Essential Estonian Verbs & Connecting Words
A handful of verbs unlocks your first real sentences. This set gathers the most essential ones — to be, to go, to come, to do, to eat, to drink, to live, to work, to love — together with the little connecting words (and, or, because, very) that glue thoughts together.
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.
Essential Estonian Verbs & Connecting Words: words & phrases
34 words · tap the speaker to hear each one.
| Audio | Estonian | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| olemacommon | to be | irregular; pres. 3sg on, 1sg olen; neg. ei ole / pole | |
| minemacommon | to go | suppletive; da-inf. minna, past stem läk- (läksin) · vs käima — minema = go once, one direction; käima = go regularly / attend / visit. | |
| tulemacommon | to come | da-inf. tulla; pres. 3sg tuleb | |
| tegemacommon | to do, make | da-inf. teha; g-ø gradation | |
| sööma | to eat | da-inf. süüa; käima-type | |
| jooma | to drink | da-inf. juua; past stem jõi- (jõin) | |
| rääkimacommon | to speak, talk | õppima-type; pres. 3sg räägib | |
| elama | to live | elama-type, no gradation; pres. 3sg elab | |
| töötama | to work | da-inf. töötada; from töö + -tama | |
| armastama | to love | da-inf. armastada; pres. 3sg armastab | |
| teadmacommon | to know | da-inf. teada; pres. 3sg teab · vs tundma — teadma = know a fact; tundma = know/be familiar with a person or place. | |
| nägemacommon | to see | da-inf. näha; g-ø gradation; pres. 3sg näeb | |
| jaa | yes | affirmative; also a noun (part. sg jaad) · vs jah — jaa = drawn-out, casual yes; jah = the neutral, standard yes. | |
| kacommon | also, too | e.g. Tema läks ka metsa — He also went · vs samuti — ka = light "too", placed by the word it adds; samuti = "likewise", more standalone. | |
| vägacommon | very | not comparable; from väegi · vs hästi — väga = "very", intensifies adjectives; hästi = "well", describes how something is done. | |
| ningcommon | and | synonym ja · vs ja — ning links clauses or the last list item; ja is the plain everyday "and". | |
| võicommon | or | also colloquial yes/no particle (shortened vä) | |
| sestcommon | because | synonym kuna · vs kuna — both "because" and near-interchangeable; kuna can also mean "while/when". | |
| küllcommon | surely, indeed; enough | intensifier, e.g. Küll ta tuleb — He'll surely come · vs tõesti — küll = reassuring particle ("surely, do/will"); tõesti = factual "really, truly". | |
| kascommon | (yes/no question particle) | introduces yes/no questions; e.g. Kas sa räägid eesti keelt? | |
| mikscommon | why | interrogative; not comparable; e.g. Miks sa ei tule? | |
| kuscommon | where | interrogative/relative; not comparable; e.g. Kus sa elad? | |
| kuidascommon | how | interrogative; not comparable; e.g. Kuidas läheb? — How are you? | |
| millal | when | interrogative/relative; not comparable; e.g. Millal sa tuled? | |
| kuna | because; when | synonym of sest (because); also colloquial adverb "when" · vs sest / millal — for "because" ≈ sest; kuna can also mean "while/when" in a statement, whereas millal is the question word "when?". | |
| mittecommon | not | emphatic negation; e.g. mitte kunagi — never; mitte midagi — nothing · vs ei — mitte = emphatic/standalone "not" (mitte midagi); ei is the verb-negating auxiliary. | |
| niicommon | so, this way, thus | not comparable; e.g. nii edasi — and so on | |
| tõesticommon | really, truly, indeed | not comparable; from tõsi (truth) + -sti · vs küll — tõesti = "really, truly" (confirms a fact); küll = reassuring "surely" particle. | |
| kindlasticommon | certainly, definitely | not comparable; from kindel (certain) + -sti | |
| seecommon | this; it | demonstrative; gen. selle, part. seda; pl. need · vs tema/ta — see points to things ("this/it"); tema/ta refer to people ("he/she"). | |
| needcommon | these; those | pl. of see; gen. nende, part. neid | |
| kõikcommon | all, everything; everyone | gen. kõige, part. kõike | |
| midagicommon | something; anything | indefinite (part. of miski); neg. mitte midagi — nothing | |
| keegicommon | someone; anyone | gen. kellegi, part. kedagi; neg. mitte keegi — no one |
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.
Hall Mees tuleb! Ma tean: ta on siin. Ta elab siin ja ta töötab — ta teab, kes on Pääsu. Mina räägin ning Aino rääkib, sest me teame: ta tuleb. Ma lähen! Me elame, me rääkime, me läheme. Hall Mees tuleb — meie ka läheme!
Frequently asked questions
Olema (“to be”) — it’s irregular and turns up everywhere. Its present forms (olen, oled, on…) are worth memorising first.
More Estonian vocabulary
Estonian Food & Drink Words
Estonian words for food and drink — bread, milk, coffee, water, fruit and more — with native audio. A free vocabulary guide for the shop and table.
Estonian Colours
The Estonian words for colours — white, black, red, blue, green and more (colors), each with native audio. A free beginner vocabulary guide.
Estonian Home & Household Words
Estonian words for the home — house, room, kitchen, door, table, bed and more — with native audio. A free vocabulary guide for everyday life.
Common Estonian Action Verbs
Everyday Estonian action verbs — to sleep, buy, read, write, listen, learn and more — with native audio. A free vocabulary guide for beginners.
Start your Estonian quest today
Selgeks is free to start — no account needed. Learn your first ten Estonian words in the next five minutes.
No credit card. No pressure. Your progress saves on this device instantly.