An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 25 most common Estonian idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Estonian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, Kuidas käsi käib? literally means "How does the hand go?" but is used to mean how are you doing, used as an everyday greeting. This free page ranks the 25 most common Estonian idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 25 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of October 2026.
Kuidas käsi käib?
Literally How does the hand go?
Means how are you doing, used as an everyday greeting
English idiom how's it going?
Example Tere, Mart! Kuidas käsi käib?
Hi, Mart! How's it going?
Note Casual greeting between people who already know each other, not for formal settings.
nagu kaks tilka vett
Literally like two drops of water
Means looking exactly alike
English idiom like two peas in a pod
Example Õed on nagu kaks tilka vett, keegi ei oska neid eristada.
The sisters are like two peas in a pod, nobody can tell them apart.
üle noatera
Literally over the knife's edge
Means barely, by the narrowest possible margin
English idiom by the skin of one's teeth
Example Sooritasin eksami üle noatera, täpselt miinimumpunktidega.
I passed the exam by the skin of my teeth, with exactly the minimum points.
silma peal hoidma
Literally to hold an eye on
Means to keep watch over someone or something
English idiom to keep an eye on
Example Palun hoia mu kotil korraks silma peal.
Please keep an eye on my bag for a moment.
kops läheb üle maksa
Literally the lung goes over the liver
Means to lose one's temper, to get furious
English idiom to blow a fuse
Example Kui ta jälle hilines, läks mul kops üle maksa.
When he turned up late again, I blew a fuse.
Note Informal, at home in speech but out of place in formal writing.
pead murdma
Literally to break one's head
Means to think hard about a difficult problem
English idiom to rack one's brain
Example Murdsin terve õhtu pead, kuidas seda ülesannet lahendada.
I racked my brain all evening over how to solve that problem.
sajab nagu oavarrest
Literally it rains as from a bean stalk
Means it is pouring with rain
English idiom to rain cats and dogs
Example Võta vihmavari kaasa, väljas sajab nagu oavarrest.
Take an umbrella, it's raining cats and dogs outside.
ots otsaga kokku tulema
Literally for end to come together with end
Means to have just enough money to cover what you need
English idiom to make ends meet
Example Sellise palgaga on raske ots otsaga kokku tulla.
It's hard to make ends meet on a salary like that.
nagu välk selgest taevast
Literally like lightning from a clear sky
Means completely sudden and unexpected
English idiom out of the blue
Example Tema lahkumisavaldus tuli nagu välk selgest taevast.
His resignation came out of the blue.
ridade vahelt lugema
Literally to read from between the rows
Means to work out what someone means without them saying it directly
English idiom to read between the lines
Example Kirjas seda otse ei öeldud, aga ridade vahelt lugedes oli kõik selge.
The letter didn't say it directly, but reading between the lines everything was clear.
nagu õlitatult
Literally as if oiled
Means very smoothly and without a hitch
English idiom like a well-oiled machine
Example Uue juhi käe all hakkas kõik nagu õlitatult sujuma.
Under the new manager everything started running like a well-oiled machine.
ninapidi vedama
Literally to drag by the nose
Means to deceive someone, usually over a long stretch of time
English idiom to string someone along
Example Ta vedas oma ülemust mitu kuud ninapidi, enne kui tõde välja tuli.
He strung his boss along for months before the truth came out.
pika ninaga jääma
Literally to be left with a long nose
Means to end up empty-handed and disappointed
Example Piletid said otsa enne meie järge, nii et jäime pika ninaga.
The tickets ran out before our turn, so we ended up empty-handed.
sääsest elevanti tegema
Literally to make an elephant out of a mosquito
Means to blow something small far out of proportion
English idiom to make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Ära tee sääsest elevanti, see oli ainult üks kriimustus.
Don't make a mountain out of a molehill, it was only a scratch.
Note The variant kärbsest elevanti tegema (out of a fly) is just as correct.
läbi lillede
Literally through the flowers
Means hinting at something politely instead of saying it straight out
English idiom to beat around the bush
Example Ta andis läbi lillede mõista, et tal on raha vaja.
He hinted delicately that he needed money.
Note Usually about softening criticism or bad news, so it can sound tactful rather than evasive.
torm veeklaasis
Literally a storm in a glass of water
Means a big fuss about something trivial
English idiom a storm in a teacup
Example Meedia tegi sellest suure loo, aga tegelikult oli see torm veeklaasis.
The media made a big story out of it, but really it was a storm in a teacup.
hambad ristis
Literally with teeth crossed
Means pushing on through something hard without giving up
English idiom to grit one's teeth
Example Hambad ristis saime töö õigeks ajaks valmis.
We gritted our teeth and got the work done on time.
karuteene tegema
Literally to do a bear's service
Means to harm someone while trying to help them
Example Tahtsin last aidata, aga tegin talle hoopis karuteene.
I wanted to help the child, but I did more harm than good.
Note From the fable of the bear that killed its friend while swatting a fly off his face.
nahast välja pugema
Literally to crawl out of one's skin
Means to go all out to get something, with almost embarrassing eagerness
English idiom to bend over backwards
Example Ta pugeb nahast välja, et ametikõrgendust saada.
He is bending over backwards to get a promotion.
Note Mildly disapproving, it suggests the effort is overeager and a bit servile.
süda vajub saapasäärde
Literally the heart sinks into the boot shaft
Means to be suddenly gripped by fear or dread
English idiom one's heart sinks
Example Kui buss järsku pidurdas, vajus mul süda saapasäärde.
When the bus braked suddenly, my heart sank.
käed rüpes istuma
Literally to sit with hands in the lap
Means to stay idle while something clearly needs doing
English idiom to sit on one's hands
Example Kõik teised koristasid, tema aga istus käed rüpes.
Everyone else was cleaning up, but he just sat on his hands.
Note Mildly critical, it implies the person ought to be pitching in.
põrsast kotis ostma
Literally to buy a piglet in a sack
Means to buy something without checking it first
English idiom to buy a pig in a poke
Example Tellisin selle sülearvuti netist seda nägemata ja ostsin sisuliselt põrsa kotis.
I ordered that laptop online without seeing it, so I basically bought a pig in a poke.
tuli takus
Literally fire in the tow (flax fibre)
Means being in a great hurry
Example Ma ei saa praegu rääkida, mul on tuli takus.
I can't talk right now, I'm in a huge rush.
Note Takk is flax fibre that catches fire in an instant, an image from old farm life.
kivi kapsaaeda viskama
Literally to throw a stone into the cabbage garden
Means to aim a veiled dig at someone
English idiom to take a dig at someone
Example See märkus koosolekul oli selge kivi minu kapsaaeda.
That remark at the meeting was clearly a dig at me.
vihma käest räästa alla
Literally from the rain to under the eaves
Means to move out of a bad situation into a worse one
English idiom out of the frying pan into the fire
Example Vahetasin töökohta, aga sattusin vihma käest räästa alla.
I changed jobs, but I went out of the frying pan into the fire.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Kuidas käsi käib? comes out as "How does the hand go?", which makes no sense until you know it means how are you doing, used as an everyday greeting.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Estonian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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The most common Estonian idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with Kuidas käsi käib?, nagu kaks tilka vett, üle noatera, silma peal hoidma, kops läheb üle maksa. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 25 of them with meanings and example sentences.
Literally "How does the hand go?". It means how are you doing, used as an everyday greeting. The closest English idiom is "how's it going?". Example: Tere, Mart! Kuidas käsi käib? ("Hi, Mart! How's it going?")
Literally "like two drops of water". It means looking exactly alike. The closest English idiom is "like two peas in a pod". Example: Õed on nagu kaks tilka vett, keegi ei oska neid eristada. ("The sisters are like two peas in a pod, nobody can tell them apart.")
Literally "over the knife's edge". It means barely, by the narrowest possible margin. The closest English idiom is "by the skin of one's teeth". Example: Sooritasin eksami üle noatera, täpselt miinimumpunktidega. ("I passed the exam by the skin of my teeth, with exactly the minimum points.")
Literally "to hold an eye on". It means to keep watch over someone or something. The closest English idiom is "to keep an eye on". Example: Palun hoia mu kotil korraks silma peal. ("Please keep an eye on my bag for a moment.")
Literally "the lung goes over the liver". It means to lose one's temper, to get furious. The closest English idiom is "to blow a fuse". Example: Kui ta jälle hilines, läks mul kops üle maksa. ("When he turned up late again, I blew a fuse.")
Literally "to break one's head". It means to think hard about a difficult problem. The closest English idiom is "to rack one's brain". Example: Murdsin terve õhtu pead, kuidas seda ülesannet lahendada. ("I racked my brain all evening over how to solve that problem.")
Literally "it rains as from a bean stalk". It means it is pouring with rain. The closest English idiom is "to rain cats and dogs". Example: Võta vihmavari kaasa, väljas sajab nagu oavarrest. ("Take an umbrella, it's raining cats and dogs outside.")
Literally "for end to come together with end". It means to have just enough money to cover what you need. The closest English idiom is "to make ends meet". Example: Sellise palgaga on raske ots otsaga kokku tulla. ("It's hard to make ends meet on a salary like that.")
The Estonian equivalent is "Kuidas käsi käib?", literally "How does the hand go?". Example: Tere, Mart! Kuidas käsi käib? ("Hi, Mart! How's it going?")
In Estonian, an idiom is called kõnekäänd, and a proverb is vanasõna. A kõnekäänd is a figurative expression that bends to fit the sentence around it (dictionaries also call it a fraseologism), while a vanasõna is a proverb, a fixed complete sentence carrying folk wisdom.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Kuidas käsi käib? translates literally as "How does the hand go?", yet it means how are you doing, used as an everyday greeting. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Estonian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.