on väike maja. Ma olen suvel there in the summer.
sageli seal.

Keeleklikk.ee chapter 5
 34

Lesson 10
Diminutivs
A diminutive is a form of a word which indicates a diminished size as a cigar > cigarette, goose > gosling, pig
> piglet.
Diminutives occur quite often in Estonian, especially in children’s speech, folk song and poetry. This form
also connotes a bit of affection toward the object. The diminutive form of a noun is obtained by adding the
ending –ke or –kene to the genitive singular. Both versions of the diminutive endings have the same meaning
and they can be used interchangeably (cf.: German Kindchen, Brüderlein).

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular Diminutive

laps ’child’ Lapse lapseke(ne), lapsekese
poeg ’son’ Poja pojake(ne), pojakese

Ära nuta, lapsekene! ’Don’t cry, little child’; Tule siia, pojake! ’Come here, sonny’; Kallis emakene ’Dear
(little) Mother’.
An adjective standing alone can also take on a diminutive ending, as in mu armsake ’my dear little one’ (nom.
sing. armas ’dear’, gen. sing armsa).
Many words in Estonian have originated from the diminutive forms and still retain the –ke ending, which
has lost its former connotation of diminuation or affection. The genitive of a word with the diminutive suffic
always ends in –kese.

Nominative Singular Genitive Singular Nominative Singular Genitive Singular

päike ’sun’ päik(e)se väike ’small’ väik(e)se
pääsuke ’swallow (bird)’ pääsukese lühike ’short’ lühikese
armuke ’lover´ armukese õhuke ’thin’ õhukese
Tekst

Kiri
Armas emake!
Suur tänu Su kirja eest. Olen väga rõõmus, et Sa varsti siia sõidad. Kirjuta või helista, millal sa saabud.
Tervitan ja ootan sind väga. Sinu poeg.
 35

Mõistatus Mis värv see on?

Sõbrake, mõista, kes see on see mees: valge, -
pole kala, kuid elutseb vees. kollane, kollase
Tagurpidi ta alati käib – oranž,-i
nii vaid, loomake, liikuda võib. (Vähk) roosa,-
punane, punase
Väike lehmake, magus piimake. (Mesilane) pruun,-i
roheline, rohelise
sinine, sinise
lilla,-
hall,-i
must,-a
hõbedane, hõbedase
kuldne, kuldse

Mis värvi see on?

Mis värvi on taevas? Taevas on sinine. Rohi on roheline. Mis värvi on lumi? Lumi on valge. Mis värvi see
loom on? See pole loom, see on kala. See on kuldkala. Väljas lendab mesilane. Mesilase mesi on kollane. Algul
must, hiljem punane, mis see on? See on vähk. Lehm on kirju, kuid lehma piim on valge.
Võta valge paber ja must pliiats! Joonista üks roheline puu ja punane lill. Missugune on see lipp? Eesti lipu
värvid on sinine, must ja valge. Nad seisavad sini-must-valge lipu all. Mis värvi on õpetaja laud. Õpetaja laud
on pruun. Õpilane istub musta laua ääres. Taevas on täna tume ja ähvardav. Vesi on hõbehall. Kingi talle üks
tumepunane roos! Mulle meeldib see helesinine lill.
Alguses valge kui lumi,
hiljem roheline kui rohi,
lõpuks punane kui veri
ja maitseb kui mesi. (Maasikas)
Vocubulary
algul – in the beginning lehm, -a – cow
elutsema, elutse/n – to live, inhabit, dwell liikuda – to move (a form of liikuma)
hall, -i – gray lill, -e – flower
hele, heleda – light, clear lipp, lipu – flag
helesinine, -se – light blue loom, -a – animal
helistama, helista/n – to phone, call lumi, lume – snow
hiljem – later lõpuks – finally
hõbe, hõbeda – silver maasikas. maasika – strawberry
hõbehall, -i – silvery gray magus, -a – sweeet
kala, - – fish maitsema, maitse/n – to taste
kinkima, kingi/n – to give (as a present) mesi, mee – honey
kiri, kirja – letter, correspondence mesilane, mesilase – honeybee
kirju, - – multi-colored millal – when
kollane, kollase – yellow missugune, missuguse – what sort
kui – like, as must, -a – black
kuid [= aga] – but, however mõistma, mõista/n – to understand, figure out
kuldkala, - – goldfish orav, -a – squirrel
käima, käi/n – to walk, go paber, -i – paper
 36

piim, -a – milk tervitama, tervita/n – to greet

pruun, -i – brown tume, tumeda – dark
punane, punase – red tumepunane, tumepunase – dark red
roheline, rohelise – green tänu, - – thanks
rohi, rohu – grass valge, - – white
roos, -i rose vees – in water
rõõmus, rõõmsa – glad, happy veri, vere – blood
saabuma, saabu/n – to arrive vesi, vee – water
sind – you (partitive sing. case) võima, või/n – to be able, to have permission
sini-must-valge – blue-black-white (Estonian flag) vähk, vähi / vähja – crawfish
sinine, sinise – blue väljas – outdoors
taevas, taeva – sky, heaven värv, -i – color
tagurpidi – blackward ähvardav, -a – threatening
talle [= temale] – to him / her / it
Exercises
Construct the diminutive forms of the following words: naine, mees, tütar, isa, vend, õde, tuba, aken, lamp, laud, sild,
lill, ahi, poiss, tüdruk, tädi, onu, lipp, pilt, riik, loss, armas, ilus; armas sõber, väike maja, ilus linn, pruun
loom, sinine vaas.
Naiseke(ne), meheke(ne), tütrekene, isakene, vennakene, õekene, toake, aknake, lambikene, lauakene, sillake,
lilleke, ahjuke, poisike, tüdrukuke, tädike, onuke, lipukene, pildikene, riigikene, lossikene, armsake, ilusake,
Armas sõbrake, väike majake, ilus linnake, pruun loomake, sinine vaasike
Answer the question: Mis värvi on laud, uks, raamat, pliiats, taevas, puu, rohi, mesi, lumi, veri, lipp, vesi, kala,
paber, lill, vähk, vaas, maja, lennuk, riiul, lamp, vaip, ahi, auto, lehm?
Example: Laud on pruun. Uks on valge. Läbipaistev
Translate into Estonian: We greet you (part. sing.). When does Mother arrive? Many thanks for you (pl.) kind
letter! Are you (sing.) happy now? Are you (sing.) coming soon? Give (sing.) me yellow pencil. Don’t (you
/sing./) write so fast! Draw (sing.) a little blue house. A crawfish is not a fish. A goldfish lives in water. A
crawfish always goes backwards. What colour is the grass? The little brown squirrel sits atop the tall, green
tree. Besides the beautiful dark red rose is a little light blue flower.

Tee küsimine ja väiksed dialoogid Ask for the directions and small dialogs
Vabandust, kas te saate aidata? Excuse me, can you help?
Ma ei tea, kus on bussijaam. I don't know where the bus station is.
Kus asub Muusikaakadeemia? Where is the Academy of Music?
Kuidas ma kesklinna saan? How do I get downtown?
Kus on bussipeatus? Where is the bus stop?
Kas te oskate juhatada, kuidas ma saan teatri Can you guide me to get to the theater.
juurde.
See on lihtne / keeruline. It's easy / complicated.
See on lähedal / kauge. It is near / far.
Mine otse. Minge otse. Go (you sing.) straight. Go (you pl.) straight.
Pöörake paremale. Pööra vasakule. Pöörake Turn (you sing.) right. Turn (you pl.) left. Turn
tagasi. (you pl.) back.
 37

Minge üle tänava / tee. Mine üle ristmiku. Cross (you pl.) the street / road. Go (you sing.)
over the intersection.
Minge mööda tänavat. Go (you pl.) along the street.
Minge üle silla. Minge silla alt. Cross (you pl.) the bridge. Go (you pl.) through
under the bridge.
See on kaugel. Peate minema bussiga. / taksoga. It’s far away. You (pl.) have to go by bus. / by
taxi.
Paremal on punane maja. Vasakul on suur teater. To the right is a red house. There is a large
theater on the left.

Otse ees näed parki. Right in front you (sing.) can see the park. There
Pargi kõrval asub kirik. is a church next to the park.
Kiriku taga on muuseum. Behind the church is a museum.
Muuseumi juures on bussipeatus. There is a bus stop next to the museum.
Ma ei tunne kahjuks linna. Unfortunately, I don’t know the city.

Ants, kas sa lähed ära? Ants, are you leaving?

Jah, ma lähen ära. Yes, I’m leaving.
Millega sa sõidad? What are you driving?
Ma sõidan rongiga. I’m taking the train.
Kas see ei ole pikk sõit? Isn’t that a long ride?
Ei ole, see on lühike sõit. No, it’s a short ride.
Miks sa ei sõida autoga? Why don’t you drive?
Ma ei taha. I do not want to.
Aga bussiga? What about the bus?
Siin ei sõida buss. Ma ei saa bussiga sõita. There is no bus here. I can't take the bus.

Küll me sõidame ilusa rongiga. What a beautiful train we are riding.

Kus on Mati? Where is Mati?
Ta sõidab autoga. He’s driving a car.
Kas see on tema valge auto? Is this his white car?
Ei, tema auto on kollane. No, his car is yellow.
Kalle auto on sinine ja minu auto on roheline. Kalle’s car is blue and my car is green.
Mati sõidab punase autoga. Mati is driving a red car.
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1. käsi, käe (arm, hand)

2. õlg, õla
3. pea, -
4. kael, -a
5. sõrm, -e
6. pöial, pöidla
7. ranne, randme
8. küünarnukk, küünarnuki
9. rind, rinna
10. kõht, kõhu
11. puus, -a (hip)
12. põlv, -e
13. säär, -e
14. varvas, varba
15. sääremari, sääremarja
16. pahkluu, -
17. pöid, pöia
18. tuhar, -a
19. selg, selja
https://www.taskutark.ee/m/inimene/
20. õlavars, õlavarre
21. küünarvars, küünarvarre
jalg, jala – leg, foot
kulm, -u
nina, -
suu, -
laup, lauba; otsmik, -u
silm, -a
põsk, põse
lõug, lõua

https://www.taskutark.ee/m/inimene/

hammas, hamba – tooth

pehme suulagi, pehme suulae – soft palate
kurgumandel, kurgumandli – tonsil
keel, -e – tongue
huul, -e – lip
ige, igeme – gum
kõva suulagi, kõva suulae – hard palate
https://www.taskutark.ee/m/inimene/ kurgunibu, - – uvula
INSTRUMENTS french horn – metsasarv, -e
string instrument – keelpill, -i guitar – kitarr, -i
wind instrument – puhkpill,-i harp – harf, -i
percussion instrument – löökpill, -i harpsichord – klavesiin, -i
keyboard instrument – klahvpill,-i oboe – oboe, -
piccolo – pikoloflööt, pikoloflöödi
accordion – lõõtspill,-i; akordion,-i pipe organ – orel, -i
bass drum – suur trumm, suure trummi saxophone – saksofon, -i
bassoon – fagott, fagoti synthesizer – süntesaator,-i
cello – tšello, - tambourine – tamburiin, -i
clarinet – klarnet, -i timpani – timpan,-i
cor anglais- inglissarv, -e triangle – triangel, triangli
cymbals – taldrikud trombone – tromboon,-i
double bass – kontrabass, -i trumpet – trompet, -i
 39

drum – trumm, -i tuba – tuuba, -

fluite – flööt, flöödi viola – vioola, - ; altviiul,-i
fortepiano – klaver,-i violin – viiul, -i
xylophone – ksülofon,-i
Cardinal numbers Ordinal numbers
0 null 1. esimene (first)
1 üks 2. teine (second)
2 kaks 3. kolmas
3 kolm 4. neljas
4 neli 5. viies
5 viis 6. kuues
6 kuus 7. seitsmes
7 seitse 8. kaheksas
8 kaheksa 9. üheksas
9 üheksa
10. kümnes
10 kümme 11. üheteistkümnes
12. kaheteistkümnes
11 üksteist 13. kolmeteistkümnes
12 kaksteist 14. neljateistkümnes
13 kolmteist 15. viieteistkümnes
14 neliteist 16. kuueteistkümnes
15 viisteist 17. seitsmeteistkümnes
16 kuusteist 18. kaheksateistkümnes
17 seitseteist 19. üheksateistkümnes
18 kaheksateist
19 üheksateist 20. kahekümnes
21. kahekümne esimene
20 kakskümmend 22. kahekümne teine
21 kakskümmend üks 23. kahekümne kolmas
22 kakskümmend kaks
23 kakskümmend kolm 30. kolmekümnes
24 kakskümmend neli 40. neljakümnes
25 kakskümmend viis 50. viiekümnes
26 kakskümmend kuus 60. kuuekümnes
27 kakskümmend seitse 70. seitsmekümnes
28 kakskümmend kaheksa 80. kaheksakümnes
29 kakskümmend üheksa 90. üheksakümnes

30 kolmkümmend 100. sajas

31 kolmkümmend üks
32 kolmkümmend kaks
39 kolmkümmend üheksa

40 nelikümmend umbes – approximately, about

üle – more than
50 viiskümmend alla – less than
60 kuuskümmend
70 seitsekümmend
80 kaheksakümmend
90 üheksakümmend

100 sada 1000 tuhat

101 sada üks 2000 kaks tuhat
200 kakssada 3000 kolm tuhat
 40

300 kolmsada
1 000 000 miljon
1 000 000 000 miljard

10 most used nouns

1. mees 1st man
2. aeg 2nd time
3. silm 3rd eye
4. inimene 4th person / human being
5. käsi 5th hand
6. naine 6th woman
7. päev 7th day
8. asi 8. thing
9. pea 9. head
10. nägu 10. face
10 most used adjectivs
1. suur 1. large, big
2. hea 2. good
3. vana 3. old
4. uus 4. new
5. pikk 5. long
6. väike 6. small
7. täis 7. full
8. noor 8. young
9. viimane 9. last
10. ilus 10. beautiful

Mis värv see on? What color is it?

valge, - white
kollane, kollase yellow
oranž,-i orange
roosa,- pink
punane, punase red
pruun,-i brown
roheline, rohelise green
sinine, sinise blue
lilla,- purple
hall,-i hall
must,-a black
hõbedane, hõbedase silver
kuldne, kuldse golden

Kuud Months
jaanuar (January) jaanuaris (in January)
veebruar,-i veebruaris
märts,-i märtsis
aprill,-i aprillis
 41

mai,- mais
juuni,- juunis
juuli,- juulis
august,-i augustis
september, septembri septembris
oktoober, oktoobri oktoobris
november, novembri novembris
detsember, detsembri detsembris

kuu, - month
aasta, - year
Mis päev täna on? What day is today?
Mis päev on homme? What day is tomorrow?
Ülehomme? The day after tomorrow?
Mis päev oli eile? What day was yesterday?
Üleeile? The day before yesterday?

Nädal: Week:
esmaspäev,-a Monday
teisipäev,-a Tuesday
kolmapäev,-a Wednesday
neljapäev,-a Thursday
reede, - Friday
laupäev,-a Saturday
pühapäev,-a Sunday