Kuidas käsi käib?
Literally How does the hand go?
Means How are you doing (a common everyday greeting)
Example Kuidas käsi käib, vana sõber?
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Estonian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, 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 (a common everyday greeting). This free tool lists 15 real Estonian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Estonian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
Kuidas käsi käib?
Literally How does the hand go?
Means How are you doing (a common everyday greeting)
Example Kuidas käsi käib, vana sõber?
nagu kaks tilka vett
Literally like two drops of water
Means to look exactly alike, like two peas in a pod
Example Õed on nagu kaks tilka vett, keegi ei oska neid eristada.
süda vajus saapasäärde
Literally the heart sank into the boot
Means to become very frightened, one's heart sank
Example Kui buss järsku pidurdas, vajus mul süda saapasäärde.
karuteene tegema
Literally to do a bear's service
Means to do someone a disservice while trying to help them
Example Tahtsin last aidata, aga tegin talle hoopis karuteene.
kivi kapsaaeda viskama
Literally to throw a stone into the cabbage garden
Means to make a veiled critical remark aimed at someone
Example See märkus koosolekul oli selge kivi minu kapsaaeda.
nagu õlitatult
Literally as if oiled
Means very smoothly, like a well-oiled machine
Example Uue juhi käe all hakkas kõik nagu õlitatult jooksma.
ninapidi vedama
Literally to lead by the nose
Means to deceive or manipulate someone completely
Example Ta vedas oma ülemust mitu kuud ninapidi, enne kui tõde välja tuli.
pead murdma
Literally to break one's head
Means to rack one's brain over a problem
Example Murdsin terve õhtu pead, kuidas seda ülesannet lahendada.
käed rüpes istuma
Literally to sit with hands in the lap
Means to remain idle and do nothing when action is needed
Example Kõik teised koristasid, tema aga istus käed rüpes.
silma peal hoidma
Literally to hold an eye on
Means to keep watch over someone or something, to supervise closely
Example Palun hoia mu kotil korraks silma peal.
torm veeklaasis
Literally a storm in a glass of water
Means a big fuss over something trivial
Example Meedia tegi sellest suure loo, aga tegelikult oli see torm veeklaasis.
põrsast kotis ostma
Literally to buy a piglet in a bag
Means to buy something sight unseen, a pig in a poke
Example Ostsin selle sülearvuti netist ilma nägemata ja sain aru, et ostsin põrsa kotis.
pika ninaga jääma
Literally to be left with a long nose
Means to end up disappointed, cheated, or empty-handed
Example Piletid said otsa enne meie järge, nii et jäime pika ninaga.
vihma käest räästa alla
Literally from the rain to under the eaves
Means to go from a bad situation into an even worse one
Example Vahetasin töökohta, aga läksin hoopis vihma käest räästa alla.
tuli takus
Literally fire in the tow (flax fiber)
Means to be in a great hurry
Example Ma ei saa praegu rääkida, mul on tuli takus.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Estonian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
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 (a common 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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Some of the most common Estonian idioms are Kuidas käsi käib?, nagu kaks tilka vett, süda vajus saapasäärde, karuteene tegema. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Estonian, "Kuidas käsi käib?" translates literally as "How does the hand go?", but it actually means How are you doing (a common everyday greeting). You would use it like this: Kuidas käsi käib, vana sõber?
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 (a common 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.