Käänded

The Estonian language includes declension, in which the role of nouns and adjectives in text is shown by their case. Here is a full list of the 14 cases used in Estonian with examples in singular:

Each form of each noun or adjective can only be in one case at a time. A single case can have many different uses. The endings of the last four cases are memorized with the mnemonic "ninataga" (behind the nose).

Pronouns

Asesõnad

Estonian pronouns have long and short forms. Here are the singular Estonian pronouns in the first three cases:

Estonian words

Sõnavara

Pronunciation is written according to Pronunciation respelling key

Sõna	IPA	Word
ja	[ee-a]	and
laps	[lap-s]	child
mees	[me-s]	man
naine	[NAEYE-ne]	woman
poiss	[poyss]	boy
tüdruk	[TEW-druk]	girl
õun	[own]	apple
toit	[toyt]	food

Grammatika

Väljendad

Here are some phrases that do not include verbs.

Words that are in forms that haven't been learned yet are in blue and can be hovered over to reveal their meaning and case.

• Mehe ja naise laps
  • The man and woman's child
• Lapse õun
  • The child's apple
• Naine, laps ja õun
  • Woman, child and apple
• Poisi ja tüdruku toit
  • The boy's and girl's food

Pronuons & cases

Omastav kääne

Kelle?	whose?
Minu ema	My mother
Sinu isa	your father
Tema taldrik	His/her plate
Meie opetaja	Our teacher
Teie õde	Your sister
Nende vend	Their brother

Here we have some tenses in genitive case.

• Kelle oma? : Who own is?
  • Venna õpik : The brother's textbook
  • Minu õpik : My textbook
  • Õe kleit : The sister's dress
  • Tema kleit : Her dress
• Kelle pall see on? : Who is this ball?
  • See on lapse oma : The child's own this
  • See on lapse pall : The child's this ball
• Kelle oma see on? : Who own this is?
  • See on minu õe oma : My sister's own this
• Kelle vihit see on? : Who notebook this is?
  • See on õpilase vihik : The student's this notebook
  • See on õpilase oma : The student's own this

Osastav kääne

Keda?	Whom?
Mind ei ole	Don't is me
Ma armastan sind	I love you
Ma vihkan teda	I hate him/her
Ta ootab meid	He/she waits us
Ta nägi teid	He/she saw you
Ta kuulis neid	He/she heard them

Nouns & cases

Nimetav

• See sinine auto on minu
• This blue car is mine
• See uus kell oli kallis
• This new clock was expensive

Omastav

• Selle sinese auto aken on katki
• The window of this blue car is broken
• Uue kella patareid on tühjad
• The batteries of the new clock are empty

Osastav

• Ma tahan seda sinist autot
• I want that blue car
• Ma vajan uut kella
• I need a new clock

Sisseütlev

• Nad murtsid sinesesse autosse sisse
• They broke into the blue car
• Uute kella on vaja patereisid
• New batteries are needed into the new clock

Seesütlev

• Sinises autos on valge koer
• There is a white dog in a blue car
• Uues kellas on nüüd patareid
• There are now batteries in the new clock

Seestütlev

• Kaks meest väljusid sinisest autost
• Two men came out from the blue car
• Veidrad helid tulevad uuest kellast
• Weird noises are coming from the new clock

Alaleütlev

• Pane see kleebis sinisele autole
• Put that sticker onto the blue car
• Ära joonista midagi uuele kellale
• Don't draw anything onto the new clock

Alalütlev

• Sinisel autol on värviline kleebis
• There is a colorful sticker on the blue car
• Uuel kellal on juba tolm
• On the new clock already has dust

Alaltütlev

• Eemalda see kleebis siniselt autolt
• Remove this sticker from the blue car
• Pühi tolm uuelt kellalt
• Wipe the dust from the new clock

Saav

• Kas sa selle autoks muuta?
• Can you turn this into a car?

Rajav

• Ma saadan su sinu autoni
• I will send you to your car

Olev

• Sa võid kasutada seda autona
• You can use it as a car

Ilmaütlev

• Nüüdsest olen autota
• From now on i am without a car

Kaasaütlev

• Mida sa teed minu autoga?
• What are you doing with my car?