Estonian Articles

If you're trying to learn Estonian Articles you will find that there is no articles used in Estonian. The definite and indefinite articles don't exist in the way we know it in English. But you should still look at the examples below, because they show how Estonian deals with the absences of articles. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Estonian. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!

Estonian Articles

In English articles are words that combine with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Generally articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun. Examples are "the, a, and an". However that doesn't exist in Estonian. Here are some examples:

Grammar Tips:
Unlike English, there are no articles in Estonian
Mees (the man), poisid (the boys)
Naine (the woman), tüdrukud (the girls)

While we have (a / an / some) in English as indefinite articles, we can use mõni/ mõned (some) in Estonian. In general, whenever a/an or some are used in English, you either use the noun only or the noun is preceded by "mõni" (singular) or "mõned" (plural) to say the equivalent in English. "Mõni" is followed by a noun in the singular, "mõned" is followed by a noun in the plural but both imply the plural.

raamat = a book
maja = a house
mõned sõbrad / mõni sõber = some friends
mõned majad / mõni maja = some houses

Note that "mõni" / "mõned" takes the same case ending as the following noun:
mõnest sõbrast = about some friends
mõnedele sõpradele = to some friends
mõnest majast = from some houses
mõnedest majadest = from some houses


Here are some other examples:

English ArticlesEstonian Articles
articlesartiklid
the
a
oneüks
somemõned
fewvähe
the bookRaamat
the booksraamatud
a bookRaamat
one booküks raamat
some booksmõned raamatud
few booksmõned raamatud

As you can see from the example above, the structure of no articles in Estonian takes a logical pattern.

List of Vocabulary in Estonian

Below is a list of vocabulary which should help you with your knowledge of Estonian. Try to practice but also memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Estonian vocabulary.

English VocabularyEstonian Vocabulary
Foodtoit
almondsmandlid
breadleib
breakfasthommikusöök
buttervõi
candymaiustused
cheesejuust
chickenkanaliha
cuminköömen
dessertmagustoit
dinnerõhtusöök
fishkala
fruitpuuvili
ice creamjäätis
lamblambaliha
lemonsidrun
lunchlõunasöök
mealsöök
meatliha
ovenahi
pepperpipar
plantstaimed
porksealiha
saladsalat
saltsool
sandwichvõileib
sausagevorst
soupsupp
sugarsuhkur
supperõhtueine
turkeykalkun
appleõun
bananabanaan
orangesapelsinid
peachesvirsikud
peanutmaapähkel
pearspirnid
pineappleananass
grapesviinamarjad
strawberriesmaasikad
vegetablesköögiviljad
carrotporgand
cornmais
cucumberkurk
garlicküüslauk
lettucelehtsalat
olivesoliivid
onionssibulad
pepperspaprikad
potatoeskartulid
pumpkinkõrvits
beansoad
tomatoestomatid

Definite and Indefinite Articles are not used in Estonian, but you still need to know how to create sentences without them. Once you're done with this lesson, you might want to check the rest of our Estonian lessons here: Learn Estonian. Don't forget to bookmark this page.

Menu:

Alphabet

Phrases

Adjectives

Estonian Homepage

Numbers

Nouns

Vocabulary

Learn Estonian

Plural

Videos

Practice

The links above are only a small sample of our lessons, please open the left side menu to see all links.

Copyright © 2019 MYLANGUAGES.ORG.