Indulgences

1. õlu

   Beer

   Usage

   Estonian beer is normally made from barley malt. Home-brewed island beer ("koduõlu"), especially on Saaremaa, is a tradition in its own right. ⚠ Sales are 18+, and shop sales hours are limited by law — the details can change, so read the notice at the till

   Grammar Note

   ⚠ The stem changes sharply: genitive "õlle", partitive "õlut", plural "õlled". "One beer" is "üks õlu"; "beer, please" takes the partitive — "õlut palun"

2. käsitööõlu

   Craft beer

   Usage

   Beer made in small quantities at a small brewery. Tallinn and Tartu have many taprooms, and menus carry a "käsitööõlu" section. ⚠ Sales are 18+

   Grammar Note

   Declines like "õlu": genitive "käsitööõlle", partitive "käsitööõlut", plural "käsitööõlled"

3. siider

   Cider

   Usage

   A low-strength drink from fermented fruit juice, roughly 4.5–7.5% ABV. Estonia has small producers making pear and berry ciders as well as apple, with tastings at farm shops and markets. ⚠ An alcoholic drink; sales are 18+

   Grammar Note

   Genitive "siidri", partitive "siidrit" — the stem vowel "e" drops

4. viin

   Vodka / clear spirit

   Usage

   ⚠ The same spelling, capitalised, is "Viin" = Vienna. It is a separate word with a different genitive ("Viini"). The drink is lower-case with genitive "viina". A second sense is "strong drink in general", not only vodka. ⚠ A strong spirit; sales are 18+

   Grammar Note

   Genitive and partitive are both "viina". After a word of quantity it takes the partitive, as in "Pits viina maksab kolm eurot" (a shot of vodka costs three euros)

5. Vana Tallinn

   Vana Tallinn — Estonia's best-known liqueur

   Usage

   ⚠ A trademark, produced by Liviko. It has been made since 1960, is based on Jamaican rum, and is the company's most successful export, sold in more than 30 countries. Stocked in every airport duty-free and city drinks aisle, and the default souvenir. Drunk neat or added to coffee. ⚠ A liqueur; sales are 18+

   Grammar Note

   A proper noun, so capitalised; the partitive is "Vana Tallinnat". The common noun for a liqueur is "liköör" (genitive "likööri")

6. hõõgvein

   Mulled wine

   Usage

   Wine warmed with sugar, spices, almonds and raisins. It is the Christmas-market drink, sold alongside gingerbread. "glögi" is used almost synonymously. ⚠ Contains alcohol; some stalls also serve an "alkoholivaba" (alcohol-free) version, so ask

   Grammar Note

   Genitive and partitive are both "hõõgveini"

7. pits

   Shot glass, or a shot of spirits

   Usage

   ⚠ Heavily polysemous: the same spelling means (1) lace, (2) a small spirits glass and its contents, (3) a cigarette holder, (4) a pipe stem, (5) a rod tip, (6) a shoe toe. Context decides. On a bar price list, "pits viina" is a shot of vodka. ⚠ A strong spirit; sales are 18+

   Grammar Note

   Genitive and partitive are both "pitsi". The noun after a quantity word takes the partitive: "pits viina"

8. kohuke

   Kohuke — glazed curd-cheese bar

   Usage

   Sweetened curd cheese ("kohupiim") shaped into a bar and coated in chocolate glaze ("glasuur"), sold chilled in dozens of flavours — vanilla, coconut, berry — in the dairy aisle. ⚠ The word also has a colloquial sense, "a dimwit", so don't apply the word to people

   Grammar Note

   Genitive "kohukese", partitive "kohukest", plural "kohukesed". The "-ke" is a diminutive suffix

9. komm

   Sweet / candy

   Usage

   The more formal word is "kompvek"; everyday speech uses "komm". Pick-and-mix by weight ("kommid kaalu järgi") is standard in supermarkets. ⚠ The word also has an internet sense, "a comment", so online the word means something else

   Grammar Note

   Genitive and partitive both "kommi", plural "kommid", plural partitive "komme" (pakk komme = a bag of sweets)

10. sigaret

    Cigarette

    Usage

    ⚠ Estonia bans smoking indoors in public places — restaurants, workplaces, public transport — and sales and smoking are 18+. Smoking is confined to outdoor designated areas or purpose-built rooms meeting legal requirements. The details can change, so follow local signage. In shops tobacco is kept behind closed cabinet doors, so you have to ask for it

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "sigareti", partitive "sigaretti", plural partitive "sigarette" (pakk sigarette = a pack). Colloquially also "pläru"

11. e-sigaret

    E-cigarette

    Usage

    A battery device that heats a liquid for the user to inhale as an aerosol; the chemicals in that aerosol affect bystanders as well as the user. ⚠ Subject to the same indoor ban and the same 18+ limit as cigarettes. Rules on flavoured liquids differ sharply between countries and change often — check the current rules before bringing any in

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "e-sigareti", partitive "e-sigaretti"

12. huuletubakas

    Snus — moist oral tobacco placed under the lip

    Usage

    ⚠ Selling it is prohibited in Estonia. The practical point for a traveller is that it is not something you can buy here; rules on bringing it in and possessing it also differ by country, so check customs rules if you are arriving from outside the EU. It originated in 18th-century Sweden

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "huuletubaka", partitive "huuletubakat". "tubakas" alone is the tobacco plant or leaf; it also has a third, insulting sense ("a fool")

Browse all TravelPhrases languages