büroo

Büroo is an Estonian noun meaning "office" or "bureau." It denotes a place where administrative tasks are performed, such as a room or suite within a company, a public agency, or a government ministry, and it can also refer more broadly to an organization’s administrative department or functions. In everyday language, the term is used for both the physical space and for organizational activity.

The word is a loanword from German Büro, and the Estonian spelling with ü reflects this origin. German büro originally meant office, and in many European languages the term has been adopted with related meanings, often passing through French and other languages before stabilizing in local vocabularies. In Estonian, büroo is now a standard everyday term.

In modern Estonian, büroo is widely used across sectors and registers. It coexists with kontor as a synonym for office, with some stylistic variation: büroo is common in contemporary, semi-formal, and business contexts, while kontor may appear in more traditional usage. The word also feeds into compounds and expressions related to office life, such as office buildings, office work, and other administrative activities. It remains a familiar and durable part of contemporary Estonian vocabulary.