How to read and say Estonian

Written Estonian is based on the Latin alphabet and uses 27 letters:

a b d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s š z ž t u v õ ä ö ü

Additionally, the letters c, q, w, x and y are used in loanwords, foreign proper names and quotes.

Pronunciation is fairly straightforward. Most words are pronounced as they are written, with a major exception being vowel length (see below).

Vowels

Long vowels are indicated simply by doubling the vowel in question.

a

like a in father, but short and clipped

aa

like a in father

e

like e in get

ee

not found in English, but just stretch out the e sound

i

like i in bit

ii

like ee in beet

o

like o in nor

oo

stretch out the o sound

u

like u in rule — that's the same u as in German, Italian or Spanish

uu

stretch out the u sound

ä

like a in cat

ää

like a in bad

ö

like German ö, similar to e in her (transcribed ew )

öö

not found in English, but just stretch out the "ö" sound

ü

like German ü, something like ew in few, but there's no ü sound in English

üü

not found in English, but just stretch out the "ü" sound

õ

a uniquely Estonian sound pronounced with the tongue in the same position as the o sound, but with lips unrounded; kind of halfway between the e in get and the u in hung

õõ

not found in English, but just stretch out the "õ" sound

The duration of vowel sounds can be short, long, or overlong, depending on the word. Short vowels are written with one letter, long and overlong vowels with two. Overlong vowels often change the pitch or stress of the syllable as well as the duration. There is no written distinction between long and overlong vowels. Example:

Consonants

• c, foreign letter, used only in names and foreign words. Pronounced as ts in hats, also, for example the place name Chicago is pronounced in the same way as in English.
• h : silent at the beginning of a word; before a vowel like English h; before a consonant harshly pronounced guttural h
• j : like y in yes
• q, foreign letter, used only in names and foreign words. Sounds similar to k in kitchen
• r : trilled, like Spanish rr
• s : like s in soap
• š, foreign letter, but used in loan words. Sounds like sh in shoe
• ž, foreign letter, but used in loan words. Sounds like s in measure
• w, foreign letter, used only in names and foreign words. Sounds like w in Worry
• x, foreign letter, used only in names and foreign words. Sounds like x in excite [ks sound]

• b d f g k l m n p t v y z : pronounced as in English

Consonants can appear doubled, such as kk, pp, tt, etc., and are pronounced by inserting a glottal stop or prolonging the duration of the consonant.

Diphthongs

ae

as the 'ie' in "diet" [two sounds]

ai

as the 'ai' in "aisle"

äe

as the 'ae' in "aesthetic"

Stress

The first syllable of a word is always stressed, except in some foreign words such as Ameerika (ah-MEHH-ree-kah).