Estonian swear words, a double-edged tool/sword

Using curse words can make your stories legendary and help people remember them longer, although if you use them too much you might come off as a bit uneducated. When used in moderation, they can spice up the story you’re telling and also give you the ability to describe things beyond the limitations of polite ways of expressing yourself. If you pair them with good timing, you can steer attention to a specific subject by highlighting it when surrounded with swears. 

Playing with these words for too long can result in using them as filler words, which is a slippery slope from there on, as you won’t notice when you start using them or whether they’re appropriate to the situation or not. And you probably don’t want to be that guy or gal.

So, in order to know how and when to use them, we’ve put together this article with all the necessary information to help you make more progress while you learn Estonian online with Lingvist.

*WARNING: Some Estonian curse words and their translations are very vulgar. Our aim is to provide factually correct information about the usage of Estonian curse words as a naturalistic human behavior to aid Estonian learners in understanding authentic Estonian, which in some cases may be graphic or offensive in their reference to religion, sexuality, or violence.*

Let’s dive into this crash course on Estonian curse words!

Sending people somewhere

It’s very common to send people to certain places when cursing at them in Estonian. However, many of those phrases can’t even be considered curses, because they can be said either seriously or when joking around with friends and family. Let’s say your friend is teasing you – in this case, it’s perfectly fine to tell them, “Ah, mine metsa.” You’ll see these Estonian phrases in the first table below. 

Estonian

English

Literal meaning

Vulgarity level

TÔmba uttu

Get outta here

Pull into fog

None

Mine metsa

Get outta here

Go to the forest

None

SÔida seenele

Get outta here

Drive to pick mushrooms

None

KĂ€i kuu peale

Get outta here

Walk to the moon

None

KĂ€i kukele

Get outta here

Go to the rooster

None

TÔmba lesta

Get outta here

Pull a flipper

None

This second table has harsher-sounding curse words that are generally used when you’re actually angry at something or someone.

Estonian

English

Literal meaning

Vulgarity level

Mine pÔrgu; KÀi pÔrgu

Go to hell

 

Mild to medium depending on the tone

Mine vittu

F*ck you

Go into c*nt

High

Mine putsi

F*ck you

Go into c*nt

High

Mida perset

WTF

What the ass

Medium

Mida pÔrgut

What the hell?

 

Mild

Mine munni

F*ck you

Go into c*ck

High

Mine perse; Keri perse

P*ss off

Go into ass, reel into ass

Medium

Keri kuradile; KĂ€i kuradile

P*ss off

Reel to the devil, go to the devil

Medium

Single-word swears

Some of these words you’ve definitely heard while spending time with your Estonian friends. Pagan and kurat are especially popular curse words.

Estonian

English equivalent

Literal meaning

Vulgarity level

Pagan

Damn

Person believing in the local nature-based religion

Mild

Kurivaim

Darn

Angry spirit

Mild

Kuramus

Darn

Milder form of kurat

Mild

Kurinahk

Bugger

Angry skin, also a milder term for a criminal

Mild

Persevest

Asshole

Ass vest

Medium

Sinder

Bugger

From German words Schinden which means to flay, to skin

Mild

TĂŒraĂŒrask

Bugger

C*ckbeetle

Medium

Kurat

Sh*t

Estonian word for devil

Medium

Raisk

F*ck

A waste

High

Sitapea

Sh*thead

 

High

TÔbras

F*cker

Used to refer to an honourless person, an outdated meaning for animal

Medium

TĂŒrapea

D*ckhead

 

High

Saatanas

Oh damn

A milder form of saatan

Mild

TĂŒra

F*ck

D*ck

High

Vittu, Putsi

F*ck

Into c*nt

High

Lits

Sl*t

 

High

Nahhui

F*ck

Estonian version of Russian word nahui 

High

Sitanikerdis

A piece of sh*t

A carving of shit

Mild

Sitanikerdis

Is used to refer to something that has been very badly constructed, built, or put together. Example: See auto on tĂ€ielik sitanikerdis – This car is a total piece of sh*t.

Calling someone stupid

In Estonian, the tone you use to say something matters a lot. Thus, the meaning of the curse word can have a very different feeling behind it depending on whether you say it playfully or seriously and angrily. In this list the first two, jobu and idioot, are the strongest sounding, so don’t use them too lightly.

Jobu – moron; idioot – idiot: these are the most common ways to call someone stupid. 

Tainapea – dough head; tainas – dough; puupea – wooden head; jahupea – flour head

Sitaratas – shit wheel; sitavares – shit crow. Used to describe someone who is inept or lacks skill and competence.

Tumba – a type of seat that doesn’t have a backrest; tumbajumba – same as the previous word but jumba doesn’t mean anything on its own.

Turakas – from the Russian word durak (ЮураĐș)

Idu – sprout   

Cursed verbs

If you know how to conjugate in Estonian, then you don’t need an explanation of how the verbs work. Almost all of these are harsh, so be cautious of using them.

Estonian

English

Literal meaning

Vulgarity level

Nussima

To f*ck, to f*ck with someone’s mind

This is a native Estonian word and is an Estonian equivalent of the Finnish word nussia

High

Keppima

To f*ck

To stick (by stick is meant a wooden stick)

High

Panema

To f*ck

To put

mild

Nikkuma

To f*ck

This verb comes from Low-German word Nicken, which means to move up and down

High

Multi-word phrases

Estonian

English

Literal meaning

Vulgarity level

Ära nussi minuga

Don’t f*ck with me

 

High

Mind ei koti

I don’t care

It doesn’t bag me

Mild

Kurat seda teab

Who the hell knows

Devil knows it

Medium

Kuradi kurat

F*cking hell

Devil of the devil

Medium

Ime munni

Suck a c*ck

 

High

Kuradi tĂŒraimeja

F*cking c*cksucker

Devil’s c*cksucker

High

Kuradi hoorapoeg

F*cking son of a b*tch

Devil’s son of a b*tch

Medium

Peksa pihku

Wank off

 

Medium

Mida pÔrgut

What the hell

 

Mild

Mida kuradit 

What the hell

What the devil

Mild

Mida vittu

WTF

What the c*nt

High

Kuradi pÀrast

For f*ck’s sake

Because of the devil

Medium

If you don’t live in Estonia but would still like to hear kuidas ropendada (how to curse) in Estonian, you can watch these stop-motion animated shorts called Vanamehe multikas (“Old man’s cartoon”). Most of the videos have English subtitles and the character Vanamees curses like many older Estonian men do, with kurat and raisk in almost every sentence.

There’s also a movie called Vanemehe film (“The Old Man’s Movie”) that you can watch on this website.

A Word of Caution

When learning foreign languages, learners usually don’t understand and feel the deeper implications of curse words. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to what kinds of words you’re using and if they’re actually appropriate to use in this specific situation. 

It’s also important to pay attention to how native speakers use these words and learn from them. Over time, as you continue learning, you’ll start to understand the deeper meanings behind them.

Some of the milder curse words from this article can also be found in our Estonian language course. Sign up on the web or download the app on your iOS or Android device to enjoy a free trial. 

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