How to say hello in Estonian
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Sign up for freeHow to say hello in Estonian? How to say have a nice day? In this lesson you will get the answers to these questions and learn how to greet people.
Lesson outline
HideGreetings in Estonian!
In this table you will find out how to greet and start a conversation in Estonian at different times of the day.
| English | Estonian |
|---|---|
| Hello (formal) | Tere |
| Hi (informal) | Tšau |
| Good morning | Tere hommikust |
| Good afternoon | Tere päevast |
| Good evening | Tere õhtust |
In Estonian it is often possible to shorten the expression, so instead of saying "Tere hommikust!" (good morning) you could just say "Hommik!" (morning)
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Diana B.
Martin L.
Starting a conversation in Estonian
Here you can learn the most basic conversation starters in Estonian.
| English | Estonian |
|---|---|
| How are you? | Kuidas läheb? |
| How are you doing? | Kuidas käsi käib? |
| Thanks for asking | Tänan küsimast |
| (I'm) fine | (Mul läheb) hästi |
| (I'm doing) bad | (Mul läheb) halvasti |
| I'm doing quite okay (so-so) | Enam-vähem / Läheb kah |
| And you? | Ja sinul/teil? |
| (Do you have) any news? | (Kas sinul/teil) uudiseid on? |
| What's new? | Mis (on) uut? |
Personal pronouns
| Number | Person | English | Estonian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1st | I | Mina/Ma |
| 2nd | You | Sina/Sa | |
| 3rd | He/She | Tema/Ta | |
| Plural | 1st | We | Meie/Me |
| 2nd | You | Teie/Te | |
| 3rd | They | Nemad/Nad |
When meeting someone for the first time it is polite to use the plural form. E.g 'Kuidas teil läheb?' instead of 'Kuidas sinul läheb?'
Polite expressions in Estonian
Let's continue with these forms of politeness.
| English | Estonian |
|---|---|
| Please | Palun |
| Thank you | Aitäh |
| Thank you very much | Tänan väga |
| You're welcome | Pole tänu väärt |
| I am sorry | (Palun) Vabandust |
| Forgive me | Anna/Andke andeks |
| A pleasure to meet you | Meeldiv kohtuda |
Anna - singular / Andke - plural (polite)
Saying goodbye in Estonian
Let us finish with these various ways of saying goodbye to someone.
| English | Estonian |
|---|---|
| Goodbye | Head aega |
| Have a nice day | Kena päeva jätku |
| See you | Nägemist |
| See you soon | Varsti näeme |
| See you later | Hiljem näeme |
| Until tomorrow (see you tomorrow) | Homseni |
| Good night | Head ööd |
Course summary dialogue
Laura: - Tere hommikust! --- Good morning!
Marta: - Hommik! Kuidas läheb? --- Morning! How are you?
Laura: - Hästi. Tänan küsimast. Ja sinul? --- I am fine. Thanks for asking. And you?
Marta: - Mul läheb ka hästi. --- I am also fine.
Laura: - Oli meeldiv kohtuda! --- It was a pleasure to meet you!
Marta: - Kena päeva jätku! --- Have a nice day!
Do the exercises to be able to remember everything and have a nice chat with an Estonian!
Exercises
- Multiple choice exercise to learn the greetings in Estonian
- Completing the dialogues about greetings in Estonian
Multiple choice exercise to learn the greetings in Estonian
Completing the dialogues about greetings in Estonian
Exercises
- Multiple choice exercise to learn the greetings in Estonian
- Completing the dialogues about greetings in Estonian