Head
Face Nose Mouth Forehead Chin Neck Chest Eye (singular) Eyes (plural) Ear (singular) Ears (plural) Eyelash (singular) Eyelashes (plural) Eyebrow (singular) Eyebrow (plural) Cheek (singular) Cheek (plural) Hair (singular) Hair (plural) |
Pea
Nägu Nina Suu Laup Lõug Kael Rind Silm Silmad Kõrv Kõrvad Ripse Ripsmed Kulm Kulmud Põsk Põsed Juus Juuksed |
Pea
Näo Nina Suu Lauba Lõua Kaela Rinna Silma Silme / Silmade Kõrva Kõrvade Ripsme Ripsmete Kulmu Kulmude Põsk Põskede Juukse Juuste |
Pead
Nägu Nina Suud Laupa Lõuga Kaela Rinda Silma Silmi / Silmasid Kõrva Kõrvu / Kõrvasid Ripset Ripsmeid Kulmu Kulme / Kulmusid Põske Põski / Põskesid Juust Juukseid |
Basic vocabulary for head and face:
Move the cursor over the image to see the words! Viige hiirekursori pildi peale sõnade nägemiseks!
The words are listed below in the nominative (nimetav), genitive (omastav) and partitive (osastav) cases.
Image source (pildi allikas): Wikimedia Commons and interactive vocabulary made with Thinglink
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Basic vocabulary for fruits:
Move the cursor over the image to see the words! Viige hiirekursori pildi peale sõnade nägemiseks!
The words are listed below in the nominative (nimetav), genitive (omastav) and partitive (osastav) cases.
There are several different ways of saying "thank you" in Estonian. A variety of them are listed below.
Aitäh: This is one of the more common ways to say "thank you" in Estonian. If you are just looking for a quick, simple phrase to memorize for "thank you," this is a good one to use. Originally a short form of aitüma or aituma (see below), it is now more common than either of those. Its pronunciation is unique for Estonian because normally the letter ä comes only in the first syllable, and the stress of Estonian words is usually on the first syllable as well; in the word aitäh both the stress and the letter ä come in the second syllable: aitäh. Suur tänu: This means "big thanks," and is commonly used as a way to say "thank you very much". Similarly, you can also say Suur aitäh. To show even more gratitude you can say Suur-suur tänu or Suur-suur aitäh. There is also Palju tänu, "many thanks," Tuhat tänu, "a thousand thanks," and Südamlik tänu, "heartfelt thanks." Note that the correct word for all of these expressions is tänu, not tänud. Tänan: This comes from the verb tänama, "to thank," so it means "I thank you." You can use it on its own or you can say Tänan väga "thank you very much", Tänan teid "thank you" (formal or plural), or Tänan sind "thank you" (informal). Ma tänan teid südamest means "I thank you from the heart." If you are saying "thank you" on behalf of a group of people, you can change Tänan "I thank" to Täname "we thank". Aitüma: This is a less common way to say Aitäh. Another way to say it is Aituma. Keep in mind that it is an interjection, not a verb (although it ends in -ma and looks a bit like an infinitive form, it isn't, and it shouldn't be conjugated like a verb). Etymologically it comes from the phrase "aita Jumal" (God help), and the original phrase is better preserved in some of the southern dialect variants such as Aitjumma. Ma olen sulle väga tänulik: This means "I am very thankful to you" or "I am grateful to you". Olen sulle südamest tänulik means "I am sincerely (from the heart) thankful to you." You can change either of these phrases to the formal form by replacing sulle with teile. Suur tänu... eest: Use any of the words above to thank someone for something by using the word eest: Suur tänu abi eest, "thank you very much for the help," Tänan sinu kirja eest, "thank you for your letter," Aitäh hea nõu eest, "thanks for the good advice." You can also use et with with a verb or verb phrase: Olen sulle väga tänulik, et appi tulid, "I am very grateful that you came to help," or use the -mast form of the verb (ma-infinitive + st): Aitäh tulemast, "thanks for coming." Ma ei leia sõnu, et sind küllalt tänada: This is a phrase you can use when you are extremely grateful for something. It means "I can't find the words to thank you enough." Mul pole sõnu, et sind tänada is "I don't have the words to thank you." In both of these phrases, sind can be replaced by teid when you need to use the formal form. Sa ei kujuta ette, kui tänulik ma sulle olen means "you can't imagine how grateful I am to you." See on sinust väga kena: This means "it is very nice of you." The formal form is See on teist väga kena and you can also say See on sinust nii kena or See on teist nii kena ("it is so nice of you"). Pole tänu väärt: This is a very common way to respond to "thank you." It means "it's not worth thanks" (in other words, "don't mention it"). Palun: This is another response to "thank you," it is the same word that is used to say "please". You can also say Palun-palun. Võtke heaks: This is another way to say "you're welcome" in response to "thank you." The informal form is Võta heaks. Üks, Kaks, Kolm, Neli | One, Two, Three, Four Keskmurded | Central dialects Tallinn: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Kose: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Juuru: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Kirdemurded | Northeastern dialects Jõhvi: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Vaivara: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Kuusalu: Üks, kaks, kolm, nel'i Idamurded | Eastern dialects Kodavere: Üks, kaks, kol'm, nel'i Läänemurded | Western dialects Pärnu-Jaagupi: Üks, kaks, kolm, nel'i Märtna: Üks, kaks, kolm, nel'i Saarte murded | Island dialects Kihelkonna: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Pöide: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Käina: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Reigi: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Muhu: Üks, kaks, kolm, neli Tartu murded | Tartu dialects Tartu: Üits, kaits, kolm, neli Puhja: Üits, kaits, kolm, neli Nõo: Üits, kaits, kolm, nel'i Mulgi murded | Mulgi dialects Tarvastu: Üits, kaits, kolm, neli Helme: Üt's', kat's', kolm, neli Võru keele murded | Võru language dialects Vastseliina: Üt's', kat's', kolm, nel'i Hargla: Üt's', kat's', kolm, neli Palo: Üt's', kat's', kolm, nel'l'i Verhulitsa: Üt's', kat's', kolq, nel'l'i Lutsi: Üțș, kațș, kolq, nelli Muud soome-ugri keeled | Other Finno-Ugric languages Soome | Finnish: Yksi, kaksi, kolme, neljä Karjala | Karelian: Yksi, kaksi, kolme, neljjä Livviko | Livvi: Üksi, kaksi, kolme, nell'i Isuri | Ingrian: Üks, kaks, kold, neljä Lüüdi | Ludian: Ükš, kakš, kolme, njelj Läänevadja | Votic: Ühs, kahs, kõm, nellä Idavadja | Votic: Ühsi, kahsi, kõlmõd, nellä Vepsa | Veps: Üks', kak's, koume, nelli Liivi | Livonian: Ikš, kakš, kuolm, nēļa
Basic vocabulary for things in the kitchen:
Move the cursor over the image to see the words! Viige hiirekursori pildi peale sõnade nägemiseks!
The words are listed below in the nominative (nimetav), genitive (omastav) and partitive (osastav) cases.
Image source (pildi allikas): Wikimedia Commons and interactive vocabulary made with Thinglink.
Yesterday I wrote about the words for the eight directions used in Estonian and related Finnic languages. An interesting aspect of these words is that although all of the Finnic languages have them, there are many words for which the meaning has shifted by forty-five degrees in some of the languages. This is believed to be due to differing weather conditions in different regions around the Baltic Sea; wind and other weather conditions were used to determine direction rather than the stars. (Some of the Karelian words still include the word for "wind", tuuli, along with the direction: pohjatuuli, lounaštuuli.)
All of the Finnic languages have in common related words for "north": Estonian (standard and most dialects, including Võru): põhi Votic: põhja Finnish: pohjoinen Ingrian: pohja Ludic: pohď Livonian: pūoj Veps: pohjoine Viena Karelian: pohjoine South Karelian: pohjońi Tver Karelian: pohjatuuli Aunuse Karelian: pohďaine Estonian's word for "northeast," kirre, is rather unique, shared only with Ingrian and Votic. The other Finnic languages have words for "northeast" as well, but they aren't etymologically related to Estonian's word kirre. Estonian (standard, but not some of the dialects): kirre Ingrian: kirre Votic: cirre The Finnish word is koillinen, related to Viena Karelian's koilińi, South Karelian's koiľľińi, and Aunuse Karelian's koiľľińe. Estonian's word for "east," ida, is shared by many other Finnic languages. However, it some of these other languages its meaning is "northeast" rather than "east". Estonian (standard, but not some of the dialects): ida, meaning: east Estonian (Lüganuse dialect): ida, meaning: northeast Estonian (Kihnu dialect): idä, meaning: northeast Votic: itä, meaning: east Finnish: itä, meaning: east Ingrian: itä, meaning: east Livonian: idā, meaning: northeast The Estonian word for "southeast," kagu, is shared by only a few of the Finnic languages, and means "southeast" in all of them (no meaning shifts here): Estonian (standard and some of the dialects): kagu Estonian (Lüganuse dialect): kakko Votic: kaako Ingrian: kaakkoi Finnish: kaakko The Estonian word for "south," lõuna, has many shifts in meaning; in some Finnic languages it means "south," in others "southeast," and in others "southwest": Estonian (standard, but not some of the dialects): lõuna, meaning: south Estonian (Lüganuse dialect): lõunet, meaning: south Estonian (Kihnu dialect): lõona, meaning: southeast Võru: lõunõq, meaning: south Votic: lõunaz, meaning: south Finnish: lounas, meaning: southwest Ingrian: lounaz, meaning: south Livonian: lȭnag, meaning: southeast Viena Karelian: lounaštuuli, meaning: southwest South Karelian: lounaštuuli, meaning: southwest Tver Karelian: louna, meaning: southwest Aunuse Karelian: lounaine , meaning: southwest The Estonian word for "southwest," edel, means either "south" or "southwest" in other Finnic languages: Estonian (standard, but not some of the dialects): edel, meaning: southwest Estonian (Lüganuse dialect): ädal, meaning: southwest Estonian (Kihnu dialect): edäl, meaning: south Votic: etelä, meaning: southwest Finnish: etelä, meaning: south Ingrian: etteelä, meaning: southwest Livonian: jedāl, meaning: south Veps: ehtbok, meaning southwest The Estonian word for "west," lääs, similarly means either "west" or "southwest" in other Finnic languages: Estonian (standard, but not some of the dialects): lääs, meaning: west Estonian (Lüganuse dialect): läns, meaning: west Estonian (Kihnu dialect): liäs, meaning both south and southwest Estonian (Muhu dialect): leas, meaning southwest Votic: länsi, meaning: west Finnish: länsi, meaning: west Ingrian: läns, meaning: west Livonian: lēņtš, meaning: southwest Last but not least, Estonian's word for "northwest", loe, means either "west," "northwest", or, in some cases, both: Estonian (standard, but not some of the dialects): loe, meaning: northwest Estonian (Lüganuse dialect): loode*, meaning: northwest Estonian (Kihnu dialect): luõdõ, meaning: northwest Võru: loodõh, meaning: northwest Votic: looõ, meaning: northwest Finnish: luode, meaning: northwest Ingrian: looe, meaning: northwest Ludic: luodeh, meaning west Livonian: lūod, meaning: northwest Veps: lodeh, meaning both west and northwest Viena Karelian: luoteh, meaning both west and northwest South Karelian: luodeh, meaning west, and luueh, meaning northwest Aunuse Karelian: luodeh, meaning both west and northwest Sources (allikad):
Eesti etümoloogiasõnaraamat Väike murdesõnastik Eesti murrete sõnaraamat UIT Sátnegirjjit and related sites Netidigisõnad and Nettidigisanat Az égtájnevek vizsgálata a karjalai nyelvjárásokban Image source (pildi allikas): Jimpaz via Wikimedia Commons. Most languages have words for the four cardinal directions (north, east, south west), and use these words in compounds to create the four inter-cardinal directions (northeast, northwest, southwest, southeast). Languages which have eight distinct and unrelated words for both sets of directions are few and far between. Estonian is one of those few that does. Many of the other languages that do have eight distinct words for the directions are related to Estonian: Finnish, Ingrian, Karelian, Livonian, Ludic, Veps, and Votic. In addition to the Finnic languages, Breton and Sanskrit also have eight unrelated words for the eight directions. (Interestingly, the Breton word for "south", kreisteiz, also means "noon," just as the Estonian word for south lõuna does.) Indonesian and Malaysian have a specific word for southeast, tenggara, but use the words for east (timur) and west (barat) in the words for southwest, northwest, and northeast (barat daya, barat laut, and timur laut). Most other languages of the world simply combine the words for the four cardinal directions to create the other four directions between them, like English does. English: northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest. Spanish: noreste, sureste, suroeste, noroeste. French: nord-est, sud-est, sud-ouest, nord-ouest. German: Nordosten, Südosten, Südwesten, Nordwesten. Swedish: nordost, sydost, sydväst, nordväst. Russian: северо-восток, юго-восток, юго-запад, северо-запад. Chinese: 东北,东南,西南,西北. Estonian: kirre, kagu, edel, loe. Finnish: koillinen, kaakko, lounas, luode. compass directions: Estonian and Finnish / ilmakaared: eesti ja soome. Image source (pildi allikas): Jimpaz via Wikimedia Commons. The eight directions in Estonian are: põhi (north), kirre (northeast), ida (east), kagu (southeast), lõuna, (south), edel (southwest), lääs (west), and loe (northwest).
Several of these words (notably kirre, lääs, and loe) have significant changes in other case forms, so I will list the relevant forms below. North: nimetav ainsus (nominative singular): põhi omastav ainsus (genitive singular): põhja osastav ainsus (partitive singular): põhja osastav mitmus (partitive plural): põhju / põhjasid Northeast: nimetav ainsus (nominative singular): kirre omastav ainsus (genitive singular): kirde osastav ainsus (partitive singular): kirret osastav mitmus (partitive plural): kirdeid East: nimetav ainsus (nominative singular): ida omastav ainsus (genitive singular): ida osastav ainsus (partitive singular): ida osastav mitmus (partitive plural): idasid Southeast: nimetav ainsus (nominative singular): kagu omastav ainsus (genitive singular): kagu osastav ainsus (partitive singular): kagu osastav mitmus (partitive plural): kagusid South: nimetav ainsus (nominative singular): lõuna omastav ainsus (genitive singular): lõuna osastav ainsus (partitive singular): lõunat osastav mitmus (partitive plural): lõunaid Southwest: nimetav ainsus (nominative singular): edel omastav ainsus (genitive singular): edela osastav ainsus (partitive singular): edelat osastav mitmus (partitive plural): edelaid West: nimetav ainsus (nominative singular): lääs omastav ainsus (genitive singular): lääne osastav ainsus (partitive singular): läänt osastav mitmus (partitive plural): lääsi Northwest: nimetav ainsus (nominative singular): loe omastav ainsus (genitive singular): loode osastav ainsus (partitive singular): loet osastav mitmus (partitive plural): loodeid If Estonians of the past had been the ones to influence international cartography, the maps we use today might have been considered upside down. Putting north at the top of a map and south at the bottom is now universal. But, historically and linguistically, it was the other way around for Estonian-speakers: "north" was associated with "down," not "up". The word põhi (põhja) means "north" as well the "bottom" of something. In compounds it can also mean "fundamental" or "primary," something which serves as the basis for something. This is true in Finnish as well: pohja means both "bottom" or "base", pohjoinen and pohjois mean "north", and Pohjola means both the "northlands" and, in Finnish mythology, "the Underworld". Some of the Estonian words and phrases that use põhi and põhja with the meaning of "bottom, base, floor" or "fundamental, base" include: põhi (põhja) = north, bottom, basis merepõhi = seafloor orupõhi = valley floor põhjavesi = ground water topeltpõhi = false bottom põhjani = completely, to the end põhjast põhjani = thoroughly, from top to bottom põhjani tungima = to get to the bottom of põhja jõudma = to bottom out põhimik = substrate põhikool = primary school, elementary school põhiliselt = fundamentally, basically põhiline = essential, primordial The world lõuna means "south," and also refers to "midday" or "noon". (Although an argument could be made that this is the time when the sun is highest in the sky, and therefore the opposite of põhi "base, bottom," it's also the time when sun is farthest south in the Northern Hemisphere: the opposite of põhi "north".) Interestingly, "lounas" in Finnish also means "noon," but in terms of directions it refers to "southwest," not "south"; and in Livonian the cognate "lȭnag" (lõõnag) means "southeast." (More on the eight directions of the Finno-Ugrian world in another post.) "Noon" or "midday" in modern Estonian is more commonly "keskpäev," but the word lõuna is still commonly found in other words and phrases referring to noontime: lõuna = south, noon, midday pärastlõuna = afternoon pealelõuna = afternoon enne lõunat = before noon lõunasöök = lunch, midday meal lõunat sööma = to eat lunch lõunastama = to dine, to eat lunch lõunavaheaeg = lunch break Sources (allikad): the many dictionaries available at Keeleveeb.ee
According to the 2011 census (Rahva ja eluruumide loendus), 131 243 Estonians speak a regional dialect in addition to standard literary Estonian. This is approximately 14.5%% of the population. The majority of Estonian-speakers (85.3%) speak only standard literary Estonian and no regional dialect. The majority of those who speak a dialect are speakers of the Võru dialect (66.3% of dialect speakers or 9.8% of the total Estonian-speaking population) which includes Setu, followed by the island dialects (18.3% of dialect speakers or 2.8% of the total) and Mulgi dialect (7.3% of dialect speakers or 1.1% of the total). Oskab mõnda murret (can speak a dialect): 131 243 (14.5%).
Ei oska murdeid (cannot speak a dialect): 706 556 (85.3%). Idamurre (Eastern dialect): 1 277 (0.1%). This includes the local dialect spoken near the northwestern shore of Lake Peipsi, in parts of Jõgeva and Lääne-Viru counties. Keskmurre (Mid dialect): 210 (>0.0%). This includes the dialect spoken in Harju and Järva counties and parts of the surrounding counties. This region has the smallest number of dialect speakers, but it is also the region from which much of the standard literary language was based. In other words, the local regional "dialect" in many cases actually is standard Estonian, or at least fairly close to it (standard Estonian does include some words from southern dialects as well). Läänemurre (Western dialect): 770 (0.1%). This includes the local dialect spoken in Lääne and Pärnu counties, and parts of Raplamaa. Mulgi murre (Mulgi dialect): 9 698 (1.1%) . This includes the local dialect spoken in southern Viljandi county and in the western part of Valga county. This dialect has the third-largest number of speakers, after Võru and Saarte. Rannikumurre (Coastal dialect) 1 288 (0.1%). This includes the local dialect spoken in Ida-Viru county, and in the eastern parts of Lääne-Viru county. It is sometimes referred to as "kirderannikumurre" (northeastern coastal dialect) or "Kirde-Eest rannikumurre" (North-East Estonian coastal dialect) or "kirdemurre" (northeastern dialect). It stretches south to Lake Peipsi and is therefore not entirely coastal. Of the Estonian dialects, this dialect is the closest to the Votic (Vadja) language. Saarte murre (Insular dialect): 24 520 (2.8%). This includes the local dialect spoken on the islands of Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, Muhu, and Kihnu. This dialect has the second-largest number of speakers, after Võru. For the subdialect of Kihnu island (Kihnu murrak) specifically, there are 1 320 speakers. Tartu murre (Tartu dialect): 4 109 (0.5%). This includes the local dialect spoken in Tartu county, as well as part of Valga county. Võru murre (Võru dialect): 87 048 (9.8%). This includes the local dialect spoken in Võru and Põlva counties, as well as part of Valga county. This dialect has the largest number of speakers of all of the non-standard Estonian dialects. For the Setu subdialect (Setu murrak) specifically, there are 12 549 speakers. Many linguists consider Võru to be a separate language rather than a dialect of Estonian (in that case, Setu is a dialect of the Võru language). Täpne murre teadmata (exact dialect unknown): 2 323 (0.2%). Allikad (sources): Eesti Emakeelega Püsielanikud Murdekeele Oskuse ja Soo Järgi Eesti Murded Rahvaloenduse Andmetel Väike Murdesõnastik: Asendused How do you greet someone in Estonian? The following greetings are all standard Estonian (not dialects, although some are slang) and should be understood by any Estonian-speakers. Greetings in some of the dialects will be discussed in a future post.
Tere: this is equivalent to "hello". Informal ways to say this are "tere-tere" and "terekest." Etymologically, "tere" is related to the word "terve" (healthy, whole), which was used as a greeting as far back as the 12th century. Tervist: another way to say "hello", again related to the word "terve" (healthy, whole). Tere hommikust: equivalent to "good morning". The complete phrase, which is no longer used in Estonian, was originally "terve hommikust aega" (good or healthy morning time), a greeting which goes back to the twelfth century or earlier. Modern variations of the morning greeting which can also be used in spoken language include "tere hommikut," "hommikust," "hommikut," and "hommik". Tere päevast: equivalent to "good day". This is the greeting normally used in the afternoon, between morning (tere hommikust) and evening (tere õhtust). Informally, you can also simply say "päevast". Tere pärastlõunat: this means "good afternoon." It is not as common in Estonian as "good afternoon" is in English, though. Other variations are "tere pärastlõunast" and "tere pealelõunat," and there is also "tere lõunast" and "tere lõunast" for noontime or midday, although these are not common greetings either. It's much more common to say "tere päevast" (good day) at any time between morning and evening. Tere õhtust: equivalent to "good evening". Like "tere hommikust", this greeting originally meant "good/healthy evening time," and in the 12th century was probably something like "terveh õhtagosta aigaa;" by the 15th century it had evolved to "terve õhtust." Variations used in modern spoken language include the shorter versions "õhtust" and "õhtut". Tere kõigile: this means "hello everyone", so you can use it to speak to a group. You can also add "kõigile" to any of the other greetings above: "tere hommikust kõigile" (good morning everyone), "tere päevast kõigile" (good afternoon everyone), etc. Tere tulemast: this means "welcome." If you want to say "welcome to someplace", use the illative (sisseütlev) case: "Tere tulemast Eestisse" (welcome to Estonia), "Tere tulemast minu blogisse" (welcome to my blog), "tere tulemast koju" (welcome home). "Welcome back" is "tere tulemast tagasi." Jõudu tööle: this is a greeting that can be said to a person who is working, and it means "strength to the work." Variations are "tere jõudu" (greetings of strength) "jõudu teile" (strength to you) or simply "jõudu" (strength). The reply is "jõudu tarvis," which means "strength is needed." Another way to answer is simply "tarvis" (it's needed). Jätku leiba: this is a greeting that can be said to a person who is eating. It means "may the bread continue" or "may the bread not run out." Another way to say it is "jätku leivale." "Jätku toitu" and "jätku toidule" (may the food not run out) are less common. The reply to any of these can be "jätku tarvis" (it needs to continue; the continuation is needed) or simply "tarvis" (it's needed). Tšau: this is an informal greeting and it can also be used to say "goodbye." Other ways to spell (and pronounce) it include "tšao," "šau," and "tsau." It comes from the Italian word "ciao". Hei: this can also be used an informal greeting. It's a loan-word from Swedish, and it's more commonly-used in Swedish than it is in Estonian. A variation is "hei-hei", and an even more informal version is "heippa". Kuidas läheb?: this is equivalent to "how are you?", and literally it means "how does it go?" or "how's it going?" To say "how's it going for you?", just add the pronoun: kuidas sul läheb?, kuidas sinul läheb?, kuidas teil läheb? Mul läheb hästi: this works as an answer to "Kuidas läheb," and means "it goes well for me" or "everything is going fine." You can also say "Minul läheb hästi" (it's going fine), "Minul läheb hästi, aitäh" (it's going fine, thanks) or simply "Läheb" (it's going). Aga sul?: this means "and you?" and can be used with "kuidas läheb?" or related questions that use "läheb," "läks," and "läinud." The formal version is "Aga teil?" There is also the longer version, "Kuidas sul endal läheb?" and "Kuidas teil endal läheb?" (and how's it going for yourself?) Kuidas käsi käib?: this is another way to ask "how are you?" Since "käsi" means both "hand" and "arm" in Estonian, this can be literally translated as "how does your hand go?" or "how does your arm go?" (There is also a plural form, "kuidas käbarad käivad?", which means "how do your hands/arms go?") This is an older greeting, but it is still used. Kuidas sa elad?: this is an informal way to ask "how are you?", meaning "how do you live?" You can also say "kuidas elad?" or, more formally, "kuidas teie elate?" or "kuidas elate?" More informal ways to ask this are "kuidas elu läheb?", "kuidas elu veereb?" or "kuidas eluke veereb?" (how's life going?) Hästi: this is a good answer to any of the "how are you" questions (kuidas läheb, kuidas käsi käib, kuidas sa elad, etc.), and means "fine" or "well". You can also say "Tänan hästi" (fine, thank you) or "Tänan küsimast, hästi" (fine, thanks for asking). If you are doing very well, you can say "väga hästi" (very well) or "päris hästi" (quite well). "Kõik on korras" means "everything is fine" or "everything is alright." Other answers include "normaalselt" (okay), "pole viga" (not too bad) and "keskmiselt" or "keskeltläbi" (average; so-so). Aga sina?: this means "and you?" and can be used with "kuidas sa elad?" With the more formal "kuidas teie elate?", use "aga teil?" Mis uudist?: this means "what's new?" You can also say "mis teil uudist?" or "mis sul uudist?" (what's new with you). A possible reply is "mitte midagi" (nothing). Other replies include "mitte midagi erilist" (nothing special), "ei midagi erilist" (nothing special), "ei midagi" (nothing), or "ei midagi, tänan küsimast" (nothing, thanks for asking). "Mis toimub?" means "what's happening?". More greetings (and a source for some of this information): Greetings in Languages of Estonia. |
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