The Estonian alphabet & pronunciation
Estonian is written almost exactly as it sounds — once you know the letters, you can read nearly anything. Tap any word to hear it in a native Estonian voice, and start with the four vowels that make Estonian look (and sound) distinct: õ, ä, ö, ü.
The four extra vowels
These aren’t accents on o/a — they’re their own letters with their own sounds.
õun
— appleThe famous one: an unrounded back vowel English doesn’t have. Say “o”, then spread your lips into a slight smile and keep the sound — somewhere between “u” in “but” and a flat “er”.
ära
— don’tLike the “a” in the English “cat” — open and bright.
öö
— nightLike German “ö” (or the vowel in British “bird”): round your lips as if for “o”, but say “e”.
üks
— oneLike German “ü” / French “u”: say “ee” while rounding your lips tightly, as if whistling.
The everyday alphabet
The letters you’ll use constantly, each with a native-audio example word.
“a” in “father” (short and clean)
ema — mother
a soft, unaspirated “p/b”
tuba — room
a soft, unaspirated “t/d”
kodu — home
“e” in “bed”
tere — hello
a soft, unaspirated “k/g”
kogu — whole
light “h”, as in “hat”
hea — good
“ee” in “see” (short)
ilm — weather
“y” in “yes”
jah — yes
crisp “k”
kala — fish
clear “l”
laul — song
“m”
mees — man
“n”
nimi — name
pure “o”, as in “more” (no glide)
kool — school
crisp “p”
pere — family
a rolled / tapped “r”
raha — money
“s” (never a “z” sound)
sõber — friend
crisp “t”
tee — tea / road
“oo” in “boot” (short)
uus — new
“v”
vesi — water
The letters c, q, w, x, y and f, š, z, ž appear only in foreign names and loanwords (e.g. šokolaad, garaaž) — you can safely learn them later.
The one thing beginners miss: sound length
Estonian distinguishes how long a sound is held — and it can change the meaning of a word. A long vowel is usually written by doubling the letter:
- tule (come!) vs tuule (of the wind) — short “u” vs long “uu”.
- sada (hundred) vs saada (send) — short “a” vs long “aa”.
There’s even a third, over-long degree that isn’t always shown in spelling — which is exactly why hearing a native voice matters. Paste any word into the Estonian text-to-speech tool and listen for how long each sound is held.
Where to go next
- Build real vocabulary — with audio on every word — in the Estonian vocabulary hub.
- Aiming for the exam? See the A2 exam prep guide (building toward B1).
- Curious how hard the rest is? Read how hard Estonian really is.
Frequently asked questions
Everyday Estonian uses about 23 letters, plus four special vowels — õ, ä, ö, ü. A few more (c, q, w, x, y, š, z, ž, f) appear only in foreign names and loanwords. Estonian does not natively use the letters c, q, w, x or y.
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