Finnish (suomen kieli, suomi) is spoken in Finland and by Finns elsewhere, predominantly in Scandinavia. Whether travellers to Finland need to learn Finnish is doubtful, since most Finns — including virtually all under 50 — speak at least some English. However, since so few people make the effort, you're guaranteed to get delighted reactions if you try.

Understand

Blue = spoken by the majority, green = spoken by a (sizable) minority. Here Meänkieli in Sweden and Kven in northernmost Norway are counted as Finnish.

Finnish is a Finno-Ugric language and hence completely unrelated to most other languages. In particular, Finnish has grammatically nothing at all in common with the Nordic languages, English or Russian. Although there are many old loan words especially from Swedish but also from other European languages, they are not necessarily recognizable due to the very different phonology. The use of modern neologisms instead of borrowing is common, but there may be a less used loan word in addition to the neologism: a polygon may be called polygoni, although the common word is monikulmio (a direct translation from the Greek).

The origin of Finnish and its relatives traces back over 5000 years to nomadic peoples of the Ural mountains in Russia who migrated westward. The details of the migration and the relations between languages are still topics of scientific debate. The closest major modern relative, Estonian, is spoken across the Gulf of Finland (Meänkieli, Kven and Karelian are much smaller). The Sámi languages in Northern Scandinavia, in Lapland and on the Kola Peninsula are also related, as are a host of minority languages in Russia. While Hungarian is not by any means close, Hungary and Finland have a special relationship as Finnish for a long time was the only other Finno-Ugric language that was a main language of a sovereign country.

Except for Kven spoken in Northern Norway, Meänkieli in northern Sweden (both of these may be considered as dialects of Finnish), Karelian, a few other tiny minority languages in Russia, and – arguably – Estonian, Finnish is not close to mutual intelligibility with any of its relatives.

Finnish is an agglutinative language, and case endings express what English expresses mostly with prepositions. For instance, junalippu Helsinkiin means "train ticket to Helsinki", while junalippu Helsinki is hard (but possible) to understand.

Also new words are often formed from the same root by suffixes: kirja (book) is the base for kirjain (letter), kirjasin (font), kirjuri (bookkeeper), kirjoitin (printer), kirje (letter), kirjasto (library) etc, and then there are related verbs and adjectives.

Reading signboards can be difficult as use of loan words is uncommon, and those used are not necessarily recognised as especially everyday words and proper nouns have been adapted to Finnish pronunciation. (Fortunately many signs are bilingual in Swedish, which can have more recognizable words.) Some rules to remember are that leading consonant clusters tend to be reduced to one letter, words are forced to end in a vowel, letters not present in Finnish may get replaced, and simple vowels may be transformed to diphthongs (Stockholm > Tukholma, London > Lontoo, Peter > Pietari). Using a dictionary, especially for longer texts, is complicated by the word inflection; also the stem of many words varies somewhat (such as lippu, lipun for ticket or ruoka, ruuan for food).

Colloquial speech differs significantly from what is described here: (minä) olen → mä oon ("I am"). The formal pronunciation is still more or less what you will hear in the news, what is taught in school and what is easiest for others to understand.

Finnish does have the T-V distinction between informal and formal address, but the informal forms are commonly used even with strangers. If you get to know somebody as a tourist, you can assume you are on informal first-name terms. Formal forms are occasionally used in everyday speech (depending mostly on speaker), but see use mainly in formal settings (journalists interviewing politicians etc.).

In Sweden, Finnish has status of official minority language. The same position applies also to Meänkieli, which is considered as a separate language in Sweden. In Norway, Kven has an official minority language status.

Pronunciation

The Finnish language is fairly easy to pronounce: it has one of the most phonetic writing systems in the world, with only a small number of simple consonants and relatively few vowel sounds.

Native English speakers tend to have the most problems with vowel length and the distinction between the front vowels (ä, ö, y) and back vowels (a, o, u). English does make similar distinctions – consider the "a" sounds of father (back) and cat (front), or the difference in the "i" sound for bit (short) and beat (long) – but you will need to pay extra attention to it in Finnish.

In Finnish, all vowels are single sounds (or "pure" vowels). Doubled letters are simply pronounced longer, but it's important to differentiate between short and long sounds. Example:

tuli (TOO-ley) → fire

tuuli (TOOO-ley) → wind

tulli (TOOL-ley) → customs

kuuluu (KOOO-looo) → is heard

kuluu (KOO-looo) → is being worn down

kulu (KOO-loo) → expense

The basic Finnish alphabet consists of the following letters:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v y ä ö

Additionally the letters š and ž appear in a small number of loanwords and are pronounced like English sh and as s in treasure, respectively. The letter w also occurs infrequently in proper names and is treated identically to v. q, x, and z are virtually absent in Finnish and are often replaced with k, ks, and s. Lastly, the letter å occurs in some Swedish proper names and is pronounced like a Finnish "oo" (similar to British English "awe"). The beginning learner need not worry about these minutiae.

Vowels

The harmony of vowels Finnish has an unusual feature called vowel harmony, which means that the front vowels (ä, ö, y) and the back vowels (a, o, u) can never be found in the same word (compound words don't count, and the mid-vowels i, e are OK anywhere). This extends even into loanwords and suffixes: most Finns pronounce Olympia as olumpia, and suffixes with "a" take "ä" instead when necessary (jaa → jaata, jää → jäätä).

Long vowels are indicated simply by doubling the vowel in question.

a

like a in father, but short and clipped

aa

like a in father

e

like e in get

ee

not found in English, but just stretch out the e sound

i

like i in deli

ii

like ee in beet

o

like o in British English odd

oo

like British English awe

u

like u in rule, but short and clipped

uu

like u in rule — that's the same u as in German, Italian or Spanish

y

like German ü, similar to ew in few but with lips rounded (transcribed uu)

yy

not found in English, but just stretch out the y sound

ä

like a in cat

ää

like a in American English bad

ö

like German ö, similar to e in her, but short and clipped

öö

like German ö, similar to e in her (transcribed eu)

Diphthongs (vowel sequences) like the uo of Suomi (Finland) are common. They retain the individual sounds of their vowels, but are slightly blended together to be pronounced in one "beat".

Consonants

Varistaipale canal, Heinävesi

If a Finnish consonant is doubled, it should be pronounced lengthened. For plosives like p, t, k, this means getting your mouth ready to say it, but pausing for a moment. Hence mato (worm) is "MAH-taw", but matto (carpet) is "MAH-(pause)-taw".

b

as in English or approximated as p (rarely if ever used in native Finnish words)

c

only in loanwords, pronunciation approximated as s or k

d

as in English or approximated as t (in native words only before a suffix, with big variations between dialects: left out, pronounced as r, ...)

f

as in English or approximated as v (rarely if ever used in native Finnish words)

g

like g in get or approximated as k (rarely if ever used in native Finnish words, except in ng, see below)

h

like h in hotel, pronounced more strongly before a consonant

j

like y in yes

k

like k in sky (unaspirated)

l

like l in law

m

as in English

n

as in English (except in ng, see below)

ng

like ng in sing but longer, since it is actually a doubled consonant

nk

as in English, i.e. ng + k

p

like p in spy (unaspirated)

q

like k

r

trilled, as in Spanish perro

s

like ss in hiss

t

like t in sty (unaspirated)

v w

like English v

x

like x in axe (not used in native Finnish words)

z

like ts in cats (not used in native Finnish words)

Stress and tone

Word stress is always on the first syllable. In compound words, stress the first syllable of each part. Don't confuse stress with vowel length; they occur independently in Finnish. There is no tone whatsoever in Finnish speech, just a long string of fairly monotone sounds. Foreigners tend to think this makes the language sound rather depressing; Finns, on the other hand, wonder why other languages—including Russian—sound so sing-songy.

Grammar

Finnish grammar is radically different from English (or any Indo-European language, for that matter), making Finnish a rather difficult language to master, and Finns love to regale foreigners with horror stories of compound words a mile long and verbs with seventeen suffixes tacked on. Basically, everything in a sentence (nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns) inflects to indicate who is doing what, why, when and in what way, so constructing even a simple sentence requires lots of tweaking about:

I go to the shop. I quickly buy bread.

Menen kauppaan. Ostan nopeasti leipää.

go-I shop-to. buy-I quick-adverb bread-object.

Nouns can be declined in 14 different cases for handling things like "getting some coffee and getting the coffee, doing something without coffee, going into a pub, being in a pub, getting out of the pub, being on the roof, getting onto the roof, getting off the roof, using something as a roof, turning something into a roof and so on, which are encoded into the word endings (kahvia, kahvi, kahvitta, pubiin, pubissa, pubista, katolla, katolle, katolta, kattona, katoksi).

Then there is a whole assortment of additional suffixes, leading to improbable but entirely grammatical monsters like talo ("house") → taloissammekinkohan ("also in our houses, perhaps?") or kala ("fish") → kalastajamaisuudettomuudellansakaan ("even using his lack of fisherman-likeness").

The good news is that examples like those two see use only for scaring foreigners; even in formal written Finnish, only a few suffixes are used at a time (the former would be said meidänkin taloissammekohan, adding the pronoun to relieve the noun from some complexity). Still, something like menisinköhän ("go-would-I-question-doubting"; thinking aloud: "I'd perhaps go, what'd you think") is not too uncommon in everyday speech. It is possible to "speak like Tarzan" (without inflecting anything) in subject-verb-object order like English and still be more or less understood. Minä mennä kauppa, minä nopea ostaa leipä (I go shop, I quick buy bread) will get you a zero in Finnish class, but it gets the message across.

While the Finnish generally stick to a word order similar to European languages, due to all these inflections the word order is almost entirely free and it may be possible to literally translate long sentences from unrelated languages like Korean into odd-sounding but grammatically correct Finnish. (Often nuances and emphasis are conveyed with a changed word order, and an odd word order can feel poetic or just strange.)

There are some minor consolations for the aspiring student: Finnish has no articles and no grammatical gender. Rules for conjugation are often complex, but at least they are very regular (rules below are simplifications, which happen to work in many cases).

The word endings may make recognising the parts of compound names a bit tricky. For example, words ending in -nen often change into -sten in some forms: the lake (järvi) of Littoinen is Littoistenjärvi, the quarry of Parainen is Paraisten kalkkilouhos. Try to concentrate on the beginning of the place name (ignore the last syllable) and on the word for the terrain form at the end, which might be one you recognise. As stems may vary according to the word form, you might want to also ignore minor differences in the stem – you will have some false positives, but those are hard to avoid anyway.

Phrase list

Common signs AUKI, AVOINNA Open KIINNI, SULJETTU Closed SISÄÄN(KÄYNTI) Entrance ULOS(KÄYNTI) Exit TYÖNNÄ Push VEDÄ Pull WC Toilet MIEHET or M Men NAISET or N Women KIELLETTY Forbidden SEIS Stop

Phrases in the following phrase list use the informal singular (sinuttelu), which is by far the most common form in modern Finnish and appropriate for almost all situations a traveller might encounter.

Note: Due to the ease, specificity and regularity of Finnish pronunciation, the difficulty of transcribing long vowels, and the general inaccuracy of English-based phoneticizations, it is highly recommended you take a few minutes to learn the alphabet instead of relying on the phoneticizations. That being said, however, Finns are often quite excited to hear a foreigner attempt to speak the language and tend to be very forgiving of pronunciation errors.

Basics

Pretty pretty please? Like with Scandinavian languages, the word please doesn't translate very easily into Finnish, although starting requests with the conditional verb form like Saisinko... (Could I please have...) or Voisitko... (Could you please...) can often substitute. If you have been asked something (e.g. "What would you like?", or "Where do you want to go?"), you can just state X, kiitos in response. Better yet, just smile!

Good day

(Hyvää) päivää (HUU-va PIGH-va)

Hello (informal)

Moi (moy), Hei (hay), Terve (TEH-r-veh)

How are you?

Mitä kuuluu? (MEE-ta KOO-loo?) (NOTE: this is not used merely as a conversational phrase as in English. You may say it when meeting an acquaintance; expect a longer story in response. Saying it to a stranger is strange, unless there is suitable context.)

Fine, thank you.

Kiitos, hyvää. (KEE-toss, HUU-va)

What is your name?

Mikä sinun nimesi on? (MEE-ka SEE-noon NEE-mess-ee on?)

My name is ______ .

Nimeni on ______ . (NEE-men-ee on _____ .)

Nice to meet you.

Hauska tavata. (HOWSS-kah TAH-vah-tah)

Please.

No direct equivalent, see the infobox.

Thank you.

Kiitos. (KEE-toss)

You're welcome.

Ole hyvä (OL-eh HUU-va); Ei kestä. (ay KESS-ta)

Yes

Kyllä (KUUL-la), Joo (yaw)

No.

Ei. (ay)

Excuse me. (getting attention)

Anteeksi (AHN-tek-see)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

Anteeksi (AHN-tek-see)

I'm sorry.

Anteeksi (AHN-tek-see)

Goodbye

Näkemiin. (NAK-em-een.)

Goodbye (informal)

Hei hei (hay hay), Moi moi (moy moy)

I can't speak Finnish

En puhu suomea. (en POO-hoo SOO-aw-meh-ah)

Do you speak English?

Puhutko englantia? (POO-hoot-kaw ENG-lahn-tee-ah?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

Puhuuko kukaan täällä englantia? (POO-hoo-kaw KOO-kahn TAL-la ENG-lahn-tee-ah?)

Help!

Apua! (AH-poo-ah!)

Look out!

Varo! (VAH-raw!)

Good morning.

(Hyvää) huomenta. (HUU-va HOO-aw-men-tah)

Good evening.

(Hyvää) iltaa. (HUU-va EEL-tah)

Good night.

Hyvää yötä. (HUU-va UU-eu-ta)

Good night (to sleep)

Hyvää yötä. (HUU-va UU-eu-ta)

I don't understand.

En ymmärrä (en UUM-ma-r-ra)

Where is the toilet?

Missä on vessa? (MEESS-sa on VESS-sah?) – see Finland#Toilets for how to recognise them

Common verbs

To be (minä) olen "I am" (sinä) olet "you (sg.) are" hän on "he/she is" (me) olemme "we are" (te) olette "you all are" he ovat "they are"

I no, you no, we all no In Finnish, the word "no" — ei — is a verb, so it can be conjugated. Thus, as juo or juoda means "drink"... (minä) en juo "I don't drink" (sinä) et juo "you (sg.) don't drink" hän ei juo "he/she doesn't drink" (me) emme juo "we don't drink" (te) ette juo "you all don't drink" he eivät juo "they don't drink". ei juoda "let's not drink"

Similarly to Italian and Spanish, the verb by itself reveals the person, therefore the personal pronoun is often omitted, except in third person.

Shown is the imperative. Add -n to get menen, tulen "I go, I come", etc. Add -ko to get the question "Do I ...?", for instance saanko ...? "Can I get ...?". For the second person (sg.) the ending is -t: saat is "you may", voitko? is "can you?"

no

ei (ay); see infobox

don't

älä (AL-a); plural or formal älkää (AL-ka), conjugation more complex; "I don't" is simply en, see infobox on "no"

can

voi (voy)

can?

voiko? (VOY-kaw?) – the -n comes before the -ko, so "can I?" is voinko?

buy

osta (OSS-tah)

come

tule (TOO-leh)

drive

aja (AH-yah)

eat

syö (SUU-eu) – tricky one

go

mene (MEN-eh)

get (receive)

saa (sah) – as always, the doubled vowel is longer

give

anna (AHN-nah)

keep

pidä + noun (PEE-da) – "I keep" adds an ending: pidän + noun-n as in pidä vaihtoraha / pidän vaihtorahan / pidämme vaihtorahan (keep the change / I keep the change / we keep the change)

like

pidä + noun-sta/stä (see infobox "The harmony of vowels" above) – "I like you" is pidän sinusta

put/place/set

laita (LIGH-tah)

say

sano (SAH-naw)

sell

myy (muu)

take

ota (OT-ah)

walk

kävele (KAV-el-eh)

Problems

Don't steal, come when we are open!

Leave me alone!

Anna minun olla (rauhassa)! (AHN-nah MEE-noon OL-lah (ROW-hahss-sah))

Don't touch!

Älä koske! (AL-a KOSS-keh!)

Let go! (if grabbed)

Päästä IRTI! (PASS-ta EE-r-tee)

I will call the police.

Kutsun poliisin. (KOOT-soon POL-ee-seen)

Police!

Poliisi! (POL-ee-see!)

Stop! Thief!

Pysähdy! Varas! (PUU-sa-h-duu! VAH-rahs!)

I need your help.

Tarvitsen apuasi. (TAH-r-veet-sen AH-poo-ah-see)

It's an emergency.

Nyt on hätä. (nuut on HAt-a)

I'm lost.

Olen eksynyt. (OL-en EK-suu-nuut)

I lost my bag.

Laukkuni katosi. (LOWK-koo-nee KAH-toss-ee)

I lost my wallet.

Lompakkoni katosi. (LOM-pahk-kon-ee KAH-toss-ee)

I'm sick / I've fallen ill

Olen kipeä / sairastunut. (OL-en KEE-peh-a)

I've been injured.

Olen loukkaantunut. (OL-en LOHK-kahn-too-noot)

I need a doctor.

Tarvitsen lääkärin. (TAH-r-veet-sen LAK-a-reen)

Can I use your phone?

Saanko käyttää puhelintasi? (SAHN-kaw KOWT-ta POO-hel-een-tah-see)

Numbers

Chopping up numbers Does saying things like seitsemänkymmentäkahdeksan for "78" seem terribly long-winded? Finns think so too, and in colloquial speech they abbreviate brutally: seit-kyt-kaheksan. Here are the short "prefix" forms (note that the forms for 1-6 can also be used on their own): 1 yks- 2 kaks- 3 kol- 4 nel- 5 viis- 6 kuus- 7 seit- 8 kaheks- 9 yheks- 10 -kyt

1

yksi (UUK-see)

2

kaksi (KAHK-see)

3

kolme (KOL-meh)

4

neljä (NEL-ya)

5

viisi (VEE-see)

6

kuusi (KOO-see)

7

seitsemän (SAYT-seh-man)

8

kahdeksan (KAH-h-dek-sahn)

9

yhdeksän (UU-h-dek-san)

10

kymmenen (KUUM-men-en)

11

yksitoista (UUK-see-toy-stah)

12

kaksitoista (KAHK-see-toy-stah...)

1X

X-toista (NOTE: The "teens" inflect the "X" part before "-toista", so e.g. "of 12" is "kahdentoista")

20

kaksikymmentä (KAHK-see-KUUM-men-ta)

21

kaksikymmentäyksi (KAHK-see-KUUM-men-ta-UUK-see)

2X

kaksikymmentä-X

30

kolmekymmentä (KOL-meh-KUUM-men-ta)

XY

X-kymmentä-Y

100

sata (SAH-tah)

200

kaksisataa (KAHK-see-SAH-tah)

300

kolmesataa (KOL-mess-AH-tah)

1000

tuhat (TOO-haht)

2000

kaksituhatta (KAHK-see-TOO-haht-tah)

1,000,000

miljoona (MEEL-yaw-nah)

1,000,000,000

miljardi (MEEL-yah-r-dee)

1,000,000,000,000

biljoona (BEEL-yaw-nah) – note the use of the long scale: triljoona is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (although sloppy translations from English sources may not get this right)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)

numero _____ (NOO-meh-raw _____)

half

puoli (POO-ol-ee)

less

vähemmän (VA-hem-man)

more

enemmän (EN-em-man)

Decimal fractions

Note that the decimal comma is used. Decimal points can occur on badly localized computerized displays and similar, but usually the point is used to separate groups of three digits:

one million

1.000.000

one euro twenty cents

1,20 €

one euro

1€, 1,– (you will never encounter the version used in English-speaking countries with the currency symbol before the amount)

Time

now

nyt (nuut)

later

myöhemmin (MUU-eu-hem-meen)

before

ennen (EN-nen)

morning

aamu (AH-moo)

afternoon

iltapäivä (EEL-tah-pigh-va)

evening

ilta (EEL-tah)

night

yö (UU-eu)

Clock time

Kaksikymmentä yli kaksitoista (in the night).

In the spoken language the 12-hour clock is more common, with AM/PM specified informally where necessary (no fixed pair of words). The 24-hour clock can be used also then, and it is used almost exclusively in tables, for opening hours and the like.

one o'clock AM

kello yksi (yöllä) (KEL-law UUK-see UU-eul-la)

seven o'clock AM

kello seitsemän (aamulla) (KEL-law SAYT-sem-an AH-mool-lah)

noon

kello kaksitoista or keskipäivä (KESS-kee-pigh-va)

one o'clock PM

kello yksi or kolmetoista (KEL-law UUK-see or KOL-met-oy-stah)

two o'clock PM

kello kaksi or neljätoista (KEL-law KAHK-see or NEL-ya-toy-stah)

midnight

keskiyö (KESS-kee-uu-eu)

The hours are often inflected:

at one o'clock PM

kello yksi (päivällä) or yhdeltä (KEL-low UUK-see PIGH-val-la) or (UU-H-del-ta)

at two o'clock

kello kaksi or kahdelta (KEL-law KAHK-see PIGH-val-la) or (KAH-h-del-tah)

at noon

kello kaksitoista, keskipäivällä or kahdeltatoista (KEL-law KAHK-see-toy-stah, KESS-kee-pigh-val-la or KAH-h-del-tah-toy-stah)

Minutes and fractions:

twenty past (one)

kaksikymmentä yli (yksi/yhden) (KAHK-see-kuum-men-ta UU-lee UUK-see/UU-h-den)

five to (two)

viisi vaille (kaksi) (VEE-see VIGHL-leh KAHK-see)

a quarter to (three)

varttia vaille (kolme) (VAH-rt-tee-ah VIGHL-leh KOL-meh)

a quarter past (four)

vartin yli (neljä) (VAH-r-teen UU-lee NEL-ya)

half past (one)

puoli (kaksi) – sic! think half to, not half past (POO-ol-ee KAHK-see)

Duration

_____ minute(s)

_____ minuutti(a) (MEE-noot-tee[-ah])

_____ hour(s)

_____ tunti(a) (TOON-tee[-ah])

_____ day(s)

_____ päivä(ä) (PIGH-va)

_____ week(s)

_____ viikko(a) (VEEK-kaw[-ah])

_____ month(s)

_____ kuukausi / kuukautta (KOO-kow-see / KOO-kowt-tah)

_____ year(s)

_____ vuosi / vuotta (VOO-oss-ee / VOO-ot-tah)

Days

today

tänään (TAN-an)

day before yesterday

toissapäivänä (TOYSS-sah-pigh-van-a)

yesterday

eilen (AY-len)

tomorrow

huomenna (HOO-om-en-nah)

day after tomorrow

ylihuomenna (UU-lee-hoo-om-en-nah)

this week

tällä viikolla (TAL-la VEE-kol-lah)

last week

viime viikolla (VEE-meh VEE-kol-lah)

next week

ensi viikolla (EN-see VEE-kol-lah)

Sunday

sunnuntai (SOON-noon-tigh)

Monday

maanantai (MAH-nahn-tigh)

Tuesday

tiistai (TEE-stigh)

Wednesday

keskiviikko (KESS-kee-veek-kaw)

Thursday

torstai (TAW-r-stigh)

Friday

perjantai (PEH-r-yahn-tigh)

Saturday

lauantai (LOW-ahn-tigh)

Months

Sinivuokkoja (common hepatica) in the April forest

January

tammikuu (TAHM-mee-koo)

February

helmikuu (HEL-mee-koo)

March

maaliskuu (MAH-lee-skoo)

April

huhtikuu (HOO-h-tee-koo)

May

toukokuu (TOH-kok-oo)

June

kesäkuu (KESS-ak-oo)

July

heinäkuu (HAY-nak-oo)

August

elokuu (EL-ok-oo)

September

syyskuu (SUU-skoo)

October

lokakuu (LOK-ah-koo)

November

marraskuu (MAH-r-rah-skoo)

December

joulukuu (YOH-loo-koo)

Writing time and date

Dates are written in the day-month-year order, eg. 2.5.1990 for May 2nd, 1990. If the month is written out, both the forms 2. toukokuuta (2nd of May) and toukokuun 2. päivä (May's 2nd) are used.

"Best before" dates and similar are often written with other systems; 150214 will probably mean 15.2.2014, but may mean something else, e.g. 14.2.2015. The American month/day/year is never used, though.

Colours

black

musta (MOO-stah)

white

valkoinen (VAHL-koy-nen)

grey

harmaa (HAH-r-mah)

red

punainen (POO-nigh-nen)

blue

sininen (SEE-nee-nen)

blue-green

turkoosi (TOO-r-kaw-see)

yellow

keltainen (KEL-tigh-nen)

green

vihreä (VEE-h-reh-a)

orange

oranssi (aw-rahnss-see)

purple

violetti (VEE-ol-et-tee)

brown

ruskea (ROOS-keh-ah)

pink

pinkki (PEENK-kee)

Transportation

Church and station villages The parish church was usually built in the biggest village of the parish, but when railroads were built the village that grew around the railroad station often become as important. Road signs indicate the two by appending KKO (kirkko, "church") and AS (asema, "station"), as in "LIETO AS". Nowadays many of these stations are nonfunctional, as trains just pass by.

When going to somewhere, the destination has to be shown by an ending, and there are complex rules for when to use -in and when to use -lle that can trip up even Finns themselves. For simplicity, the phrases below default to -in, where the i has to be replaced with the previous vowel: Helsinki → Helsinkiin, Vaasa → Vaasaan, Turku → Turkuun.

Exceptions where -lle is used instead are rife and often unpredictable, for instance Tampere – Tampereelle. One useful rule, however, is that most place names ending in a waterway (e.g. -järvi "lake", -joki "river", -koski "rapids") are suffixed with -lle: thus Ylöjärvi – Ylöjärvelle, Seinäjoki – Seinäjoelle, Äänekoski – Äänekoskelle. Don't worry too much if you use the "wrong" form, you will still be understood.

Bus and train

Oulu railway station

How much is a ticket to _____?

Paljonko maksaa lippu _____in? (PAHL-yonk-aw MAHK-sah LEEP-poo _____?)

One ticket to _____, please.

Yksi lippu _____in, kiitos. (UUK-see LEEP-poo ____, KEE-toss)

Where does this train/bus go?

Minne tämä juna/bussi menee? (MEEN-neh TAM-a YOO-nah/BOOSS-see MEH-neh?)

Where is the train/bus to _____?

Missä on _____n juna/bussi? (MEES-sa on _____n YOO-nah/BOOSS-see?)

Does this train/bus stop in _____?

Pysähtyykö tämä juna/bussi _____ssa? (PUU-sa-h-tuu-keu TAM-a YOO-nah/BOOSS-see _____ssah?)

When does the train/bus for _____ leave?

Milloin _____n juna/bussi lähtee? (MEEL-loyn ____n YOO-nah/BOOSS-see LA-h-teh?)

When will this train/bus arrive in _____?

Milloin tämä juna/bussi saapuu _____in? (MEEL-loyn TAM-a YOO-nah/BOOSS-see SAH-poo ____?)

Directions

How do I get to _____?

Miten pääsen _____in? (MEE-ten PASS-en ____?)

...the train station?

...juna-asemalle? (...YOO-nah-ah-sem-ahl-leh?)

...the bus station?

...bussiasemalle? (...BOOSS-see-ah-sem-ahl-leh?)

...the airport?

...lentokentälle? (...LEN-tok-en-tal-leh?)

...downtown?

...keskustaan? (...KESS-koo-stahn?)

...the youth hostel?

...retkeilymajaan? (...RET-kay-luu-mah-yahn?)

...the _____ hotel?

... _____-hotelliin? (...HOT-el-leen?)

...the American/ Canadian/ Australian/ British consulate?

...Yhdysvaltojen/ Kanadan/ Australian/ Britannian konsulaattiin? (...UU-h-duuss-vahl-toy-en/KAH-nah-dahn/OW-strah-lee-ahn/BREE-tahn-nee-ahn KON-soo-laht-teen?)

Where are there a lot of...

Missä on paljon... (MEES-sa on PAHL-yon...)

...hotels?

...hotelleja? (...HOT-el-leh-yah?)

...restaurants?

...ravintoloita? (...RAH-veen-tol-oy-tah?)

...bars?

...baareja? (...BAH-reh-yah?)

...sites to see?

...nähtävyyksiä? (...NA-h-tav-uuk-see-a?)

Can you show me on the map?

Voitko näyttää kartalla? (VOYT-kaw NOWT-ta KAH-r-tahl-lah?)

street

katu (KAH-too)

Turn left.

Käänny vasemmalle. (KAN-nuu VAH-sem-mahl-leh)

Turn right.

Käänny oikealle. (KAN-nuu OY-keh-ahl-leh)

left

vasen (VAH-sen)

right

oikea (OY-keh-ah)

straight ahead

eteenpäin (ET-en-pighn)

towards the _____

kohti _____ (KAW-h-tee ____)

past the _____

_____n ohi (____n AW-hee)

before the _____

ennen _____ (EN-nen ____)

in front of the _____

_____n edessä (ED-ess-sa)

behind the _____

_____n takana (TAH-kah-nah)

Watch for the _____.

Varo _____. (VAH-raw ____)

inside

_____n sisällä (SEE-sal-la)

outside

_____n ulkopuolella (OOL-kop-oo-ol-el-lah)

intersection

risteys (REE-steh-uus)

north

pohjoinen (PAW-h-yoy-nen)

south

etelä (ET-el-a)

east

itä (EE-ta)

west

länsi (LAN-see)

uphill

ylämäki (UU-lam-ak-ee)

downhill

alamäki (AH-lah-mak-ee)

Taxi

Taxi!

Taksi! (TAHK-see!)

Take me to _____, please.

_____, kiitos. (____, KEE-toss)

How much does it cost to get to _____?

Paljonko maksaa mennä _____in? (PAHL-yonk-aw MAHK-sah MEN-na ____?)

(Take me) there, please.

Sinne, kiitos. (SEEN-neh, KEE-toss)

Place names

You are entering the Central Finland province and Hankasalmi municipality.

In general, the name of the language is the same as the country, but uncapitalized.
eg. Espanja → Spain, espanja → Spanish.

With the country names s-latives are used, i.e. Asun Kanadassa "I live in Canada" or Tulen Puolasta "I come from Poland".

America

Amerikka (AH-meh-reek-kah)

Canada

Kanada (KAH-nah-dah)

Denmark

Tanska (TAHN-skah)

Estonia

Viro (VEE-raw) or Eesti (EH-stee)

Finland

Suomi (SOO-om-ee)

France

Ranska (RAHN-skah)

Germany

Saksa (SAHK-sah)

Greece

Kreikka (KRAYK-kah)

Japan

Japani (YAH-pah-nee)

Norway

Norja (NAW-r-yah)

Poland

Puola (POO-ol-ah)

Russia

Venäjä (VEN-a-ya)

Spain

Espanja (ESS-pahn-yah)

Sweden

Ruotsi (ROO-ot-see)

USA

USA (OO-ess-ah)

Copenhagen

Kööpenhamina (KEU-pen-hah-mee-nah)

London

Lontoo (LON-taw)

Moscow

Moskova (MOSS-kov-ah)

Paris

Pariisi (PAH-ree-see)

Saint Petersburg

Pietari (PEE-et-ah-ree)

Stockholm

Tukholma (TOOK-hol-mah)

Lodging

The Las Vegas-esque Hotel Onnentähti in Tuuri, Southern Ostrobothnia

Do you have any rooms available?

Onko teillä vapaita huoneita? (ONK-aw TAYL-la vah-pigh-tah hoo-on-ay-tah?)

How much is a room for one person/two people?

Mitä maksaa huone yhdelle/kahdelle (hengelle)? (MEE-ta mahk-sah hoo-on-eh uu-h-del-leh/kah-h-del-leh heng-ngel-leh)

Does the room have...

Onko huoneessa... (ONK-aw HOO-on-ess-sah...)

...bedsheets?

...lakanat? (LAH-kah-naht)

...a bathroom?

...kylpyhuone? (KUUL-puu-hoo-on-eh)

...a telephone?

...puhelin? (POO-hel-een)

...a TV?

...televisio? (TEH-leh-vee-see-aw)

May I see the room first?

Voinko nähdä huoneen ensin? (VOYNK-aw NA-h-da HOO-on-en EN-seen?)

Do you have anything quieter?

Onko teillä mitään hiljaisempaa? (ONK-aw TAYL-la ME-tan HEEL-yigh-sem-pah?)

...bigger?

...isompaa? (EE-som-pah?)

...cleaner?

...puhtaampaa? (POO-h-tahm-pah)

...cheaper?

...halvempaa? (HAHL-vem-pah)

OK, I'll take it.

(Hyvä,) Otan sen. (HUU-va, OT-ahn SEN)

I will stay for _____ night(s).

Yövyn _____ yötä. (UU-eu-vuun _____ UU-eu-ta)

Can you suggest another hotel?

Voitteko ehdottaa toista hotellia? (VOYT-tek-aw EH-h-dot-tah TOY-stah HOT-el-lee-ah?)

Do you have a safe?

Onko teillä turvasäilöä? (OHK-aw TAYL-la TOO-r-vah-sigh-leu-a?)

...lockers?

...turvalokeroita? (TOO-r-vah-lok-eh-roy-tah?)

Is breakfast/supper included?

Kuuluuko aamiainen/illallinen hintaan? (KOO-loo-kaw AH-mee-igh-nen/EEl-lahl-lee-nen HEEN-tahn?)

What time is breakfast/supper?

Mihin aikaan on aamiainen/illallinen? (MEE-heen IGH-kahn on AH-mee-igh-nen/EEl-lahl-lee-nen)

Please clean my room.

Olkaa hyvä ja siivotkaa huoneeni. (OL-kah HUU-va yah SEE-vot-kah HOO-on-en-ee)

Can you wake me at _____?

Voitteko herättää minut kello _____? (VOYT-tek-aw HEH-rat-ta MEE-noot KEL-law ______?)

I want to check out.

Haluaisin kirjautua ulos. (HAH-loo-igh-seen KEER-yow-too-ah OO-loss)

Money

Counting out your dough Common slang words for amounts of money: ege (EH-geh) euro, one euro femma (FEM-mah) five kymppi, kybä (KUUMP-pee, KUU-ba) ten huntti, satku (HOONT-tee, SAHT-koo) hundred tonni (TON-nee) thousand

Do you accept American/ Australian/ Canadian dollars?

Voinko maksaa Amerikan/ Australian/ Kanadan dollareilla? (VOYNK-aw MAHK-sah AH-meh-ree-kahn/OW-strah-lee-ahn/KAH-nah-dahn DOL-lah-rayl-lah?)

Do you accept British pounds?

Voinko maksaa Britannian punnilla? (VOYNK-aw MAHK-sah BREE-tahn-nee-ahn POON-neel-lah?)

Finland's currency is the euro, one of the world's major currencies, which can be exchanged everywhere in the world. Hence Australian or Canadan dollars are about as accepted as Malawian kwacha – in other words, shopkeepers would probably think you're joking. US dollars, Swedish kronor and Russian roubles might be accepted at some souvenir shops and hotels but don't count on that. In practice, if you do not have euros at hand, pay by card.

Do you accept credit cards?

Voinko maksaa luottokortilla? (VOYNk-aw MAHK-sah LOO-ot-tok-aw-r-teel-la?)

Can you change money for me?

Voiko teillä vaihtaa rahaa? (VOY-kaw TAYL-la VIGH-h-tah RAH-hah?)

Where can I get money changed?

Missä voin vaihtaa rahaa? (MEESS-sa voyn VIGH-h-tah RAH-hah?)

Can you change a traveler's check for me?

Voiko teillä vaihtaa matkašekkejä/matkashekkejä? (VOY-kaw TAYL-la VIGH-h-tah MAHT-kah-shek-kay-a?)

Where can I get a traveler's check changed?

Missä voin vaihtaa matkašekkejä/matkashekkejä? (MEESS-sa voyn VIGH-h-tah MAHT-kah-shek-kay-a?)

What is the exchange rate?

Mikä on vaihtokurssi? (MEE-ka on VIGH-h-tok-oo-rss-see)

Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?

Missä on (pankki/raha)-automaatti? (MEESS-sa on PAHNK-kee/RAH-hah-OW-tom-aht-tee)

Most Finnish ATMs are orange-coloured with the label "Otto" or "Nosto".

Eating

Street food including fried vendace at a market in Turku, in the front traditional wooden mugs called kuksa are for sale as souvenirs.

Food at a summer cottage: salmon, boiled potatoes, vegetables and herring

A table for one person/two people, please.

Pöytä yhdelle/kahdelle kiitos. (PEU-uu-ta UU-h-del-leh/KAH-h-del-le KEE-toss)

Can I look at the menu, please?

Saisinko ruokalistan? (SIGH-seenk-aw ROO-ok-ah-lee-stahn?)

Can I look in the kitchen?

Voinko nähdä keittiön? (VOYNK-aw NA-h-da KAYT-tee-eun)

Is there a local specialty?

Onko teillä paikallisia erikoisuuksia? (ONK-aw TAYL-lah PIGH-kahl-lee-see-ah EH-ree-koy-sook-see-ah?)

I'm a vegetarian.

Olen kasvissyöjä. (OL-en KAHS-veess-suu-eu-ya)

I don't eat pork.

En syö sianlihaa. (en SUU-eu SEE-ahn-lee-hah)

I don't eat beef.

En syö naudanlihaa. (en SUU-eu NOW-dahn-lee-hah)

I only eat kosher food.

Syön vain košer/kosher-ruokaa. (SUU-eun vighn KAW-shehr-ROO-ok-ah)

I only eat halal food.

Syön vain halal-ruokaa. (SUU-eun vighn HAH-lahl-ROO-ok-ah)

Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard)

Voitteko tehdä siitä kevyttä? (VOYT-tek-aw TEH-h-da SEE-ta KEH-vuut-ta?)

fixed-price meal

päivän ateria (PIGH-van AH-teh-ree-ah)

à la carte

à la carte (AH-lah-kah-rt)

breakfast

aamiainen (AH-mee-igh-nen)

lunch

lounas (LAW-oo-nahss)

dinner

päivällinen (PIGH-val-lee-nen)

supper

illallinen (EEL-lahl-lee-nen)

I want _____.

Saisinko _____. (SIGH-seenk-aw _____)

I want a dish containing _____.

Saisinko jotain _____n kanssa. (SIGH-seenk-aw YOT-ighn ______n KAHNSS-sah)

chicken

kana (KAH-nah)

beef

naudanliha (NOW-dahn-lee-hah)

reindeer

poro (PAW-raw)

fish

kala (KAH-lah)

herring

silli (SEEL-lee)

baltic herring

silakka (SEE-lahk-kah)

ham

kinkku (KEENK-koo)

sausage

makkara (MAHK-kah-rah)

cheese

juusto (YOO-staw)

eggs

munia (MOO-nee-ah)

salad

salaatti (SAH-laht-tee)

Finnish Christmas salads. Rosolli is a mix of carrot, beetroot and pickled cucumber.

(fresh) vegetables

(tuoreita) vihanneksia (TOO-aw-ray-tah VEE-hahn-nek-see-ah)

(fresh) fruit

(tuoreita) hedelmiä (TOO-aw-ray-tah HED-el-mee-ah)

bread

leipä (LAY-pa)

toast

paahtoleipä (PAH-h-tol-ay-pa)

noodles

nuudeleita (NOO-del-ay-tah)

rice

riisi (REE-see)

beans

papuja (PAH-poo-yah)

May I have a glass of _____?

Saisinko lasin _____? (SIGH-seenk-aw LAH-seen______)

May I have a cup of _____?

Saisinko kupin _____? (SIGH-seenk-aw KOO-peen_____)

May I have a bottle of _____?

Saisinko pullon _____? (SIGH-seenk-aw POOL-lon______)

coffee

kahvia (KAH-h-vee-ah)

tea (drink)

teetä (TEH-ta)

juice

mehua (MEH-hoo-ah)

(bubbly) water

soodavettä (SAW-dah-vet-ta)

water

vettä (VET-ta)

beer

olutta (OL-oot-tah)

red/white wine

puna/valko-viiniä (POO-nah/VAHL-kaw-vee-nee-a)

May I have some _____?

Saisinko _____? (SIGH-seenk-aw____?)

salt

suolaa (SOO-ol-ah)

black pepper

pippuria (PEEP-poo-ree-ah)

butter

voita (VOY-tah)

Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server)

Anteeksi, tarjoilija? (AHN-tek-see TAH-r-yoy-lee-yah?)

I'm finished.

Olen valmis. (OL-en VAHL-meess)

It was delicious.

Se oli herkullista/hyvää. (seh OL-ee HEH-r-kool-lee-stah/HUU-va)

Please clear the plates.

Voitteko tyhjentää pöydän? (VOYT-tek-aw TUU-h-yen-ta PEU-uu-dan)

The check, please.

Lasku, kiitos. (LAH-skoo, KEE-toss)

Bars

Bar counter, many options here!

Do you serve alcohol?

Myyttekö alkoholia? (MUUT-tek-eu AHL-kaw-hol-ee-ah?)

Is there table service?

Onko teillä pöytiintarjoilua? (ONK-aw TAYL-la PEU-uu-teen-tah-r-yoy-loo-ah?)

A beer/two beers, please.

Yksi olut/kaksi olutta kiitos. (UUK-see OL-oot/KAHK-see OL-oot-tah, KEE-toss)

A glass of red/white wine, please.

Lasi punaviiniä/valkoviiniä kiitos. (LAH-see POO-nah/VAHL-kaw-vee-nee-a KEE-toss)

A pint, please.

(Yksi) tuoppi kiitos. ((UUK-see) TOO-op-pee, KEE-toss)

A bottle, please.

Yksi pullo kiitos. (UUK-see POOL-law, KEE-toss)

_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.

_____-_____, kiitos. (___-____, KEE-toss)

whiskey

viskiä (VEE-skee-a)

vodka

vodkaa (VOT-kah)

rum

rommia (ROM-mee-ah)

water

vettä (VET-ta)

club soda

soodavettä (SAW-dah-vet-ta)

tonic water

tonic-vettä (TON-eek-vet-ta)

orange juice

appelsiinimehua (AHP-pel-see-nee-meh-hoo-ah)

Coke (soda)

kolaa (KOL-ah)

Do you have any bar snacks?

Onko teillä pikkupurtavia? (ONK-aw TAYL-la PEEK-koo-poo-r-tah-vee-ah?)

One more, please.

Yksi vielä, kiitos. (UUK-see VEE-el-a KEE-toss)

Another round, please.

Toinen kierros, kiitos. (TOY-nen KEE-eh-r-ross)

When is closing time?

Mihin aikaan suljette? (MEE-heen IGH-kahn SOOL-yet-teh?)

Cheers!

Kippis! (KEEP-peess)

Shopping

Inside a market hall

Do you have this in my size?

Onko teillä tätä minun koossani? (ONK-kaw TAYL-la TAT-a MEE-noon KAWSS-sah-nee?)

How much is this?

Paljonko tämä maksaa? (PAHL-yonk-aw TAM-a MAHK-sah?)

That's too expensive.

Se on liian kallis. (seh on LEE-ahn KAHL-leess)

Would you take _____?

Miten olisi _____? (MEE-ten OL-ee-see ____?)

expensive

kallis (KAHL-leess)

cheap

halpa (HAHL-pah)

I can't afford it.

Minulla ei ole varaa siihen. (MEE-nool-lah ay OL-eh VAH-rah SEE-hen)

I don't want it.

En tahdo sitä. (en TAH-h-daw SEE-ta)

You're cheating me.

Huijaatte minua. (HOO-ee-yaht-teh MEE-noo-ah)

I'm not interested.

En ole kiinnostunut. (en OL-eh KEEN-noss-too-noot)

OK, I'll take it.

Hyvä, otan sen. (HUU-va, OT-ahn sen)

Can I have a bag?

Voinko saada muovipussin? (VOYNK-aw SAH-dah MOO-ov-ee-pooss-seen?)

Do you ship (overseas)?

Lähetättekö tavaroita myös (ulkomaille)? (LA-HEH-tat-tek-euh TAH-vah-roy-tah MUU-euss OOL-kom-ighl-leh?)

Can I get it duty free?

Voinko saada sen tax-freena? (VOYNK-aw SAH-dah sen taks-free-nah)

I need...

Tarvitsen... (TAH-r-veet-sen...)

...toothpaste.

...hammastahnaa. (...HAHM-mahss-tah-h-nah)

...a toothbrush.

...hammasharjan. (...HAHM-mahss-hah-r-yahn)

...tampons.

...tampooneita. (...TAHM-paw-nay-tah)

...soap.

...saippuaa. (...SIGHP-poo-ah)

...shampoo.

...sampoota/shampoota. (...SAHM-paw-tah/SHAHM-paw-tah)

...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)

...särkylääkettä. (...SA-r-kuu-lak-et-ta)

...cold medicine.

...flunssalääkettä. (...FLOONSS-sah-lak-et-ta)

...stomach medicine.

...vatsalääkettä. (...VAHT-sah-lak-et-ta)

...a razor.

...partaterän. (...PAH-r-tah-teh-ran)

...an umbrella.

...sateenvarjon. (...SAH-ten-vah-r-yon)

...sunblock lotion.

...aurinkovoidetta. (...OW-reenk-aw-voy-det-tah)

...a postcard.

...postikortin. (...POSS-tee-kaw-r-teen)

...postage stamps.

...postimerkkejä. (...POSS-tee-meh-rk-kay-a)

...batteries.

...pattereita/paristoja. (...PAHT-teh-ray-tah/PAH-reess-toy-ah)

...writing paper.

...kirjepaperia. (...KEE-r-yep-pah-peh-ree-ah)

...a pen.

...kynän. (...KUU-nan)

...English-language books.

...englanninkielisiä kirjoja. (...ENG-lahn-neenk-ee-el-ee-see-a KEE-r-yaw-yah)

...English-language magazines.

...englanninkielisiä lehtiä. (...ENG-lahn-neenk-ee-el-ee-see-a LEH-h-tee-a)

...an English-language newspaper.

...englanninkielisen sanomalehden. (...ENG-lahn-neenk-ee-el-ee-sen SAH-nom-ah-leh-h-den)

...an English-Finnish dictionary.

...englanti-suomi-sanakirjan. (...ENG-lahn-tee-SOO-om-ee-SAH-nah-kee-r-yan)

Driving

Wintry landscape in Multia, Central Finland

I want to rent a car.

Haluaisin vuokrata auton. (HAH-loo-igh-seen VOO-ok-rah-tah OW-ton)

Can I get insurance?

Voinko saada vakuutuksen? (VOYNK-aw SAH-dah VAH-koo-took-sen)

stop (on a street sign)

stop (stop)

one way

yksisuuntainen (UUK-see-soon-tigh-nen)

yield

anna tietä (literally "give way")/'kolmio' (triangle, the common European yield sign) (...AHN-nah TEE-eh-ta/KOL-mee-aw)

no parking

ei pysäköintiä (...ay PUU-sak-eu-een-tee-a)

speed limit

nopeusrajoitus (...NOP-eh-oos-rah-yoy-tooss)

gas (petrol) station

bensa-asema/huoltoasema (...BEN-sah-ah-seh-mah/HOO-ol-taw-ah-seh-mah)

petrol

bensiini (...BEN-see-nee)

diesel

diesel (...DEE-sel)

Authority

Finnish police and border guard in a patrol boat

I haven't done anything wrong.

En ole tehnyt mitään väärää. (en OL-eh TEH-h-nuut MEE-tan VA-ra)

It was a misunderstanding.

Se oli väärinkäsitys. (seh OL-ee VA-reen-kass-ee-tuus)

Where are you taking me?

Minne viette minut? (MEE-heen VEE-et-teh MEE-noot?)

Am I under arrest?

Olenko pidätetty? (OL-enk-aw PEE-dat-et-tuu?)

I am an American/ Australian/ British/ Canadian citizen.

Olen Amerikan/ Australian/ Britannian/ Kanadan kansalainen. (OL-en AH-meh-ree-kahn/OW-strah-lee-ahn/BREE-tahn-nee-ahn/KAH-nah-dahn KAHN-sah-ligh-nen)

I want to talk to the American/ Australian/ British/ Canadian embassy/ consulate.

Haluan puhua USA:n/ Australian/ Britannian/ Kanadan suurlähetystön/konsulaatin kanssa. (HAH-loo-ahn POO-hoo-ah OO-ess-ahn/OW-strah-lee-ahn/BREE-tahn-nee-ahn/KAH-nah-dahn SOO-r-la-heh-tuu-steun/KON-soo-lah-teen KAHNSS-sah)

I want to talk to a lawyer.

Haluan puhua lakimiehelle/asianajajalle. (HAH-loo-ahn POO-hoo-ah LAH-kee-mee-eh-hel-leh/AH-see-ahn-ah-yah-yahl-leh)