sina / teie

Familiar Sina and Polite Teie

Level 1

sina / sa = you, familiar. teie / te = you, several people or polite. Kas sa tuled? Kas te tulete?

How It Works

Choosing. Among colleagues and people of the same age, Estonians often move to sina quickly. With strangers, officials, customers and older people, teie is the safe choice. When you are unsure, start with teie and follow the other person's lead. The verbs sinatama (to say sina to someone) and teietama (to say teie) name the two styles: Kas me võime sinatada?

Grammar with teie. teie always takes plural verb forms, even when it means one person: Kas te räägite inglise keelt? Commands are plural too: Istuge, palun! See Plural and Polite Command. A noun or adjective describing one person stays singular: Te olete väga lahke. (You are very kind, said to one person.) Te olete väga lahked. is said to a group. In casual speech you may also hear the plural said to one person, but standard Estonian uses the singular. See Saying What Something Is.

Other forms. The possessive is sinu or su (your, familiar) and teie (your, plural or polite): Kas see on teie kott? Having uses sul on and teil on: Kas teil on vaba tuba? In formal letters, Teie may be written with a capital letter; see Formal Letters.

Examples (6)

  1. Kas sa tuled täna õhtul?

    Are you coming tonight?

    Said to a friend: sa with a singular verb.

  2. Kas te räägite inglise keelt?

    Do you speak English?

    Polite teie takes the plural verb räägite.

  3. Vabandage, kas te teate, kus bussijaam on?

    Excuse me, do you know where the bus station is?

    Vabandage is the polite plural command form.

  4. Te olete väga lahke.

    You are very kind.

    Said politely to one person: the verb is plural, but lahke stays singular.

  5. Lapsed, kas te olete näljased?

    Kids, are you hungry?

    Several people: both the verb and the adjective are plural.

  6. Kas me võime sinatada?

    Can we say sina to each other?

    sinatama means to address someone with sina.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a singular verb with polite te.

    Kas te räägid inglise keelt?
    Kas te räägite inglise keelt?

    teie and te always take the plural verb, even when you mean one person.

  • Making the adjective plural when politely addressing one person.

    Te olete väga lahked.
    Te olete väga lahke.

    In standard Estonian, a description of one person stays singular. Lahked would mean you are talking to several people.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

sina / teieLevel 1Familiar Sina and Polite Teie

Learn This First

Choosing sina or teie needs the pronoun set.

Words in This Pattern

te