Estonian Words for Talking About Experiences
Have you ever…? These words let you talk about life experiences and how often things happen — often, seldom, sometimes, always — together with the “have done / have been” participles, each with native audio. This theme teaches the perfect tense.
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 Words for Talking About Experiences: words & phrases
38 words · tap the speaker to hear each one.
| Audio | Estonian | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| sageli | often, frequently | comparative sagedamini; syn. tihti · vs tihti — near-synonyms for "often"; sageli slightly more formal/written, tihti more everyday/spoken. | |
| tihti | often, frequently | not comparable; from MLG dichte · vs sageli — both "often"; tihti everyday/spoken, sageli a touch more formal. | |
| harva | seldom, rarely | also gen/part sg of harv | |
| mõnikord | sometimes | not comparable; from mõni + kord | |
| alaticommon | always | not comparable | |
| kogemus | experience | gen sg kogemuse, part sg kogemust | |
| käinud | (have) gone, visited, been | past active participle of käima (to go/visit) · vs läinud — from käima = went and came back/visited; läinud (minema) = went away, one direction. | |
| näinudcommon | (have) seen | past active participle of nägema (da-inf näha) | |
| teinudcommon | (have) done, made | past active participle of tegema (da-inf teha) | |
| söönud | (have) eaten | past active participle of sööma (to eat) | |
| olnudcommon | (have) been | past active participle of olema (to be) | |
| proovinud | (have) tried | past active participle of proovima (da-inf proovida) | |
| reisinud | (have) travelled | past active participle of reisima (da-inf reisida) · vs sõitnud — reisinud (reisima) = travelled (a trip); sõitnud (sõitma) = drove/rode (by vehicle). | |
| elus | alive; in (one's) life | not comparable; from elu + -s | |
| tulnud | (have) come, arrived | past part. of tulema (da-inf tulla) | |
| läinud | (have) gone, left | past part. of minema (suppletive form) · vs käinud — from minema = gone away/left; käinud (käima) = visited and returned, went regularly. | |
| saanudcommon | (have) received, got; been able to | past part. of saama (da-inf saada) · vs osanud / suutnud for "could" — saanud (saama) = was able/allowed, got the chance. | |
| pidanud | (have) had to; kept | past part. of pidama (da-inf pidada) | |
| osanud | (have) known how to, been able to | past part. of oskama (da-inf osata) · vs saanud / suutnud — osanud (oskama) = knew how to (had the skill); saanud = was able/allowed. | |
| suutnud | (have) managed, been able to | past part. of suutma (da-inf suuta) · vs saanud / osanud — suutnud (suutma) = managed, had the capacity; osanud = knew how to. | |
| tahtnud | (have) wanted | past part. of tahtma (da-inf tahta) | |
| võtnud | (have) taken | past part. of võtma (da-inf võtta) | |
| pannud | (have) put, placed | past part. of panema (da-inf panna) | |
| andnud | (have) given | past part. of andma (da-inf anda) | |
| leidnud | (have) found | past part. of leidma (da-inf leida) | |
| kuulnud | (have) heard | past part. of kuulma (da-inf kuulda) | |
| lugenud | (have) read | past part. of lugema (da-inf lugeda) | |
| kirjutanud | (have) written | past part. of kirjutama (da-inf kirjutada) | |
| joonud | (have) drunk | past part. of jooma (da-inf juua) | |
| õppinud | (have) studied, learned | past part. of õppima (da-inf õppida) | |
| sõitnud | (have) driven, ridden, travelled | past part. of sõitma (da-inf sõita) · vs reisinud — sõitnud = drove/rode a vehicle; reisinud = travelled (made a journey). | |
| jooksnud | (have) run | past part. of jooksma (da-inf joosta) | |
| kohtunud | (have) met | past part. of kohtuma (da-inf kohtuda) | |
| rääkinud | (have) spoken, talked | past part. of rääkima (da-inf rääkida) | |
| lõpetanud | (have) finished, completed | past part. of lõpetama (da-inf lõpetada) | |
| alustanud | (have) started, begun | past part. of alustama (da-inf alustada) | |
| mälestus | memory, recollection | gen. mälestuse, part. mälestust | |
| unustanud | (have) forgotten | past part. of unustama (da-inf unustada) |
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.
Eile hommikul ärkasin vara, sest tahtsin sõita rongiga Tallinna, aga taevas oli hall. Mu sõber Aino, kes elab suures ja ilusas Tartus, ootas jaamas, ja me läksime koos kohvikusse, kus jõime kohvi ning sõime sooja suppi. Ma ei ole kunagi näinud linna, kus inimesed on nii palju laulnud — ja ma loodan, et saan varsti sinna tagasi minna.
Frequently asked questions
Tihti (often), mõnikord (sometimes), alati (always), harva (seldom).
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