Computer and internet in Esperanto: words and phrases

A computer is komputilo, the internet is interreto, a website is retejo and email is retpoŝto. Most tech words are built from a few parts: -il- "tool" (komputi "compute" gives komputilo), ret- "internet" (from reto "net") and the direction prefixes el- and al-. Pronunciation guides split words into syllables, with the stressed syllable in capitals.

#Computers and phones

#Parts and devices

#Using a computer

#The internet and the web

#Email, messages and accounts

#Social networks, blogs and apps

#How tech words are built

PMEG notes that ret is often a prefix meaning "of the internet", as in poŝto → retpoŝto, and lists komputilo among the -il- devices. The suffix -um- has no fixed meaning, so retumi (ret- + -um-) and foliumi "to leaf through" are learned as whole words. See prefixes, suffixes and word building.

Why elŝuti and alŝuti? Ŝuti means to pour loose things such as sand or grain. ReVo explains that the prefixes show the direction relative to a big "bit container", a server: alŝuti pours bits into it, elŝuti pours them out for your own use.

#Saying an email address aloud

The address maria@ekzemplo.org is read maria ĉe ekzemplo punkto org. Many email programs once handled only plain ASCII or Latin-1 text, so Vikipedio notes that a substitute spelling, such as the x-system, is still sometimes needed in email.

#Useful phrases

#Phones and computers

#Email and messages

#Online

In Alklaku la ligilon the verb ends in -u (a request, see verbs) and the objects ligilon and dosieron take -n (see the accusative).

#Esperanto on the internet

The Esperanto Wikipedia, Vikipedio, had about 390,000 articles on 8 October 2026. In 2015 one researcher even estimated the number of speakers from Facebook users, as how many people speak Esperanto explains. To type ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ and ŭ on a computer or phone, see the alphabet page. Free courses and practice partners are in learning resources.

#Common questions

#How do you say "computer" in Esperanto?

Komputilo, from komputi "to compute" and -il- "tool"; the plural is komputiloj. The older komputoro and komputero are archaic in ReVo.

#How do you say "internet" in Esperanto?

Interreto, from inter- "between" and reto "net": ReVo defines it as a set of interconnected computer networks. Vikipedio gives both interreto and Interreto.

#How do you say "email" and "email address"?

"Email" is retpoŝto or retletero; "email address" is retpoŝta adreso. ReVo's retadreso covers web and email addresses. E-poŝto is short for elektronika poŝto (Vikipedio).

#How do you say "download" and "upload"?

Elŝuti is "to download" and alŝuti "to upload"; ReVo defines them as opposites, relative to a server.

#What is the Esperanto word for "mobile phone" or "smartphone"?

A mobile phone is poŝtelefono. A smartphone is lerta telefono or inteligenta telefono; ReVo marks the short form kompufono as best avoided.

#What is the difference between retumilo and foliumilo?

Both name a web browser in ReVo: retumilo is a program for retumi, foliumilo a reader for exploring pages and files in any order. Vikipedio names the strict term TTT-legilo and says retumilo, strictly a wider set of internet programs, is often used for it.

#Sources

• ReVo: komputilo, tekkomputilo, tabulkomputilo, platkomputilo, komputoro, komputero, kompufono
• ReVo: telefono, poŝtelefono, lerta telefono, telefonnumero, servilo
• ReVo: klavaro, klavo, muso, ekrano, tuŝekrano, presilo, printilo, skanilo
• ReVo: fotilo, kamerao, retkamerao, mikrofono, laŭtparolilo, kapaŭdilo, akumulatoro, ŝargilo
• ReVo: programo, programaro, aparataro, aplikaĵo, apo, dosiero, dosierujo, fenestro
• ReVo: ŝalti, malŝalti, klaki, alklaki, instali, ĝisdatigi, savkopio, ŝuti, elŝuti, alŝuti
• ReVo: reto, interreto, retejo, retumi, retumilo, Tut-Tera Teksaĵo, retpaĝo, retadreso, adreso, ligilo, foliumilo, foliumi, serĉilo, konekti, vifio
• ReVo: retpoŝto, retletero, mesaĝo, mesaĝi, retmesaĝo, tujmesaĝilo, spamo, viruso
• ReVo: uzanto, konto, pasvorto, ensaluti, elsaluti, salutnomo, uzantnomo, profilo
• ReVo: Fejsbuko, Jutubo, Tvitero, pepi, blogo, forumo, podkasto, komento
• ReVo: heliko, punkto, streketo, substreko, oblikvo, teko
• PMEG: IL, UM, AR, EJ, UJ, RET as a prefix
• Vikipedio: Interreto, Retpoŝto, Retumilo, Facebook, @, TTT-legilo, Socia retejo, X (mikrobloga servo), Statistikoj (389,591 articles on 8 October 2026)
• Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR), used only to check that these words occur in real sentences