Stories, audio, and videos can all help you learn Estonian when you can follow what they mean. That is the idea behind comprehensible input: learning from Estonian you can mostly understand. Easy Estonian can be hard to find, and a 2022 study in the Estonian Journal of Education says adult beginners find it hard to get texts to read that are real, interesting, and at their level.
These apps and sites give you Estonian at your level, or help you read and watch the Estonian you pick yourself. For courses, speaking practice, and tutors, see our Estonian app comparison.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Learn Estonian with a path made just for you. Start with your level, what you like, and why you want to learn. Your path grows as you learn, with new lessons that fit you. Bubblegum also has news and stories, so you can read and listen to a mix of Estonian about music, food, family, or everyday life.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes each lesson for your level and goals. Estonian words change their endings a lot, so if a word looks new, just ask her to explain it.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum can't help you read Estonian you found yourself. For a video, a news story, or a web page you already picked, the apps in Read and Watch Estonian You Choose are the better fit.
- Read and listen to lessons, news, and stories about things you like.
- New lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Lesson audio uses AI voices, not recordings of Estonian speakers.
- You cannot bring in your own books, articles, or videos.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Listen to Stories Made for Learners
Fluent Fiction
Fluent Fiction is an app and podcast of short stories for learners, and you can also find its Estonian stories in podcast apps. It suits learners who know some Estonian and like to learn by listening.
- Short Estonian stories set in places such as Tallinn's Old Town, Tuhala, and the Võhandu River.
- Each story is told again sentence by sentence, with English in between.
- Each episode comes with a word list and a transcript.
MobileWeb
Listen to Estonian Stories and Radio
ERR, Estonia's public broadcaster, has two free apps for listening. They are made for people who speak Estonian, so they suit learners who can already follow some spoken Estonian.
Õhtujutt
Õhtujutt means "evening story," and its stories come from a Vikerraadio show that helps children fall asleep. It suits learners who want Estonian to listen to at bedtime.
- Bedtime stories from Vikerraadio's sound archive, read by well-known Estonian actors.
- Stories by Estonian children's writers, plus folk tales from many countries.
- Many are books Estonian children are encouraged to read, such as Tere, Volli! and Käru-Kaarel.
Mobile
Eesti Raadio
Eesti Raadio is ERR's radio app. People on Reddit often tell learners to keep Estonian radio on in the background, and Vikerraadio's talk shows are one of their tips.
- All of ERR's radio stations in one app, including Vikerraadio and Raadio 2.
- Radio plays and stories told in parts, plus podcasts.
- Listen live or later, and download shows to hear offline.
Mobile
Read and Watch Estonian You Choose
These tools help you learn from Estonian videos, news, and web pages you pick yourself. They suit learners who already know what they want to read or watch.
Language Player
Language Player turns Estonian YouTube videos into lessons, with subtitles in Estonian and your own language at the same time. It suits learners who want to watch Estonian at their level.
- Find Estonian videos sorted by level, from Pre-A1 to C2, with a filter for kids' videos.
- Tap any word in the subtitles to look it up.
- Save words and review them with spaced repetition.
- Flashcards
MobileWebBrowser extension
Readlang
Readlang helps you read Estonian on the web, such as the easy news below. It suits learners who know the basics and want quick help with new words.
- Tap a word or short phrase on an Estonian web page to see what it means.
- Read texts that other readers share in its Estonian library, from short dialogues to Oskar Luts's novel Kevade.
- Save new words and review them with flashcards.
- Flashcards
WebBrowser extension
Free News, Podcasts, and Shows
Every week, ERR posts Lihtsad uudised, a short set of the week's news in simple Estonian that you can read and listen to. Estonian with Eli is a podcast for beginners that began in 2026, with short stories and easy talks about life in Estonia. The transcripts for its first season are free on Eli's website. The Estonian Podcast is made for learners too. Every episode links to a transcript, and some topics come in an easier and a harder version.
For shows, Jupiter is ERR's free streaming site, with Estonian series, films, and documentaries. You can watch it outside Estonia, though some shows are blocked abroad, and some shows have Estonian subtitles. Someone on Reddit suggests watching the series Õnne 13 from the beginning for its everyday conversations, and another person says Jupiter also has series from other countries with Estonian subtitles. For children's shows in Estonian, people on Reddit point learners to Lasteekraan, ERR's site for kids.
Learn Estonian in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings, except Language Player (Chrome Web Store) and Readlang (its help forum). The free websites and podcasts above are in Estonian or English. Word meanings, lesson explanations, and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Fluent Fiction | 1 | Full list |
| Õhtujutt | 3 | Full list |
| Eesti Raadio | 3 | Full list |
| Language Player | 17 | Full list |
| Readlang | 1 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (6)
- KeelAI Estonian ReaderEstonian texts and full books sorted from A1 to C1, where you tap a word for its meaning and audio and answer questions as you read. It is new and growing.
- Lingo ChampionRead Estonian news and watch hand-picked videos, with word lookups and AI explanations. Full use needs a paid plan, and it is new, with few learner reviews so far.
- Common EarListen to short recordings of real Estonian speakers and type what you hear, to get used to how people really talk.
- Carry the StoryPicture stories for children, read aloud in Estonian and five other languages, with word meanings. Fourteen stories are free. It is new and growing.
- keel veel teelA YouTube channel that explains Estonian grammar in English, with some videos where a native speaker reads a story while you follow the text.
- Pille ja Lauri loodFree A2 lessons with 20 topics of short videos, worksheets, and exercises. They were made for learners who are hard of hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there easy books in Estonian?
A few. Meie elu has 32 short texts about everyday life for A2 learners, written like blog posts and with pictures. The Estonian Children's Literature Centre also keeps a list of 45 picture books and 29 storybooks in simple Estonian, and it says these books suit all Estonian learners.
Do YouTube's automatic subtitles work for Estonian?
Not very well yet. People on Reddit warn that automatic Estonian subtitles are often wrong, and one says it is because so few people speak Estonian that the models have not learned it well. Subtitles written by people, like the ones on some Jupiter shows, are safer to learn from.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Estonian Journal of Education (2022): Compiling a collection of reading texts for Estonian A2-level adults (adult beginners find it hard to find suitable texts to read)
- ERR News: Lihtsad uudised, the week's news in simple Estonian
- Estonian with Eli: podcast website and transcripts
- Estonian Podcast: a podcast for Estonian learners, with transcripts and episodes at two levels
- ERR News: ERR opens new Jupiter streaming platform (watching abroad and Estonian subtitles)
- r/eestikeel: Where can I find child books online? (Õnne 13 for everyday conversation)
- r/Eesti: Guys how to learn Estonian? (Jupiter, Lasteekraan, and Estonian radio)
- Rahva Raamat: Meie elu, A2-level reading texts for Estonian learners
- Estonian Children's Literature Centre: Books in simple Estonian language
- r/Eesti: Best Way to Learn Estonian? (a warning about automatic Estonian subtitles)
- r/Eesti: As a Finn, how hard will Estonian be? (YouTube's subtitles and Estonian)
- Bubblegum
- Fluent Fiction
- Õhtujutt
- Eesti Raadio
- Language Player
- Readlang
Checked on October 8, 2026 against each app's own pages.
