Learn to read Estonian
A short, active path into reading Estonian: four new vowel letters and nine real words decoded before anything is explained, endings where English has little words, the verb that never changes after ei, and two short stories before your first book.
Word lookup: numbers, colours, people, animals, time, politeness
- Open this when a book hands you a word from one of these families; the two stories at the end need none of it.
- Ten numbers, and the tens are built by gluing a word for ten onto the back.
- Estonian glues words together freely, which is why book words get long.
- Twelve animals, chosen because the books after this path are full of them.
One to ten
| Number | Estonian | Number | Estonian |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | üksewks | 6 | kuuskoohs |
| 2 | kakskahks | 7 | seitseSEHY-tseh |
| 3 | kolmkohlm | 8 | kaheksaKAH-hek-sah |
| 4 | neliNEH-li | 9 | üheksaEW-hek-sah |
| 5 | viisvees | 10 | kümmeKEWM-meh |
| 11, 12 … 19 | üksteistEWKS-tehyst, kaksteistKAHKS-tehyst … üheksateistEW-hek-sah-tehyst | 20, 30 … 90 | kakskümmendKAHKS-kewm-mend, kolmkümmendKOHLM-kewm-mend … üheksakümmendEW-hek-sah-kewm-mend |
Eleven to nineteen glue -teisttehyst on the back of one to nine; the tens glue -kümmendKEWM-mend on the same nine. Twenty-one is just kakskümmend üks. Remember that the noun after a number stays singular and takes the some-ending.
Meeting people
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Mis su nimi on?mis soo NI-mi ohn“What is your name?” | Minu nimi on Tobi.MI-noo NI-mi ohn TOH-bi“My name is Tobi.” |
| Kust sa pärit oled?koost sah PA-rit OH-led“Where are you from?” | Ma olen pärit Eestist.mah OH-len PA-rit EHHS-tist“I am from Estonia.” |
| Mis kell on?mis kell ohn“What time is it?” | Kell on kolm.kell ohn kohlm“It is three o’clock.” |
kustkoost“where from” and EestistEHHS-tist“from Estonia” share the from-ending -st — the question and its answer wear the same tail.
Being polite
| English | Estonian | English | Estonian |
|---|---|---|---|
| please; here you are | palunPAH-loon | sorry, excuse me | vabandustVAH-bahn-doost |
| could I have … | kas ma saaksin …kahs mah SAAHK-sin | welcome | tere tulemastTEH-reh TOO-leh-mahst |
palun does both jobs: it asks, and it is what you say while handing something over. kaskahs opens any yes-or-no question.
Colours
| English | Estonian | English | Estonian |
|---|---|---|---|
| red | punanePOO-nah-neh | green | rohelineROH-heh-li-neh |
| yellow | kollaneKOHL-lah-neh | blue | sinineSI-ni-neh |
| black | mustmoost | brown | pruunproohn |
| white | valgeVAHL-geh | grey | hallhahll |
Green Hill is Roheline mägiROH-heh-li-neh MA-gi in Estonian. Colours ending in -ne change their tail the way rebane does when an ending is added.
People
| English | Estonian | English | Estonian |
|---|---|---|---|
| man | meesmehhs | woman | naineNAHY-neh |
| boy | poisspohyss | girl | tüdrukTEWD-rook |
| father | isaI-sah | mother | emaEH-mah |
| brother | vendvend | sister | õdeUH-deh |
| child | lapslahps | people | inimesedI-ni-meh-sed |
None of these carries a gender in the grammar — the words mean what they mean, and no other word in the sentence changes because of them.
Twelve animals
| English | Estonian | English | Estonian |
|---|---|---|---|
| fox | rebaneREH-bah-neh | mouse | hiirheer |
| rabbit, hare | jänesYA-nes | bird | lindlind |
| dog | koerKOH-ehr | cat | kasskahss |
| bear | karuKAH-roo | wolf | hunthoont |
| horse | hobuneHOH-boo-neh | pig | sigaSI-gah |
| fish | kalaKAH-lah | owl | öökullURR-kooll |
öökullURR-kooll“owl” is two words glued together, night and hawk — Estonian builds new words by gluing, and a long word is usually two short ones you know. Split a long word at the seam and read each half.
Time
| English | Estonian | English | Estonian |
|---|---|---|---|
| day | päevPA-ehv | year | aastaAAHS-tah |
| morning | hommikHOHM-mik | evening | õhtuUH-htoo |
| today | tänaTA-nah | tomorrow | hommeHOHM-meh |
| now | nüüdnewwd | then, after that | siissees |
A time of day takes the on-ending to say when: hommikulHOHM-mi-kool“in the morning”, õhtulUH-htool“in the evening”, päevalPA-eh-vahl“in the daytime”, öölurrl“at night”. English changes the little word each time; Estonian does not change anything.