Estonian and Finnish: 25 words that are the same
Among the two thousand words each language uses most, these are written identically and carry the same meaning in both. If you have one of the two, this is the part you do not have to learn.
A shared word is not proof of a shared root. Two languages can land on the same spelling by borrowing from a third — that is all tren and bomba are — and a word that looks the same can still be said quite differently. What this list is good for is the head start.
| Word | In English | Estonian | Finnish |
|---|---|---|---|
| onet /ˈonː/fi /ˈon/ | to be | #1 | #1 |
| jaet /jɑ/fi /ˈjɑ/ | and | #7 | #3 |
| meet /me/fi /ˈme/ | we | #12 | #67 |
| oma/ˈomɑ/ | own | #18 | #578 |
| olen/ˈolen/ | to be | #21 | #10 |
| oli/ˈoli/ | to be | #23 | #11 |
| teet /te/fi /ˈte/ | you | #32 | #106 |
| oleet /ˈole/fi /ˈoleˣ/ | to be | #41 | #9 |
| ollaet /ˈolːɑ/fi /ˈolːɑˣ/ | to be | #80 | #29 |
| olinet /ˈolin/fi /ˈolɪn/ | to be | #182 | #116 |
| nimi/ˈnimi/ | name | #212 | #399 |
| sama/ˈsɑmɑ/ | same | #238 | #358 |
| tuliet /ˈtulʲi/fi /ˈtuli/ | to come | #276 | #177 |
| tullaet /ˈtulːɑ/fi /ˈtulːɑˣ/ | to come | #284 | #167 |
| tulen/ˈtulen/ | to come | #294 | #281 |
| auto/ˈɑu̯to/ | car, automobile | #316 | #523 |
| näenet /næe̯n/fi /ˈnæen/ | to see | #326 | #471 |
| osa/ˈosɑ/ | part | #335 | #480 |
| annanet /ˈɑnːɑn/fi /ˈannan/ | to give | #428 | #583 |
| kolmeet /ˈkolme/fi /ˈkolme(ˣ)/ | three | #599 | #206 |
| kuningaset /ˈkuninɡ̊ɑs/fi /ˈkuniŋːɑs/ | king | #632 | #1,004 |
| suuet /suː/fi /ˈsuː/ | mouth | #638 | #1,651 |
| kutsuet /ˈkutʲsu/fi /ˈkutsu/ | to invite | #714 | #1,605 |
| vesiet /ˈvesi/fi /ˈʋesi/ | water | #883 | #1,779 |
| kolmas/ˈkolmɑs/ | third | #961 | #1,617 |
The speaker plays the voice the LangX app uses for that language — synthesised, not a native speaker, so treat it as a guide. Voices for Estonian (news (et_EE), CC BY 4.0).
The overlap is the easy part.
The rest comes from using it with someone who speaks it.