Lesson 2 - Hello!

Greetings in Estonian

Tere! Hello! is the most neutral greeting, which can be used any time of the day with anyone. The words hommik morning, päev day and õhtu evening in greetings indicate the time of day they should be used. Say Tere hommikust! from daybreak to midday. Say Tere päevast! from midday until dark. Then switch over to Tere õhtust! until daybreak. Answer the greeting by either repeating the whole expression or just part of it Tere õhtust! - Tere ohtust!/Tere!/Õhtust!

a
Mees	Tere!
Naine	Tere-tere!
b
Naine	Tere hommikust!
Mees	Hommikust!
c
Mees	Tere päevast!
Naine	Tere!
d
Naine	Tere õhtust!
Mees	Tere õhtust!

a Mees Nägemist! Naine b Nägemist! Neiu Noh, nägemist! Noormees c Tšau! Naine Head aega! Mees d Head aega! Neiu Homseni! Noormees e Nägemiseni! Neiu Nägemiseni! Noormees f Reedeni! Mees Head ööd! Naine Head ööd!

neiu	young lady, girl
noormees	young man
Nägemistl	Goodbye!
Noh!	Well! (interj. expressing resignation, understanding etc.)
Tšau!	Bye! (informal)
Head aega!	Goodbye!
Homseni!	Till tomorrow!
homme	tomorrow
Nägemiseni!	So long!, see you!
Reedeni!	Until Friday!
reede	Friday
Head ööd!	Good night!

O Parting words

For saying goodbye Head aega! or Nägemist! are the universal expressions, which can be used anytime with anyone. Some expressions used when saying goodbye can only be said at certain times like Head päeva! during the day, Head õhtut! during the evening and Head ööd! during the night.

Tšau! bye is very informal in tone used by younger people, mostly when saying goodbye but it can also be used as a greeting.

If you know the time at which you will meet the person again you may wish to say Homseni! till tomorrow (homme tomorrow) or Ülehomseni! till the day after tomorrow. If you know the specific day you will meet again you can use the special form of the name of the day, for instance

esmaspäev Monday                     Esmaspäevani! till Monday

teisipäev Tuesday                         Teisipäevani! till Tuesday
reede Friday                                           Reedeni! till Friday
laupäev Saturday                                  Laupäevani! till Saturday
pühapäev Sunday                                 Pühapäevani! till Sunday

Very common parting words are Nägemiseni! see you, or

Kuulmiseni! The latter is used especially on the phone.

Note that the names of the days are not written with capital letters, unlike in English.

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