Estonian Prepositions
Learning the Estonian Prepositions is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you master it the more you get closer to mastering the Estonian language. But first we need to know what the role of Prepositions is in the structure of the grammar in Estonian.
Estonian prepositions link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. Here are some examples:
| English Prepositions | Estonian Prepositions |
| Prepositions | eessõnad |
| inside the house | maja sees |
| outside the car | väljaspool autot |
| with me | minuga |
| without him | ilma temata |
| under the table | laua all |
| after tomorrow | pärast homset |
| before sunset | enne päikeseloojangut |
| but I'm busy | aga ma olen hõivatud |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Prepositions in Estonian has a logical pattern. Locate the Prepositions above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Estonian.
List of Prepositions in Estonian
Below is a list of the Time place and demonstrative pronouns in Estonian placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Estonian vocabulary.
| English Prepositions | Estonian Prepositions |
| about | umbes |
| above | üle |
| across | üle |
| after | pärast |
| against | vastu |
| among | seas |
| around | ümber |
| as | nagu |
| at | juures |
| before | enne |
| behind | taga |
| below | allpool |
| beneath | all |
| beside | kõrval |
| between | vahel |
| beyond | üle |
| but | kuid |
| by | kõrval |
| despite | vaatamata |
| down | alla |
| during | jooksul |
| except | välja arvatud |
| for | eest |
| from | pärit |
| in | sees |
| inside | sees |
| into | sisse |
| near | lähedal |
| next | järgmine |
| of | kohta |
| on | kohta |
| opposite | vastupidine |
| out | välja |
| outside | väljaspool |
| over | üle |
| per | kohta |
| plus | pluss |
| round | ümmargune |
| since | kuna |
| than | kui |
| through | läbi |
| till | kuni |
| to | kuni |
| toward | suunas |
| under | all |
| unlike | erinevalt |
| until | kuni |
| up | üles |
| via | kaudu |
| with | koos |
| within | jooksul |
| without | ilma |
| |
| two words | kaks sõna |
| according to | vastavalt |
| because of | tõttu |
| close to | lähedal |
| due to | tõttu |
| except for | välja arvatud |
| far from | kaugel |
| inside of | sees |
| instead of | asemel |
| near to | lähedal |
| next to | kõrval |
| outside of | väljaspool |
| prior to | enne |
| |
| three words | kolm sõna |
| as far as | niipalju kui |
| as well as | niisamuti kui |
| in addition to | lisaks |
| in front of | ees |
| in spite of | hoolimata |
| on behalf of | nimel |
| on top of | peal |
| |
| demonstrative pronouns | demonstratiivsed eessõnad |
| this | see |
| that | see / too |
| these | need |
| those | nood |
Time place and demonstrative pronouns have a very important role in Estonian, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Estonian Prepositions, you might want to check the rest of our Estonian lessons here: Learn Estonian. Don't forget to bookmark this page.