Animals

1. koer

   Dog

   Usage

   Koer hammustas mind — a dog bit me. The genitive is koera

2. kass

   Cat

   Usage

   Point at it with Olen kasside suhtes allergiline, I am allergic to cats

3. lind

   Bird

   Usage

   Birds in general. Matsalu National Park is a major migration stopover — huge flocks pass through each spring and autumn

4. kala

   Fish

   Usage

   Both the animal and the food. Smoked sprat, kilu, and Baltic herring are the local staples

5. hobune

   Horse

   Usage

   Riding is ratsutamine; farms on Hiiumaa and Saaremaa offer rides

6. lehm

   Cow

   Usage

   Milk is piim. Estonian dairy is cheap and good, and supermarket shelves show it

7. siga

   Pig

   Usage

   Pork is sealiha. Show this card to check a dish if you avoid pork

8. kana

   Chicken

   Usage

   Chicken meat is kanaliha and an egg is muna — both common on menus

9. part

   Duck

   Usage

   Both the duck on a pond and the one on a plate; the Kadriorg park ponds in Tallinn are full of them

10. hani

    Goose

    Usage

    The farmyard goose and the wild ones alike; migrating flocks blanket the west-coast fields in spring and autumn

11. kits

    Goat

    Usage

    Goat cheese is kitsejuust — useful at a market cheese counter

12. lammas

    Sheep

    Usage

    Wool is vill. On Saaremaa and Muhu they graze the coastal meadows

13. jänes

    Hare

    Usage

    The wild one; a pet rabbit is küülik. The mountain hare, valgejänes, turns white for winter here

14. hiir

    Mouse

    Usage

    The small one. Toas on hiir tells reception there is a mouse in the room

15. rott

    Rat

    Usage

    The big one, distinct from hiir. Only ever about the animal — aimed at a person it insults

16. rebane

    Fox

    Usage

    Common in woods and on town edges. Even a tame-looking one should not be touched or fed

17. põder

    Elk / moose

    Usage

    Abundant in Estonian forests and a real collision risk after dark — the animal on those roadside warning signs

    Grammar Note

    õ is a specifically Estonian letter, and this is not the Finnish poro, reindeer — a different animal entirely

18. metskits

    Roe deer

    Usage

    mets, forest, plus kits, goat. The deer you actually see, at field edges and on forest tracks

19. metssiga

    Wild boar

    Usage

    mets, forest, plus siga, pig. They wander into suburban gardens at night; never approach a sow with young

20. karu

    Brown bear

    Usage

    Brown bears live in the Estonian forests. Encounters are rare, but mind your food if you hike in the east and south; guided bear hides are a local attraction

21. hunt

    Wolf

    Usage

    Estonia's national animal. They live in the forests but people almost never meet one; the word turns up on nature tours

22. orav

    Squirrel

    Usage

    Everywhere in Kadriorg park in Tallinn and the Tartu parks; the winter coat turns greyish

23. siil

    Hedgehog

    Usage

    Out in gardens and parks after dark; look, do not handle

24. toonekurg

    Stork

    Usage

    The white stork, valge toonekurg, nests on village power poles from spring to summer; the black stork of deep forest is a rarity

25. nahkhiir

    Bat

    Usage

    nahk, leather, plus hiir, mouse. They hunt over water and parks at summer dusk

26. rästik

    Adder

    Usage

    The only venomous snake in Estonia, marked by the zigzag on its back and found sunning on bogs and forest edges. If bitten, say Rästik hammustas mind and get seen at once. Snakes in general are madu

27. konn

    Frog

    Usage

    Loud in the bogs and ponds; frogs and toads are both konn

28. sääsk

    Mosquito

    Usage

    Ferocious in the bogs, forests and lakesides in summer. Repellent is sääsetõrjevahend — essential for a bog walk from June to August

29. puuk

    Tick

    Usage

    The insect to take seriously here — it carries tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease. Check your skin after any walk through forest or long grass; Mul on puuk tells a doctor or pharmacist you have one

30. herilane

    Wasp

    Usage

    They crowd terrace tables in late summer. Herilane nõelas mind, a wasp stung me — say so immediately if you are allergic

31. mesilane

    Bee

    Usage

    Honey is mesi; market stalls sell buckwheat and heather varieties

32. sipelgas

    Ant

    Usage

    Estonian forests are dotted with wood-ant mounds over a metre tall — check the ground before you sit down

33. ämblik

    Spider

    Usage

    House spiders here are harmless; point at it if you would rather someone else dealt with it

34. prussakas

    Cockroach

    Usage

    Toas on prussakas, there is a cockroach in the room — grounds for asking to move

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