Lesson 3 - Please, thank you and other useful expressions

a

Mees              Palun!

Naine             Aitäh!

b

Naine             Palun!

Mees              Oi, suur tänu!

c

Neiu                Suur aitäh!

Noormees Pole tänu väärt!

palun	please
aitah	thank you
oi	oh
suur tänu	many thanks
suur aitäh	thanks a lot
pole tänu väärt	don’t mention it (lit not worthy of thanks)

How to say please and thank you

Aitäh means thank you. Saying Suur aitäh! (lit. big thank you) or Suur tänu! means thank you very much. You can also say Suur-suur aitäh! or Suur-suur tänu! if you want to express your gratitude more emotionally.

Tänu can’t be used on its own like aitäh. It comes from the verb tänama to thank and you can say Tänan! I thank. Then it is a synonym for Aitäh!

Palun is used in the same way as English please or here you are when you pass something to someone, for instance, or just to add politeness to the sentence.

Palun can also be used for saying don't mention it or you are welcome but more commonly Pole tänu väärt! is used. For instance:

Suur-suur aitäh!                             Palun!

Suur tänu!                                       Pole tänu väärt!

a Mees	Palun vabandust.
Naine	Pole midagi.
b Naine	Oi, vabandust!
Mees	Pole viga.  palun vabandust excuse me please, I’m sorry pole midagi it’s OK, it’s nothing vabandust sorry pole viga it’s OK Head isu! 1 hope you’ll enjoy your meal! Terviseks! Cheers!

For apologizing the most common expression is palun vabandust Tm sorry. To say it's OK use pole midagi, or pole viga.

Before starting to eat it is common to express the wish that other people at the table enjoy their meals by saying Head isu! (lit. have a good appetite). The response to that is either Head isu! or Aitäh! Thank you.

Terviseks! is the equivalent of English Cheers/, said when drinking to someone’s health. Tervis means health and terviseks is also said if someone sneezes. Be careful not to mix up Tervist! hello and Terviseks!

a Noormees Mis kell on? Neiu Kell on üks. b Noormees Mis kell on? Neiu Kell on kaks. c Noormees Mis kell on? Noormees d Kell on kolm. Naine Kui palju kell on? Mees Üks hetk. Kell on pool üks. e Mees Kui palju kell on? Naine f Mees Veerand üks. Mis kell on? Naine Kolmveerand üks.

kell	clock
Mis kell on?	What’s the time? (lit. What’s the dock7)
Kell on üks.	It’s one o’clock.
Kell on kaks.	It’s two o’clock.
Kell on kolm.	It’s three o’clock.
Kui palju kell on?	What’s the time? (lit. How much is the clock?)
Üks hetk.	Just a moment (lit. one moment)
Kell on pool üks.	(It’s) half past twelve (lit. It’s half towards one.)
veerand üks	(It’s) quarter past twelve. (lit. quarter towards one)
kolmveerand üks	(It’s) quarter to one (lit. three quarters to one)

Language Patterns

Pronunciation of vowels

There are nine vowels in Estonian: a, e, i, o, u, õ, ä, ö, ii. AL1 vowels occur in either short or long forms. In written text, short vowels are indicated by a single letter and long ones by a double letter, for instance kell clock; mees mart; palun please; suur big etc. The long vowel is a continuous sound, in which the two vowels are pronounced as one long sound without a pause.

We will take a closer look at the pronunciation of vowels now. If possible, an approximation of the sound in English is given. The sounds do not correspond one to one so take these explanations as guidelines only.

Note that the stress of Estonian words is usually on the first syllable.

A is pronounced like the ‘u’ in but

palun please, takso taxi, kaks two, kaheksa eight, pank bank

Aa is pronounced like the ‘ar’ in dark but slightly longer baar bar, maa land, country, jaanuar January, banaan banana, raadio radio

E is pronounced like the V in pet

tere hello, kell clock, neli four, seitse seven, telefon telephone

Ee is pronounced like the V in pet, but with double length veerand quarter; mees man, Eesti Estonia, veebruar February, tee tea, road

I       is pronounced like the T in kit

isu appetite, ilm weather, minut minute, kino cinema, nimi name

Ii is pronounced like the ^£ee’ in keep

viis five, siis then, televiisor TV set, siin here, miinus minus

U is pronounced as in put

palun please, buss bus, tulema to come, neiu young lady, girl, auto car

Uu is pronounced as in room

suur big, kuus six, juuni June, juuli July, juuksur hair-dresser O is pronounced like the ‘o’ in hot

hommik morning, kolm three, kohv coffee, foto photo, hotell hotel

Oo     is pronounced like the ‘au’ in caught

pool half, oktoober October, ooper opera, kool school,

soovima to wish

O     is pronounced like the V in cold

õhtu evening, sõber friend, sõna word, õnn happiness, ode sister

Õõ is pronounced like the ‘o’ in cold, but longer

võõras stranger, Krõõt female name, põõsas bush, rõõm joy,

rõõmus glad, joyful

Ä is pronounced like the ‘a’ in cat

päev day, nägemist goodbye, aitäh thank you, märts March, äri business

Ää is pronounced like the V in cat, but double length Pole tänu väärt. Don't mention it, Otepää, a town in southern Estonia, äädikas vinegar, sääsk mosquito, rääkima to speak

Ö is pronounced as in stronger

röstima to toast, köha cough, lörts slush, sleet, ökonoomia economy, ökosüsteem ecosystem

Öö is pronounced as in herd but longer

ÖÖ night, töö work, töötama to work, köök kitchen, mööbel

furniture

U is pronounced like the ‘ur in bureau

üks one, üheksa nine, kümme ten, üllatus surprise, külm cold

Uü is pronounced like the ‘ur’ in bureau but longer

müüma to sell, müük sale, nüüd now, tüüpiline typical, tüütu

annoying

Numbers 1-12

These are the numbers you need for talking about time.

1	üks	one	7	seitse	seven
2	kaks	two	8	kaheksa	eight
3	kolm	three	9	üheksa	nine
4	neli	four	10	kümme	ten
5	viis	five	11	üksteist	eleven
6	kuus	six	12	kaksteist	twelve

Talking about time

You ask the time by saying Mis kell on? or Kui palju kell on? or Palju keü on? All three mean What time is itf The word kell clock is used as the English equivalent o'clock.

The common answer is Kell on + corresponding number, for example Kell on üks. It’s one o’clock.

It is also possible to shorten the answer by saying just the number, for example: Mis kell on? Üks.

NB! Saying It’s half past three is different from how you say it in English. In Estonian, we say Kell on pool neli. lit. Ifs half to four, i.e. we say pool half and then the next hour.

For instance:

Kell on pool kuus.                                It’s half past five.

Kell on pool seitse.                               It’s half past six,

NB! Saying It’s quarter past ... is also different from English. For example, in Estonian we say It's quarter past six Kell on veerand seitse lit. It’s quarter towards seven, i.e. we say veerand quarter and then the next hour.

For instance:

Kell on veerand      kuus.                      It’s  quarter past five.

Kell on veerand      seitse.                      It’s    quarter past six.

Kell on veerand      üks.                         It’s    quarter past 12.

It’s quarter to six is Kell on kolmveerand kuus in Estonian (lit. It’s three quarters to six).

The 12-hour clock is used in everyday talking. Sometimes we add to the time word hommikul in the morning, õhtul in the evening, päeval in the daytime, öösel at night if it is otherwise unclear what time exactly we are talking about.

For instance:

Kell on üks päeval.

Kell on üks öösel.

Kell on seitse hommikuL Kell on kuus õhtul.

 Opening hours

A normal working day in Estonia starts at eight and finishes at five. Lunch hours are from 12 to two. Dinnertime is usually between six and eight pm.

The 24-hour clock is used in official contexts, for example at bus terminals, ports, airports and railway stations and also on the radio and television.

Posted in: