Estonian Colours
Colours (or colors) are easy wins that make your descriptions come alive. Here are the Estonian words for white, black, red, blue, green, yellow and the rest, with native audio. They’re also a gentle first taste of adjective agreement — colours change their ending to match the noun.
Read them out loud
Estonian is phonetic — words are said the way they’re written. Tap the speaker on any word to hear a native voice, and remember that doubled letters (aa, öö, ss) are simply held longer. New to the sounds? Start with the alphabet & pronunciation guide.
Estonian Colours: words & phrases
44 words · tap the speaker to hear each one.
| Audio | Estonian | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| valge | white | gen valge, part valget | |
| must | black | gen musta, part musta | |
| punane | red | gen punase, part punast | |
| sinine | blue | gen sinise, part sinist | |
| roheline | green | gen rohelise, part rohelist | |
| kollane | yellow | gen kollase, part kollast | |
| pruun | brown | gen pruuni, part pruuni | |
| hall | grey | gen halli, part halli | |
| oranž | orange | gen oranži, part oranži | |
| roosa | pink | gen roosa, part roosat | |
| lilla | purple, violet | gen lilla, part lillat | |
| beež | beige | gen beeži, part beeži | |
| kuldne | golden | gen kuldse, part kuldset | |
| hele | light, bright | gen heleda, part heledat | |
| tume | dark | gen tumeda, part tumedat | |
| helesinine | light blue | gen helesinise, part helesinist; compound of hele + sinine | |
| kirju | multicoloured, patterned | gen kirju, part kirjut | |
| triibuline | striped | gen triibulise, part triibulist | |
| ruuduline | checkered, plaid | gen ruudulise, part ruudulist | |
| ümar | round | gen ümara, part ümarat | |
| terav | sharp, pointed | gen terava, part teravat | |
| sirge | straight | gen sirge, part sirget · vs otse — sirge = straight as an adjective (a line); otse = straight/directly as an adverb (go straight). | |
| paks | thick, fat | gen paksu, part paksu | |
| õhuke | thin, slim | gen õhukese, part õhukest · vs kõhn — õhuke = thin of objects/material; kõhn = thin/skinny of a person. | |
| ruut | square (shape) | gen ruudu, part ruutu | |
| kolmnurk | triangle | gen kolmnurga, part kolmnurka; k→g gradation | |
| ristkülik | rectangle | gen ristküliku, part ristkülikut | |
| ring | circle | gen ringi, part ringi | |
| nurk | corner, angle | gen nurga, part nurka; k→g gradation | |
| joon | line | gen joone, part joont | |
| täpp | dot, spot | gen täpi, part täppi; pp→p gradation | |
| värv | colour, paint | gen värvi, part värvi · vs värvus — värv = colour or concrete paint; värvus = colour as an abstract hue/shade. | |
| lemmik | favourite | gen lemmiku, part lemmikut; also used attributively in compounds (lemmik-) | |
| lemmikvärv | favourite colour | gen lemmikvärvi, part lemmikvärvi; compound of lemmik + värv | |
| rõngas | ring, hoop | gen rõnga, part rõngast; s→0 gradation | |
| külg | side | gen külje, part külge; lg→lj gradation | |
| suurcommon | big, large | gen suure, part suurt | |
| väikecommon | small | gen väikese, part väikest | |
| ilus | beautiful, pretty | gen ilusa, part ilusat · vs kaunis/kena — ilus = neutral pretty; kaunis = more elevated/poetic; kena = nice, also of behaviour. | |
| heacommon | good | gen hea, part head | |
| halb | bad | gen halva, part halba | |
| uus | new | gen uue, part uut | |
| soe | warm | gen sooja, part sooja | |
| külm | cold | gen külma, part külma |
Read a real Estonian sentence
Built only from words you’d know by this point in the Selgeks course — proof these words add up to real Estonian.
Viljandi on suur ja ilus linn! Festival on ilus — punane, sinine, roheline, kollane ja pruun. Hall Mees on hall — väga hall, väga vana. Meie leib on must ja hea, meie kohv on pruun ja soe. Pääsu on noor ja ilus — mitte hall! Me oleme ilusad!
Frequently asked questions
Valge (white), must (black), punane (red), sinine (blue), roheline (green), kollane (yellow). Tap each above to hear it.
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