Finnish (suomen kieli, suomi) is spoken in Finland and by Finns elsewhere, predominantly in Scandinavia. Finland is officially bilingual in Finnish and Swedish, and most Finns eventually learn both languages. In contrast, very few Swedes and even fewer foreigners learn Finnish. Almost everyone in Finland can speak english, too and young people can speak good english.
Understand
Finnish is a Finno-Ugric language and hence completely unrelated to almost every language between Ireland and India. (In particular, Finnish has nothing at all in common with Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or any other Scandinavian language or Russian, except for a load of loan words.) The origin of these languages traces back over 5000 years to nomadic peoples of the Ural mountains in Russia that migrated westward into Europe. Just across the Gulf of Finland the closest modern relative to the Finnish language, Estonian, is spoken. Other related languages are the Sámi languages of Lapland and the Murmansk Peninsula, and more distantly, Hungarian.
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 the same distiction — 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). All diphthongs retain the individual sounds of its vowels but are slightly blended together to be pronounced in one "beat". Doubled letters are simply pronounced longer, but it's important to differentiate between short and long sounds. Example:
- tuli → fire
- tuuli → wind
- tulli → customs
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 z 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 some proper names and is treated identically to v. Lastly, the letter å occurs in some Swedish proper names and is pronounced "o", but the beginning learner need not worry about these minutiae.
Vowels
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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 conjugations: most Finns pronounce Olympia as olumpia, and suffixes with "a" bend into "ä" when necessary (jaa → jaata, jää → jäätä).
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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 bit
- ii
- like ee in beet
- o
- like o in cod
- oo
- like oo in door
- u
- like ou in would
- uu
- like oo in moon
- 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 bad
- ö
- like German ö, similar to e in her (transcribed eu )
- öö
- not found in English, but just stretch out the "ö" sound
Consonants
If a Finnish consonant is doubled, it should be pronounced with a brief glottal stop, meaning that your mouth is ready to say it but pauses for a moment. Hence mato (worm) is "MAto", but matto (carpet) is "MA'to".
- b c d f
- pronounced as in English (not used in native Finnish words, except for d, which is used in some words)
- g
- like g in get
- h
- like h in hotel, pronounced more strongly before a consonant
- j
- like y in yes
- k
- similar to English k, but unaspirated and slightly voiced
- ks
- pronounced as two separate syllables, not like the letter x.
- l m n
- pronounced as in English
- nk ng
- pronounced like ng in sing
- p
- similar to English p, but unaspirated and slightly voiced
- r
- trilled, as in Spanish perro
- s
- like ss in hiss
- t
- pronounced as in English
- v w
- like v in vine
- z
- like ts in cats (not used in native Finnish words)
Stress and tone
Word stress is always on the first syllable; compounds words have more than one stressed syllable. There is no tone whatsoever in Finnish speech, just a long strings of fairly monotone sounds, with all syllables given equal value except the first one. Foreigners tend to think this makes the language sound rather depressing; Finns, on the other hand, wonder why everybody else's languages-- including Russian-- sound so sing-songy.
Grammar
Finnish grammar is radically different from English (or any other Indo-European language), 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 and 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 by using his non-fisherman-likeness").
The good news is that most of these monstrosities are limited to formal written Finnish, and it's possible to "speak like Tarzan" (without conjugating 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.
And 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.
Phrase list
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Common signs
- AUKI, AVOINNA
- Open
- KIINNI, SULJETTU
- Closed
- SISÄÄN
- Entrance
- ULOS
- Exit
- TYÖNNÄ
- Push
- VEDÄ
- Pull
- WC
- Toilet
- HERRAT, MIEHET
- Men
- NAISET
- Women
- KIELLETTY
- Forbidden
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- SEIS/STOP
- 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 blunders.
Basics
- Good day
- Hyvää päivää (HUU-vaa PIGH-vaa)
- Hello (informal)
- Moi (MOI), Hei (HAY), Terve (TEHR-veh)
- How are you?
- Mitä kuuluu? (MEE-ta KOO-loo?)
- Fine, thank you.
- Kiitos, hyvää. (KEE-toss, HUU-vaa)
- What is your name?
- Mikä sinun nimesi on? (MEE-ka SEE-noon NEE-meh-see ohn?)
- My name is ______ .
- Nimeni on ______ . (NEE-meh-nee ohn _____ .)
- Nice to meet you.
- Hauska tavata. (HOWS-kah TAH-vah-tah)
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Pretty pretty please?
The word please doesn't translate very easily into Finnish, although starting requests with Saisinko... (Could I please have...) or Voisitko... (Could you please...) can often substitute. If you have been asked something (eg. "What would you like?", or "Where do you want to go?"), you can just state X, kiitos in response. Better yet, just smile!
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- Thank you.
- Kiitos. (KEE-tohss)
- You're welcome.
- Ole hyvä (OH-lay HUU-va); Ei kestä. (AY KEHSS-ta)
- Yes
- Kyllä (KUUL-la), Joo (yoh)
- No.
- Ei. (ay)
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- Anteeksi (AHN-tehk-see)
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- Anteeksi (AHN-tehk-see)
- I'm sorry.
- Anteeksi (AHN-tehk-see)
- Goodbye
- Näkemiin. (NAK-eh-meen.)
- Goodbye (informal)
- Hei hei (HAY-hay), Moi moi (MOI-moi)
- I can't speak Finnish
- En puhu suomea. (EN POO-hoo SOO-oh-meh-ah)
- Do you speak English?
- Puhutko englantia? (POO-hoot-koh EHNG-lahn-tee-ah?)
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- Puhuuko kukaan täällä englantia? (POO-hoo-koh KOO-kahn TAAL-la EHNG-lahn-tee-ah?)
- Help!
- Apua! (AH-poo-ah!)
- Look out!
- Varo! (VAH-roh!)
- Good morning.
- Hyvää huomenta. (HUU-vaa HOO-oh-mehn-tah)
- Good evening.
- Hyvää iltaa. (HUU-vaa EEL-tah)
- Good night.
- Hyvää yötä. (HUU-vaa UU-eu-ta)
- Good night (to sleep)
- Hyvää yötä. (HUU-vaa UU-eu-ta)
- I don't understand.
- En ymmärrä (EN UUM-mar-ra)
- Where is the toilet?
- Missä on vessa? (MEES-sa ohn VEHS-sah?)
Problems
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I no, you no, we all no
In Finnish, the word "no" — ei — is a verb, so it can be conjugated. Thus, if juo or juoda means "drink"...
- en juo
- "I don't drink"
- et juo
- "you don't drink"
- ei juo
- "he doesn't drink"
- emme juo
- "we don't drink"
- ette juo
- "you all don't drink"
- eivät juo
- "they don't drink".
- ei juoda
- "let's not drink"
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- Leave me alone!
- Anna minun olla rauhassa! (AHN-nah MEE-noon OHL-lah RAU-has-sah)
- Don't touch!
- Älä koske! (AL-ah KOHSS-keh!)
- I will call the police.
- Kutsun poliisin. (KOOT-soon POH-lee-sin)
- Police!
- Poliisi! (POH-lee-see!)
- Stop! Thief!
- Pysähdy! Varas! (PUU-sa-duu! VAH-rahs!)
- I need your help.
- Tarvitsen apuasi. (TAHR-veet-sehn AH-poo-ah-see)
- It's an emergency.
- Nyt on hätä. (NUUT ohn HA-ta)
- I'm lost.
- Olen eksynyt. (OH-lehn EHK-suu-nuut)
- I lost my bag.
- Laukkuni katosi. (LAUK-koo-nee KAH-toh-see)
- I lost my wallet.
- Lompakkoni katosi. (LOHM-pahk-koh-nee KAH-toh-see)
- I'm sick.
- Olen kipeä. (OH-lehn KEE-peh-a)
- I've been injured.
- Olen loukkaantunut. (OH-lehn LOH-ook-kahn-too-noot)
- I need a doctor.
- Tarvitsen lääkärin. (TAHR-veet-sehn LAA-ka-reen)
- Can I use your phone?
- Voinko soittaa? (VOIN-koh SOIT-tah)
Numbers
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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, leaving just the first syllable of each component: seit-kyt-kahdeksan. Here are the short "prefix" forms, but note that they can only be used in compounds.
- 1
- yks-
- 2
- kaks-
- 3
- kol-
- 4
- nel-
- 5
- viis-
- 6
- kuus-
- 7
- seit-
- 8
- kaheks-
- 9
- yheks-
- 10
- -kyt
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- 1
- yksi (UUK-see)
- 2
- kaksi (KAHK-see)
- 3
- kolme (KOHL-meh)
- 4
- neljä (NEHL-ya)
- 5
- viisi (VEE-see)
- 6
- kuusi (KOO-see)
- 7
- seitsemän (SAYT-seh-man)
- 8
- kahdeksan (KAHH-dehk-sahn)
- 9
- yhdeksän (UUHH-dehk-san)
- 10
- kymmenen (KUUM-mehn-nehn)
- 11
- yksitoista (UUK-see-tois-tah)
- 12
- kaksitoista (KAHK-see-tois-tah...)
- 1X
- X-toista
- 20
- kaksikymmentä (KAHK-see-KUUM-mehn-ta)
- 21
- kaksikymmentäyksi (KAHK-see-KUUM-mehn-ta-UUK-see)
- 2X
- kaksikymmentä-X
- 30
- kolmekymmentä (KOHL-meh-KUUM-mehn-ta)
- XY
- X-kymmentä-Y
- 100
- sata (SAH-tah)
- 200
- kaksisataa (KAHK-see-SAH-tah)
- 300
- kolmesataa (KOHL-meh-SAH-tah)
- 1000
- tuhat (TOO-haht)
- 2000
- kaksi tuhatta (KAHK-see TOO-haht-tah)
- 1,000,000
- miljoona (MEEL-yoh-nah)
- 1,000,000,000
- miljardi (MEEL-yahr-dee)
- 1,000,000,000,000
- biljoona (BEEL-yoh-nah)
- number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
- numero _____ (NOO-meh-roh _____)
- half
- puoli (POO-oh-lee)
- less
- vähemmän (VA-hehm-man)
- more
- enemmän (EH-nehm-man)
Time
- now
- nyt (NUUT)
- later
- myöhemmin (MUU-eu-hehm-meen)
- before
- ennen (EHN-nehn)
- morning
- aamu (AH-moo)
- afternoon
- iltapäivä (EEL-tah-pigh-va)
- evening
- ilta (EEL-tah)
- night
- yö (UU-eu)
Clock time
The 24-hour clock is commonly used in Finland.
- one o'clock AM
- kello yksi aamulla (KEHL-loh UUK-see AHM-mool-lah)
- two o'clock AM
- kello kaksi aamulla (KEHL-loh KAHK-see AHM-mool-lah)
- noon
- kello kaksitoista or keskipäivä (KEHS-kee-pigh-va)
- one o'clock PM
- kello kolmetoista (KEHL-loh KOHL-meh-tois-tah)
- two o'clock PM
- kello neljätoista (KEHL-loh NEHL-ya-tois-tah)
- midnight
- keskiyö (KEHS-kee-uu-eu)
Duration
- _____ minute(s)
- _____ minuutti(a) (MEE-noot-tee-[ah])
- _____ hour(s)
- _____ tunti(a) (TOON-tee-[ah])
- _____ day(s)
- _____ päivä(ä) (PIGH-va[a])
- _____ week(s)
- _____ viikko(a) (VEEK-koh-[ah])
- _____ month(s)
- _____ kuukausi / kuukautta (KOO-kow-see / KOO-kowt-tah)
- _____ year(s)
- _____ vuosi / vuotta (VOO-oh-see / VOO-oh-tah)
Days
- today
- tänään (TA-naan)
- yesterday
- eilen (AY-lehn)
- tomorrow
- huomenna (HOO-oh-mehn-nah)
- this week
- tällä viikolla (TAL-la VEE-kohl-lah)
- last week
- viime viikolla (VEE-meh VEE-kohl-lah)
- next week
- ensi viikolla (EHN-see VEE-kohl-lah)
- Sunday
- sunnuntai (SOON-noon-tigh)
- Monday
- maanantai (MAH-nahn-tigh)
- Tuesday
- tiistai (TEES-tigh)
- Wednesday
- keskiviikko (KEHS-kee-veek-koh)
- Thursday
- torstai (TOHRS-tigh)
- Friday
- perjantai (PEHR-yahn-tigh)
- Saturday
- lauantai (LAU-ahn-tigh)
Months
- January
- tammikuu (TAHM-mee-koo)
- February
- helmikuu (HEHL-mee-koo)
- March
- maaliskuu (MAH-leess-koo)
- April
- huhtikuu (HOOHH-tee-koo)
- May
- toukokuu (TOH-koh-koo)
- June
- kesäkuu (KEH-sa-koo)
- July
- heinäkuu (HAY-na-koo)
- August
- elokuu (EH-loh-koo)
- September
- syyskuu (SUUS-koo)
- October
- lokakuu (LOH-kah-koo)
- November
- marraskuu (MAHR-rahss-koo)
- December
- joulukuu (YOH-loo-koo)
Writing Time and Date
Dates are European-style, i.e. 2.5.xxxx for the 2nd May and NOT 5.2.xxxx.
If the month is written out, both the forms 2. toukokuuta (2nd of May) and toukokuun 2. päivä (May's 2nd) are used.
Colors
- black
- musta (MOOS-tah)
- white
- valkoinen (VAHL-koy-nehn)
- gray
- harmaa (HAHR-mah)
- red
- punainen (POO-nigh-nehn)
- blue
- sininen (SEE-nee-nehn)
- yellow
- keltainen (KEHL-tigh-nehn)
- green
- vihreä (VEEHH-reh-a)
- orange
- oranssi (OH-rahns-see)
- purple
- violetti (VEE-oh-leht-tee)
- brown
- ruskea (ROOS-keh-ah)
- pink
- pinkki (PEENK-kee)
Transportation
Due to the difficulty of conjugating various place names, the phrases below are not grammatically correct. They will, however, definitely be understood.
Place Names
In general, the name of the language is the same as the country, but uncapitalized.
eg. Espanja → Spain, espanja → Spanish
- America
- Amerikka (AH-meh-reek-kah)
- Canada
- Kanada (KAH-nah-dah)
- Denmark
- Tanska (TAHN-skah)
- Estonia
- Viro (VEE-roh)
- Finland
- Suomi (SOO-oh-mee)
- France
- Ranska (RAHN-skah)
- Germany
- Saksa (SAHK-sah)
- Japan
- Japani (YAH-pah-nee)
- Norway
- Norja (NOHR-yah)
- Poland
- Puola (POUOH-la)
- Russia
- Venäjä (VEHN-a-ya)
- Spain
- Espanja (EHS-pahn-yah)
- Sweden
- Ruotsi (ROO-oht-see)
- USA
- USA (OO-ehss-ah)
- Copenhagen
- Kööpenhamina (KEU-pehn-hah-mee-nah)
- London
- Lontoo (LOHN-toh)
- Moscow
- Moskova (MOS-koh-va)
- Paris
- Pariisi (PAH-ree-see)
- Saint Petersburg
- Pietari (PEE-eh-tah-ree)
- Stockholm
- Tukholma (TOOK-hohl-mah)
Bus and Train
- How much is a ticket to _____?
- Paljonko lippu maksaa _____? (PAHL-yohn-koh LEEP-poo MAHK-sah _____?)
- One ticket to _____, please.
- Yksi lippu _____, kiitos. (UUK-see LEEP-poo ____, KEE-tohs)
- Where does this train/bus go?
- Minne tämä juna/bussi menee? (MEEN-neh TA-ma YOO-nah/BOOS-see MEH-neh?)
- Where is the train/bus to _____?
- Missä on _____n juna/bussi? (MEES-sa ohn _____n YOO-nah/BOOS-see?)
- Does this train/bus stop in _____?
- Pysähtyykö tämä juna/bussi _____ssa? (PUU-sa-htuu-keu TA-ma YOO-nah/BOOS-see _____ssah?)
- When does the train/bus for _____ leave?
- Milloin _____n juna/bussi lähtee? (MEEL-loin ____n YOO-nah/BOOS-see LA-hteh?)
- When will this train/bus arrive in _____?
- Milloin tämä juna/bussi saapuu _____? (MEEL-loin TA-ma YOO-nah/BOOS-see SAH-poo ____?)
Directions
- How do I get to _____ ?
- Miten pääsen _____ ? (MEE-tehn PAA-sehn ____ ?)
- ...the train station?
- ...juna-asemalle? (...YOO-nah-ah-seh-mahl-leh?)
- ...the bus station?
- ...bussiasemalle? (...BOOS-see-ah-seh-mahl-leh?)
- ...the airport?
- ...lentokentälle? (...LEHN-toh-kehn-tal-leh?)
- ...downtown?
- ...keskustaan? (...KEHS-koos-tahn?)
- ...the youth hostel?
- ...retkeilymajaan? (...REHT-kay-luu-mah-yahn?)
- ...the _____ hotel?
- ... _____-hotelliin? (...HOH-tehl-leen?)
- ...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate?
- ...Yhdysvaltojen/Kanadan/Australian/Brittien konsulaattiin? (...UUHH-duus-vahl-toh-yehn/KAH-nah-dahn/OWS-trah-lee-ahn/BREET-tee-ehn KOHN-soo-laht-teen?)
- Where are there a lot of...
- Missä on paljon... (MEES-sa ohn PAHL-yohn...)
- ...hotels?
- ...hotelleja? (...HOH-tehl-leh-yah?)
- ...restaurants?
- ...ravintoloita? (...RAH-veen-toh-loi-tah?)
- ...bars?
- ...baareja? (...BAH-reh-yah?)
- ...sites to see?
- ...nähtävyyksiä? (...NA-hta-vuuk-see-a?)
- Can you show me on the map?
- Voitko näyttää kartalla? (VOIT-koh NAUT-ta KAHR-tahl-lah?)
- street
- katu (KAH-too)
- Turn left.
- Käänny vasemmalle. (KAN-nuu VAH-seh-mahl-leh)
- Turn right.
- Käänny oikealle. (KAN-nuu OI-keh-ah-leh)
- left
- vasen (VAH-sehn)
- right
- oikea (OI-keh-ah)
- straight ahead
- eteenpäin (EH-tehn-pighn)
- towards the _____
- kohti _____ (KOHH-tee ____)
- past the _____
- _____n ohi (____n OH-hee)
- before the _____
- ennen _____ (EH-nehn ____)
- Watch for the _____.
- Varo _____. (VAH-roh ____)
- intersection
- risteys (REES-teh-uus)
- north
- pohjoinen (POHH-yoi-nehn)
- south
- etelä (EH-teh-la)
- east
- itä (EE-ta)
- west
- länsi (LAN-see)
- uphill
- ylämäki (UU-la-ma-kee)
- downhill
- alamäki (AH-lah-ma-kee)
Taxi
- Taxi!
- Taksi! (TAHK-see!)
- Take me to _____, please.
- _____, kiitos. (____, KEE-tohss)
- How much does it cost to get to _____?
- Paljonko maksaa mennä _____(long vowel+n)?, e.g. "Helsinkiin" (PAHL-yohn-ko MAHK-sah MEHN-na ____?)
- (Take me) there, please.
- Sinne, kiitos. (SEEN-neh, KEE-tohss)
Lodging
- Do you have any rooms available?
- Onko teillä vapaita huoneita? (...)
- How much is a room for one person/two people?
- Miten paljon olisi huone yhdelle/kahdelle hengelle? (...)
- Does the room come with...
- Tuleeko huoneen mukana... (...)
- ...bedsheets?
- ...lakanat? (...)
- ...a bathroom?
- ...kylpyhuone? (...)
- ...a telephone?
- ...puhelin? (...)
- ...a TV?
- ...televisio? (...)
- May I see the room first?
- Voinko nähdä huoneen ensin? (...)
- Do you have anything quieter?
- Onko teillä mitään hiljaisempaa? (...)
- ...bigger?
- ...isompaa? (...)
- ...cleaner?
- ...puhtaampaa? (...)
- ...cheaper?
- ...halvempaa? (...)
- OK, I'll take it.
- Otan sen. (...)
- I will stay for _____ night(s).
- Yövyn _____ yötä. (...)
- Can you suggest another hotel?
- Voitteko ehdottaa toista hotellia? (...)
- Do you have a safe?
- Onko teillä turvasäilöä? (...)
- ...lockers?
- ...turvalokeroita? (...)
- Is breakfast/supper included?
- Kuuluuko aamiainen/illallinen hintaan? (...)
- What time is breakfast/supper?
- Mihin aikaan on aamiainen/illallinen? (...)
- Please clean my room.
- Olkaa hyvä ja siivotkaa huoneeni. (...)
- Can you wake me at _____?
- Voitteko herättää minut kello _____? (...)
- I want to check out.
- Haluaisin kirjautua ulos. (...)
Money
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Counting out your dough
Common slang words for amounts of money:
- ege
- euro, one euro
- femma
- five
- kymppi
- ten
- huntti
- hundred
- tonni
- thousand
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- Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?
- Hyväksyttekö Amerikan/Australian/Kanadan dollareita? (...)
- Do you accept British pounds?
- Hyväksyttekö Britannian puntia? (...)
- Do you accept credit cards?
- Voinko maksaa luottokortilla? (...)
- Can you change money for me?
- Voiko teillä vaihtaa rahaa? (...)
- Where can I get money changed?
- Missä voin vaihtaa rahaa? (...)
- Can you change a traveler's check for me?
- Voiko teillä vaihtaa matkashekkejä? (...)
- Where can I get a traveler's check changed?
- Missä voin vaihtaa matkashekkejä? (...)
- What is the exchange rate?
- Mikä on vaihtokurssi? (...)
- Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?
- Missä on (pankki/raha)-automaatti? (...)
- Most Finnish ATMs are usually orange-coloured, with the logos "Otto" or "Solo".
Eating
- A table for one person/two people, please.
- Pöytä yhdelle/kahdelle kiitos. (...)
- Can I look at the menu, please?
- Saisinko ruokalistan? (...)
- Can I look in the kitchen?
- Voinko nähdä keittiön? (...)
- Is there a local specialty?
- Onko teillä paikallisia erikoisuuksia? (...)
- I'm a vegetarian.
- Olen kasvissyöjä. (...)
- I don't eat pork.
- En syö sianlihaa. (...)
- I don't eat beef.
- En syö naudanlihaa. (...)
- I only eat kosher food.
- Syön vain kosher-ruokaa. (...)
- Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard)
- Voitteko tehdä siitä kevyttä? (...)
- fixed-price meal
- päivän ateriaa (...)
- a la carte
- a la carte (...)
- breakfast
- aamiainen (...)
- lunch
- lounas (...)
- supper
- illallinen (...)
- I want _____.
- Saisinko _____. (...)
- I want a dish containing _____.
- Saisinko jotain _____n kanssa. (...)
- chicken
- kana (...)
- beef
- naudanliha (...)
- reindeer
- poro (...)
- fish
- kala (...)
- herring
- silli (...)
- baltic herring
- silakka (...)
- ham
- kinkku (...)
- sausage
- makkara (...)
- cheese
- juusto (...)
- eggs
- munia (...)
- salad
- salaatti (...)
- (fresh) vegetables
- (tuoreita) vihanneksia (...)
- (fresh) fruit
- (tuoreita) hedelmiä (...)
- bread
- leipä (...)
- toast
- paahtoleipä (...)
- noodles
- nuudelit (...)
- rice
- riisi (...)
- beans
- pavut (...)
- May I have a glass of _____?
- Saisinko lasin _____? (...)
- May I have a cup of _____?
- Saisinko kupin _____? (...)
- May I have a bottle of _____?
- Saisinko pullon _____? (...)
- coffee
- kahvia (...)
- tea (drink)
- teetä (...)
- juice
- mehua (...)
- (bubbly) water
- soodavettä (...)
- water
- vettä (...)
- beer
- olutta (...)
- red/white wine
- puna/valko-viiniä (...)
- May I have some _____?
- Saisinko _____? (...)
- salt
- suolaa (...)
- black pepper
- pippuria (...)
- butter
- voita (...)
- Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server)
- Anteeksi, tarjoilija? (...)
- I'm finished.
- Olen valmis. (...)
- It was delicious.
- Herkullista. (...)
- Please clear the plates.
- Voitteko tyhjentää pöydän? (...)
- The check, please.
- Lasku, kiitos. (...)
Bars
- Do you serve alcohol?
- Myyttekö alkoholia? (...)
- Is there table service?
- Onko teillä pöytiintarjoilua? (...)
- A beer/two beers, please.
- Yksi olut/kaksi olutta kiitos. (...)
- A glass of red/white wine, please.
- Lasi puna/valkoviiniä kiitos. (...)
- A pint, please.
- Yksi tuoppi kiitos. (...)
- A bottle, please.
- Yksi pullo kiitos. (...)
- _____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.
- _____-_____, kiitos. (...)
- whiskey
- viskiä (...)
- vodka
- vodkaa (...)
- rum
- rommia (...)
- water
- vettä (...)
- club soda
- soodavettä (...)
- tonic water
- tonic-vettä (...)
- orange juice
- appelsiinimehua (...)
- Coke (soda)
- kolaa (...)
- Do you have any bar snacks?
- Onko teillä pikkupurtavia? (...)
- One more, please.
- Yksi vielä, kiitos. (...)
- Another round, please.
- Toinen kierros, kiitos. (...)
- When is closing time?
- Mihin aikaan suljette? (...)
Shopping
- Do you have this in my size?
- Onko teillä tätä minun koossani? (...)
- How much is this?
- Paljonko tämä maksaa? (...)
- That's too expensive.
- Se on liian kallis. (...)
- Would you take _____?
- Miten olisi _____? (...)
- expensive
- kallis (...)
- cheap
- halpa (...)
- I can't afford it.
- Minulla ei ole varaa siihen. (...)
- I don't want it.
- En tahdo sitä. (...)
- You're cheating me.
- Huijaatte minua. (...)
- I'm not interested.
- En ole kiinnostunut. (..)
- OK, I'll take it.
- Hyvä, otan sen. (...)
- Can I have a bag?
- Voinko saada muovipussin? (...)
- Do you ship (overseas)?
- Lähetättekö tavaroita myös (ulkomaille)? (...)
- I need...
- Tarvitsen... (...)
- ...toothpaste.
- ...hammastahnaa. (...)
- ...a toothbrush.
- ...hammasharjan. (...)
- ...tampons.
- ...tampooneita. (...)
- ...soap.
- ...saippuaa. (...)
- ...shampoo.
- ...shampoota. (...)
- ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)
- ...särkylääkettä. (...)
- ...cold medicine.
- ...flunssalääkettä. (...)
- ...stomach medicine.
- ...vatsalääkettä. (...)
- ...a razor.
- ...partaterän. (...)
- ...an umbrella.
- ...sateenvarjon. (...)
- ...sunblock lotion.
- ...aurinkovoidetta. (...)
- ...a postcard.
- ...postikortin. (...)
- ...postage stamps.
- ...postimerkkejä. (...)
- ...batteries.
- ...pattereita. (...)
- ...writing paper.
- ...kirjepaperia. (...)
- ...a pen.
- ...kynän. (...)
- ...English-language books.
- ...englanninkielisiä kirjoja. (...)
- ...English-language magazines.
- ...englanninkielisiä lehtiä. (...)
- ...an English-language newspaper.
- ...englanninkielisen sanomalehden. (...)
- ...an English-Finnish dictionary.
- ...englanti-suomi sanakirjan. (...)
Driving
- I want to rent a car.
- Haluaisin vuokrata auton. (...)
- Can I get insurance?
- Voinko saada vakuutuksen? (...)
- stop (on a street sign)
- stop (...)
- one way
- yksisuuntainen (...)
- yield
- antaa tietä/'kolmio' (...)
- no parking
- ei pysäköintiä (...)
- speed limit
- nopeusrajoitus (...)
- gas (petrol) station
- bensa-asema (...)
- petrol
- bensiini (...)
- diesel
- diesel (...)
Authority
- I haven't done anything wrong.
- En ole tehnyt mitään väärää. (...)
- It was a misunderstanding.
- Se oli väärinkäsitys. (...)
- Where are you taking me?
- Minne viette minut? (...)
- Am I under arrest?
- Olenko pidätetty? (...)
- I am an American/ Australian/ British/ Canadian citizen.
- Olen Amerikan/ Australian/ Britannian/ Kanadan kansalainen. (...)
- I want to talk to the American/ Australian/ British/ Canadian embassy/ consulate.
- Haluan puhua USA:n (oo-ass-ahn)/ Australian/ Britannian/ Kanadan konsulaatin kanssa. (...)
- I want to talk to a lawyer.
- Haluan puhua lakimiehelle. (...)
- Can I just pay a fine now?
- Voinko vain maksaa sakot nyt? (...)
You should note that in Finland you're not entitled to a phonecall, a search warrant, or to be set free on bail. However, the authorities must allow you to find a lawyer.
Learning more
While in Finland
The University of Helsinki offers a highly popular Finnish for Foreigners program in six different skill levels, ranging from absolute beginner to advanced courses ending with language certification. Spring and Fall classes are offered in standard 1 unit (3 hrs/wk, 135 €) and intensive 2 unit (8 hrs/wk, 310 €) versions.
Summer courses on Finnish language and culture are available at the major universities including Helsinki.
