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!
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 Articles | Estonian Articles |
|---|---|
| articles | artiklid |
| the | |
| a | |
| one | üks |
| some | mõned |
| few | vähe |
| the book | Raamat |
| the books | raamatud |
| a book | Raamat |
| one book | üks raamat |
| some books | mõned raamatud |
| few books | mõned raamatud |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of no articles in Estonian takes a logical pattern.
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 Vocabulary | Estonian Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Food | toit |
| almonds | mandlid |
| bread | leib |
| breakfast | hommikusöök |
| butter | või |
| candy | maiustused |
| cheese | juust |
| chicken | kanaliha |
| cumin | köömen |
| dessert | magustoit |
| dinner | õhtusöök |
| fish | kala |
| fruit | puuvili |
| ice cream | jäätis |
| lamb | lambaliha |
| lemon | sidrun |
| lunch | lõunasöök |
| meal | söök |
| meat | liha |
| oven | ahi |
| pepper | pipar |
| plants | taimed |
| pork | sealiha |
| salad | salat |
| salt | sool |
| sandwich | võileib |
| sausage | vorst |
| soup | supp |
| sugar | suhkur |
| supper | õhtueine |
| turkey | kalkun |
| apple | õun |
| banana | banaan |
| oranges | apelsinid |
| peaches | virsikud |
| peanut | maapähkel |
| pears | pirnid |
| pineapple | ananass |
| grapes | viinamarjad |
| strawberries | maasikad |
| vegetables | köögiviljad |
| carrot | porgand |
| corn | mais |
| cucumber | kurk |
| garlic | küüslauk |
| lettuce | lehtsalat |
| olives | oliivid |
| onions | sibulad |
| peppers | paprikad |
| potatoes | kartulid |
| pumpkin | kõrvits |
| beans | oad |
| tomatoes | tomatid |
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: | |||
The links above are only a small sample of our lessons, please open the left side menu to see all links.