Hey there, fellow language enthusiast! Ever thought of learning Estonian?

Personally, I never thought I’d start studying one of the hardest languages in Europe as part of a language challenge!

If you want to know more about my language challenge, check out my previous posts.

One of the first steps in learning a language from scratch (and when you don’t have much time) is certainly making a list of the most important common phrases. The list you’ll find below is not extensive, but it can help you get your first notions of Estonian. Naudi! Enjoy!

Tere / tervist / tsau = Hello

Tere hommikust = Good morning

Tere päevast = Good afternoon

Tere õhtust = Good evening

Head ööd = Good night

Ilusat päeva! = Have a nice day!

***

Jah = Yes

Ei = No

Võib-olla = Maybe

Ma ei tea = I don’t know

***

Kuidas läheb? – How are you? 

Tänan, hästi. Ja teil? = Fine, thanks. And you?

***

Mis su nimi on?   [informal]
Mis teie nimi on? [formal] = What’s your name?

Minu nimi on = My name is

Kust te pärit olete? = where are you from?

Ma olen pärit…st
Ma tulen …st = I am from…

Meeldiv tutvuda = Nice to meet you

***

Vabandust = Sorry

Palun = Please

Head aega = Goodbye

Nägemist = See you! 

Tänan / Aitäh= Thanks; Suur aitäh = Thank you so much

Edu! = Good luck!

Terviseks! = Cheers!

***

Kas sa saad aru? = Do you understand?

Ma saan aru = I understand

Ma ei saa aru = I don’t understand