5 Untranslatable Estonian Gems That’ll Make You Grin

Hello fabulous business readers! If you thought the only oddities in Estonian were diacritical marks (õ, ä, ö, ü, anyone?), think again. Here are five delightfully quirky Estonian words that English just can't sum up in one tidy word—so buckle up for a linguistic joyride!

1. Valevorst

Literally “lie‑sausage,” this colorful compound combines vale (“lie”) and vorst (“sausage”) to describe a person who fibs. Picture calling someone a “lie‑sausage”—it’s playful, cheeky, and uniquely Estonian! For example: Ta lubas, et teeb raporti valmis, aga ei teinud midagi – täielik valevorst! → He promised to finish the report but didn’t do a thing—a total lie-sausage!

2. Tohuvabohu

An elegant way to say “total chaos” or “hubbub,” tohuvabohu is the kind of beautiful chaos English can only approximate with multiple words. Perfect when your inbox looks like a tornado hit it: Mu postkast on täielik tohuvabohu. → My inbox is total tohuvabohu.

3. Mürakaru

Meet the “mischief‑bear”! Müra means noise or mischief, and karu means bear. This fun phrase captures someone who causes playful trouble—like the office prankster who sneaks staplers into jelly. Example: Meie kolleeg on tõeline mürakaru – eile peitis ta kõik hiired külmkappi. → Our colleague is a real mürakaru—yesterday he hid all the computer mice in the fridge.

4. Nipet-näpet

When you have bits‑and‑bobs, odds‑and‑sods, or just random little trinkets lying around, you’ve got nipet‑näpet. It rolls off the tongue like tiny internal laughter—and it's impossible to match with a single English word. Example: Taskust leidsin ainult nipet-näpet – paar münti ja vana pilet. → I found only nipet-näpet in my pocket—a couple of coins and an old ticket.

5. Jonn

If Estonians had a national superpower, it might just be jonn. This word means a mix of stubbornness, persistence, and childlike “I’ll do it my way no matter what” energy. It’s not quite the same as English stubborn (which sounds negative), nor determined (which feels too noble). Jonn is somewhere in between: a quirky, relentless drive that can be annoying—like when a kid refuses to put on a jacket (laps ei tahtnud jope selga panna, puhas jonn → the child refused to put on a jacket—pure jonn)—but also admirable, like when a startup team finishes a project purely out of sheer willpower.

BONUS: A Mythical Cameo (Because Estonia's folklore is chef’s kiss)

If you’re ever tempted to sneak in a bonus cultural nugget, mention the kratt—a magical creature built from hay or old junk, brought to life with a drop of its master’s blood, and used to do chores or steal stuff for you…until it must be given an impossible task and burns out. In folklore, a kratt is usually depicted as a human-like figure that can transform into blazing red fireballs streaking across the night sky, sneaking into neighbors’ houses to steal grain, clothes, money, or whatever shiny goods it fancies. In other words: Estonia’s very own blend of handyman, thief, and startup robot—centuries before AI hype was cool.