Here are some helpful expressions and how to correctly pronounce them. We have allowed for the way Aussies use their tongues to express words. It may seem weird what is written in the brackets (on the right side of the expressions) to express, but you'll have to trust us and just have a go at speaking it!
We've tried to include "the right thing" to say as much as possible, meaning what today's generation say. Not what old Estonians harp on about ;)
The first part is the English (ne...Aussie) phrase.
The second part is the Estonian using correct spelling and use of 'kriips' (creeps): ä õ ö ü
The third part - the tricky part - is how to pronounce these words. We have split the word up into chunks with the best way of pronouncing them using familiar English words (or how it would sound obviously), highlighting the part of that word that applies to the part of Estonian word you need to speak.
Hello or Hi! - Tere! - ter(terror) e(bear)
Bye! - Tsau! - chow!
See you (later) - Nagemis - Nag e(bear) mis
Good Morning - Tere hommikust - ter(terror) e(bear) / homm i(blink) kust(koost)
Good Afternoon - Tere päevast - ter(terror) e(bear) / pä(pay) ev ast(ust)
Good Evening - Tere õhtust - ter(terror) e(bear) / õh(erh) tust(toost)
How are you? - Kuidas läheb? - kui(cooie) das / lä(lala) heb(Hebron)
Seeing as though it's a little impractical to carry your computer around to help you learn Estonian, iPhone has several apps to help you out. A great free one we have found is 'Lingopal Lite'. It's free so take the time to download it and use it while you learn, out and about the streets of Estonia. There is no excuse now!
