Speak Estonian!

"Kissing Students" statue, Tartu, southern Estonia
"Kissing Students" statue in Tartu, southern Estonia

About this site

The aim of Speak Estonian! is to provide a high quality language resource for those who wish to learn how to speak Estonian.

It is part of the Speak Languages! network of websites.

If you have any comments or suggestions, or spot any mistakes however small, please send them to info@speaklanguages.co.uk — we appreciate your feedback.

Other Speak Languages! sites

Speak English!
www.speakenglish.co.uk

Speak French!
www.speakfrench.co.uk

Speak Spanish!
www.speakspanish.co.uk

Speak German!
www.speakgerman.co.uk

Speak Italian!
www.speakitalian.co.uk

Speak Estonian! offers a wide range of materials to help you learn Estonian. Pick up some basic phrases or expand your vocabulary – many more features coming soon!

Phrases
Estonian phrases sorted into useful everyday topics.

Verbs
Simplified verb tables for common regular and irregular Estonian verbs.

Shop
Language learning courses and software to buy online or download.

Vocabulary
Estonian vocabulary divided into themed vocabulary lists.

Forum (coming soon)
Discuss your Estonian language questions here.

Contact us
Full contact details and site credits.

About the Estonian language

Estonian is spoken by about 1.1 million people worldwide, around 950,000 of whom live in Estonia itself.

It is a member of the Finno-Ugric language family, being closely related to Finnish and more distantly so to Hungarian. It's not an Indo-European language such as French or Spanish, and as a result the vast majority of words in Estonian will look thoroughly unfamiliar to someone whose mother tongue is English.

Estonian is certainly not considered to be an easy language to learn for English-speakers. However, don't be put off! With a little practice, you should soon find yourself able to get by in most everyday situations.

So why learn Estonian?

You enjoy a challenge
With fourteen different cases and an utterly unrecognisable vocabulary, Estonian should test even the most capable linguist! If you've studied other European languages in the past, you may find it refreshing to learn one where you effectively have to start entirely from scratch.

It sounds beautiful
Estonian, with its exotic vowel-rich words and almost song-like intonation, is arguably one of the world's most beautiful-sounding languages.

It's rewarding
Estonians are enormously appreciative of any attempts by foreigners to speak their language, which makes practising what you've learnt a particular pleasure. Any trip or stay in Estonia will undoubtedly be enriched if you take the time to learn a little of the language before you go.