One of the first things people say when they see written Estonian is, “Why are there so many double vowels?”

It looks hard.

When you see a word like jäääär (which means “edge of the ice”), you might want to give up before you even start.

But here’s the good news:

Estonian is actually a very phonetic language. Unlike English or French, where you have to guess how a word sounds based on spelling rules that constantly change, Estonian is consistent.

Generally, you pronounce exactly what you see.

Once you learn the sounds of the alphabet - especially those famous dotted vowels - reading Estonian becomes much easier than you think.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the alphabet, the special characters, and the “secret sauce” of Estonian pronunciation: phoneme length.

The Estonian alphabet overview

The Estonian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet, just like English.

However, we have a few extra letters added to the end, and we don’t really use standard letters like c, q, w, x, or y unless we are writing foreign names.

Here is the full Estonian alphabet:

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

You will notice a few differences right away. We have letters with carons (Š, Ž) and letters with dots or tildes (Õ, Ä, Ö, Ü).

The official alphabet has 32 letters, but in practical daily use, we focus on the core Estonian sounds.

How to pronounce the vowels (and the tricky Õ)

Vowels are the heart of the Estonian language. We love them so much that we sometimes put four of them in a row.

The standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U) are pronounced very clearly and sharply. They are pure vowels, meaning you don’t “glide” the sound like you often do in English (like pronouncing “go” as go-u).

Here is a simple guide to the standard vowels:

The “special” vowels: Õ, Ä, Ö, Ü

This is where most learners get stuck. These four letters come at the very end of our alphabet, and they are distinct letters, not just variations.

1. Ä (The easy one)

This sounds exactly like the ‘a’ in the word cat or bat. It is a very open sound.

2. Ö (The rounded one)

This is similar to the German ‘ö’. To make this sound, shape your mouth like you are going to say “O”, but try to say “E” (as in bed) instead. It sounds like the ‘u’ in fur or burn.

3. Ü (The deep one)

This is similar to the German ‘ü’. Make a tight circle with your lips like you are whistling, and try to say “EE”. It is similar to the ‘ew’ in new (but with tighter lips).

4. Õ (The difficult one)

This is the letter that identifies a foreigner instantly. It is very common in Estonian.

The sound doesn’t really exist in English. It is a sound made in the back of the throat.

My tip for learning Õ:

Imagine someone has just punched you in the stomach and you make a sound of disgust. Ugh.

Keep your lips unrounded (spread them like a smile) and try to say “O”.

Here are some examples of these vowels in action:

Understanding consonants and foreign letters

Most consonants in Estonian are pronounced similarly to English, but they are usually softer and unaspirated.

What does “unaspirated” mean?

In English, when you say “Pot”, you release a puff of air with the P. In Estonian, simpler consonants like K, P, and T are pronounced without that puff of air. They sound a bit “dryer.”

The letters Š and Ž

You will see these often in loan words.

• Š sounds like sh in shoe.

Example: Šokolaad (Chocolate).

• Ž sounds like the s in pleasure or measure.

Example: Garaaž (Garage).

The letter J

Important note: J is always pronounced like the English Y in yes. It is never pronounced like the J in jump.

The secret rule: short, long, and overlong

If you want to sound like a native (or at least be understood), you must master phoneme length.

In Estonian, a sound can be short, long, or overlong.

Changing the length of a sound changes the meaning of the word entirely.

1. Short (Q1)

Written with a single letter. The sound is quick and short.

• Koli (Move! - imperative)

2. Long (Q2)

Written with two letters. The sound is stretched out.

• Kooli (of the school)

3. Overlong (Q3)

Usually written with two letters (same as Long), which makes it tricky for beginners. The sound is stretched even longer and usually carries a strong stress or pitch change.

• Kooli (to the school)

Wait, how do I tell the difference between Long and Overlong if they are spelled the same?

This is the hardest part of Estonian. Often, you just have to learn the word by context or memorize it. However, in dictionaries, you might see a grave accent (`) mark indicating the overlong sound, but we don’t write this in normal texts.

The Golden Rule for beginners:

If you see a double vowel (aa, ee, uu, etc.) or a double consonant (tt, mm, ss), you must pronounce it for a longer duration. Do not rush it.

(Notice the jää-äärel. You have to pronounce the double Ä distinctively).

Word stress

Finally, an easy rule!

In Estonian, the stress is almost always on the first syllable of the word.

It doesn’t matter how long the word is, hit the first syllable slightly harder.

• Ees-ti (Estonia)
• Raamat-tu-kogu (Library)
• Güm-naa-si-um (High school)

There are a few exceptions, mostly with newer loan words (like banaan where stress is at the end), but if you stick to the first-syllable rule, you will be right 99% of the time.

Summary

Estonian pronunciation is logical. Once you memorize the sounds of the single letters, you can read almost anything.

Remember these key points:

1. Learn the “punch in the stomach” sound for Õ.
2. J sounds like “Y”.
3. If a letter is doubled (aa, tt), hold the sound longer.
4. Put the stress on the first syllable.

Don’t be afraid of the long words. Just break them down sound by sound.