Estonian Pronunciation
Consonants.
Estonian consonants sound much the same as their English equivalents, except for those that are topped by a diacritic, i.e š and ž which are pronounced like the 'sh' in 'shot' and the 's' in 'pleasure'.
b, d, and g are softer than in English. Listen to vannitoaga tuba - en-suite room - (Somewhere to stay. 1) and Kas teil on midagi odavamat? - Have you got something cheaper (Somewhere to stay. 2)
h - sometimes silent, but usually pronounced, especially between a vowel and consonant, and between vowels, e.g. in Tere õhtust- Good evening (A first few words. 1)
j- always like 'y' in 'yacht', as in Tagasi pole vaja - Keep the change (Food and drink. General phrases)
c, f, q, w, x, y and z only occur in foreign words and personal names and are pronounced accordingly.
Vowels.
Single vowels in Estonian are pronounced separately: vowels in combination - diphthongs - are spoken as two quick separate sounds, e.g. Headaega - Goodbye (A first few words)
Long vowels are represented by doubling: they lengthen but retain their basic sound, e.g. in Kas te aksepteeride krediitkaarte? - Do you accept credit cards? (Buying things. General phrases)
a as in 'father'; ä as in 'hat'. Listen to 'a', long 'a' and 'ä' in Kas lähedal on bussijaama? - Is there a bus station nearby? (General phrases)
e as in 'get' and 'café'. Listen to Kas se räägid inglise keelt? - Do you speak English? (Communication problems) for long ä and long ee.
i as in 'pit' and the 'ee' in 'keen'. Listen to rentida and bensiin in Getting around by car)
o as in 'not'; ö as 'ea' in 'pearl'; õ somewhere between the two (cp õde 'sister' with poeg 'son' in Family, and söök 'meal' in At the bar or café. 1)
u as in 'to' and 'too'; ü as in German, e.g. compare 'u' in soodustust with ü in üheotsapilet (Getting around. General phrases)
Stress
This is always on the first syllable, except with imported words which usually retain their original stress, e.g. krediitkaart. However you will observe that stress is in general not emphatic. The effect of varying stress and intonation is to give spoken Estonian a markedly rhythmic, musical quality.
Using a dictionary
Letters with diacritics, i.e. Ä, Ö, Õ, Š, Ü and Ž are treated as separate letters. Look for Š, Z and Ž between S and T; Õ, Ä, Ö, and Ü occur between W and X.
Headaega - Goodbye (A first few words. 1)
Tere õhtust- Good evening (A first few words. 1)
Tere päevast - Good afternoon (A first few words. 1)
Tere hommikust - Good morning (A first few words. 1)
Tänan - Thanks (A first few words. 1)
Jah. Ei - Yes. No (A first few words. 1)
Ma üritan eesti keelt õppida - I am trying to learn Estonian (A first few words. 2)
Meeldiv tutvuda - Pleased to meet you (A first few words. 2)
Kas te saaksite mind aidita? - Can you help me please? (A first few words. 2)
Kas te aksepteeride krediitkaarte? - Do you accept credit cards? (Buying things. General phrases)
Kas se räägid inglise keelt? - Do you speak English? (Communication problems)
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