Estonian nouns
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Sign up for freeIn this lesson we learn about the nouns in Estonian. We will study how to form the plural and also the diminutives and the derivatives.
- Like already mentioned before, Estonian words are without articles and genders.
- In a sentence nouns can either behave as a subject or a object.
- Nouns can be declined in 14 cases in both singular and plural forms but we will talk about the declension more closely in another lesson.
Estonian plural
The nouns in Estonian have singular and plural form. The nouns in plural have always the same ending, yet forming the plural can be a little tricky.
| Singular | English | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| maja | house | majad | houses |
| õde | sister | õed | sisters |
| laud | table | lauad | tables |
We will teach you several rules to guide you on plural forms in Estonian.
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Estonian diminutives
A diminutive is a form of a word which indicates diminished size. It is also used to express affection and show that something/someone is cute.
| Noun | English | Diminutive | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| kiisu | kitten | kiisuke | kitty |
| poiss | boy | poisike | little boy |
| armas | cute | armsake | cutie |
Estonian derivatives
A derivative refers to a word that is formed from another and Estonian is rich in so-called suffix derivatives, which are formed by adding endings onto words.
| Root word | English | Derivative | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| laul | song | laulja | singer |
| kuningas | king | kuninganna | queen |
| õpetama | to teach | õpetaja | teacher |