Estonian alphabet

The Estonian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet with German influence. Because of German influence, Estonian contains the letters Ä, Ö and Ü. The Estonian alphabet originally has only 23 letters. However, including letters that are used in words borrowed from other languages, it may have 27 letters or 32 letters. They are the same as in English, with the addition of four letters - Õ, Ä, Ö and Ü. These four letters are placed after W and before X in the Estonian alphabet. The letters Š and Ž also exist in Estonian, but they are only used in words borrowed from other languages. The letter Š is placed after S in the Estonian alphabet, and Z is placed after Š in Estonian. The letter Ž is placed after Z. All together the order is as follows:

A B (C) D E F G H I J K L M N O P (Q) R S Š Z Ž T U V (W) Õ Ä Ö Ü (X) (Y)

F, Š, Z and Ž are only used in words borrowed from other languages. C, Q, W, X and Y are not used in Estonian, and only occur in names from other languages.

The original Estonian alphabet consists of 23 letters in the order as it follows:

A B D E G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V Õ Ä Ö Ü

Including the letters only in loanwords, the Estonian alphabet consists of 27 letters in the order as it follows:

A B D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S Š Z Ž T U V Õ Ä Ö Ü

Including letters not part of the alphabet and from the local alphabet, the Estonian alphabet consists of 32 letters in the order as it follows:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S Š Z Ž T U V W Õ Ä Ö Ü X Y