Finnish phrasebook

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 45 — speak at least some English. However, since so few people make the effort, you're guaranteed to get delighted reactions if you try.

Understand

Finnish is a Finno-Ugric language and hence completely unrelated to almost every language between Iceland and India. In particular, Finnish has grammatically nothing at all in common with other Scandinavian languages or Russian. Although there are many loan words especially from Swedish, 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.

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 major modern relative to the Finnish language, Estonian, is spoken (Karelian, across the eastern border, is spoken only by some 30,000). Other related languages are the Sámi languages of Lapland and the Murmansk Peninsula, a host of small languages in Russia, and more distantly, Hungarian.

Finnish is an agglunative language, and suffixes 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.

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 (TO-ly) → fire

tuuli (TOO-ly) → wind

tulli (TUL-ly) → customs

kuuluu (KOO-loo) → is heard

kuluu (KO-loo) → is worn down

kulu (KO-lo) → 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 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 proper names and is treated identically to v. Lastly, the letter å occurs in some Swedish proper names and is pronounced like "oo". The beginning learner needs not worry about these minutiae.

Vowels

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 nor
oo: stretch out the o sound
u: like u in rule — that's the same u as in German, Italian or Spanish
uu: stretch out the u sound
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

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

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 "MA-to", but matto (carpet) is "MAT-to".

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 as t (in native words only in conjugated words, with big variations between dialects)
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: similar to English k, but unaspirated and slightly voiced
ks: like English x
l m n: as in English
ng: like ng in sing
nk: as ng + k
p: similar to English p, but unaspirated and slightly voiced
r: trilled, as in Spanish perro
s: like ss in hiss
t: 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 and is usually weak; compounds words have more than one stressed syllable. Don't confuse stress with vowel length; they occur independently in Finnish. 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 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 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"). Also the stem of the words is sometimes affected; looking up words in a dictionary is not always easy.

The good news is that most of these monstrosities are limited to formal written Finnish, and it is 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 (rules below are simplifications, which happen to work in many cases).

Phrase list

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?) (NOTE: this is not used merely as a conversational phrase as in English. Expect a longer story in response if you say this!)
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)

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?)

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"

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 -nko to get the question "Do I ...?", for instance saanko... "Can I take ...?". 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 (AH-la); plural or formal älkää (AHL-kaa), conjugation more complex
can: voi (voy)
can?: voiko? (VOY-koh?) – the -n comes before the -ko, so "can I?" is voinko?

buy: osta (OH-sta)
come: tule (TO-leh)
drive: aja (AH-yah)
eat: syö (SEE-euh) – tricky one
go: mene (MEH-neh)
get (receive): saa (sUH) – stretch the vowel
give: anna (AH-nna)
keep: pidä + noun (PE-dah) – "I keep" adds an ending: pidän + noun-n as in pidä vaihtoraha/pidän vaihtorahan (keep/I keep the change)
like: pidä + noun-sta – "I like you" is pidän sinusta
put/place/set: laita (LIE-tah)
say: sano (SAH-no)
sell: myy (muu)
take: ota (OH-tah)
walk: kävele (KA-ve-leh)

Problems

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"... en juo "I don't drink" et juo "you don't drink" ei juo "he/she 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"

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!)
Let go! (if grabbed): Päästä IRTI! (PAHS-tah EER-tee)
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 / I've fallen ill: Olen kipeä / sairastunut. (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?: Saanko käyttää puhelintasi? (SAAN-koh KA-UU-dAh POO-heh-LIN-tah-sih)

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, 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

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 (the "teens" have their inflection after the "X", before "toista", "of the second": kaksitoista -> kahdentoista)

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)

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:

a million: 1.000.000
one euro twenty cent: 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-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

In the spoken language the 12-hour clock is more common, with AM/PM specified informally where necessary (no fixed 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) KEHL-loh UUK-see UU-eu-lah
seven o'clock AM: kello seitsemän (aamulla) KEHL-loh SAYT-seh-man AHM-mool-lah
noon: kello kaksitoista or keskipäivä (KEHS-kee-pigh-va)
one o'clock PM: kello yksi or kolmetoista (KEHL-loh UUK-see or KOHL-meh-tois-tah)
two o'clock PM: kello kaksi or neljätoista (KEHL-loh KAHK-see or NEHL-ya-tois-tah)
midnight: keskiyö (KEHS-kee-uu-eu)

The hours are often inflected:

at one o'clock PM: kello yksi (päivällä) or yhdeltä (KEHL-loh UUK-see PAI-va-lla) or (UUH-del-ta)
at two o'clock: kello kaksi or kahdelta (KEHL-loh KAHK-see PAI-va-lla) or (KAH-del-ta)
at noon: kello kaksitoista, keskipäivällä or kahdeltatoista (KEHL-loh KAHK-see-toy-stah, KEH-ski-pai-va-lla or KAH-del-tah-toy-stah)

Minutes and fractions:

twenty past (one): kaksikymmentä yli (yksi/yhden) (KAHK-see-kuum-men-ta UU-lee UUK-si/UUH-den)
five to (two): viisi vaille (kaksi) (VEE-see VY-lleh KAHK-see)
a quarter to (three): varttia vaille (kolme) (VAHR-tti-ah VY-lleh KOHL-meh)
a quarter past (four): vartin yli (neljä) (VAHR-teen UU-lee NEHL-ya)
half past (one): puoli (kaksi) – sic! think half to, not half past (POO-oh-lee KAHK-see)

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)
day before yesterday: toissapäivänä (TOY-ssah-pai-va-na)
yesterday: eilen (AY-lehn)
tomorrow: huomenna (HOO-oh-mehn-nah)
day after tomorrow: ylihuomenna (UU-lee-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-oo-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.

Colors

black: musta (MOOS-tah)
white: valkoinen (VAHL-koy-nehn)
gray: harmaa (HAHR-mah)
red: punainen (POO-nigh-nehn)
blue: sininen (SEE-nee-nehn)
blue-green: turkoosi (TOOR-koh-see)
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 always grammatically correct. They will, however, definitely be understood.

Replace 'i' in '-in' with the preceding vowel, as in Vaasa – Vaasaan. Exceptions where '-lle' is used instead are rife and irregular, for instance Tampere – Tampereelle. Places that take their name from a lake, river, rapids, or other waterway (-järvi, -joki, -koski) are suffixed with -lle, thus Ylöjärvi – Ylöjärvelle, Seinäjoki – Seinäjoelle, Äänekoski – Äänekoskelle. Using the wrong form can sound funny (e.g. when meaning literally going into the body of water), but will usually easily be understood. Other exceptions may sometimes make your sentence more confusing (Tarzan speak can help if you get stuck).

Place names

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.

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 maksaa lippu _____in? (PAHL-yohn-koh MAHK-sah LEEP-poo _____in?)
One ticket to _____, please.: Yksi lippu _____in, 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 _____in? (MEEL-loin TA-ma YOO-nah/BOOS-see SAH-poo ____?)

Directions

How do I get to _____ ?: Miten pääsen _____lle/in* ? (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/ Britannian konsulaattiin? (...UUHH-duus-vahl-toh-yehn/KAH-nah-dahn/OWS-trah-lee-ahn/BREE-tahn-niahn 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 NAUUT-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)

Generally, -lle is used for open places while -in is used for houses and other indoor locations, but this is irregular, e.g. -lle having a more abstract meaning.

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? (OHN-koh tail-ah vah-pie-tah hoo-oh-nay-tah?)
How much is a room for one person/two people?: Miten paljon maksaa huone yhdelle/kahdelle hengelle? (...)
Does the room come with...: Tuleeko huoneen mukana... (TOO-leh-koh hoo-oh-nehn moo-kah-nah...)
...bedsheets?: ...lakanat? (LAH-kah-nat)
...a bathroom?: ...kylpyhuone? (KUUL-puu-hoo-oh-neh)
...a telephone?: ...puhelin? (POO-heh-lin)
...a TV?: ...televisio? (TEH-leh-vee-see-oh)
May I see the room first?: Voinko nähdä huoneen ensin? (VOYN-koh NAH-da HOO-oh-nehn EHN-seen?)
Do you have anything quieter?: Onko teillä mitään hiljaisempaa? (OHN-koh TAIL-la ME-tahn HEL-yah-ee-sehm-pah?)
...bigger?: ...isompaa? (EE-som-pah?)
...cleaner?: ...puhtaampaa? (POOH-tahm-paah)
...cheaper?: ...halvempaa? (HAHL-vehm-paah)
OK, I'll take it.: Otan sen. (OH-tan SEHN)
I will stay for _____ night(s).: Yövyn _____ yötä. (UU-eu-veun _____ UU-eu-ta)
Can you suggest another hotel?: Voitteko ehdottaa toista hotellia? (VOY-tteh-koh EH-doh-ttah TOY-stah HOH-tehl-lya?)
Do you have a safe?: Onko teillä turvasäilöä? (OHN-koh TAIL-la TOOR-vah-sa-eel-eua?)
...lockers?: ...turvalokeroita? (TOOR-vah-loh-keh-roy-tah?)
Is breakfast/supper included?: Kuuluuko aamiainen/illallinen hintaan? (KOO-loo-koh AH-me-i-nehn/EEll-ahll-ee-nehn HE-n-tahn?)
What time is breakfast/supper?: Mihin aikaan on aamiainen/illallinen? (ME-he-en I-kahn OHN AH-me-i-nehn/EEll-ahll-ee-nehn)
Please clean my room.: Olkaa hyvä ja siivotkaa huoneeni. (OHL-kah HUU-va YA SEE-voht-kah HOO-oh-neh-nee)
Can you wake me at _____?: Voitteko herättää minut kello _____? (VOY-tte-koh HEH-rat-taa ME-noot KEH-lloh ______?)
I want to check out.: Haluaisin kirjautua ulos. (HAH-loo-i-sin KEER-ya-oo-too-ah OO-lohs)

Money

Counting out your dough Common slang words for amounts of money: ege (EH-geh) euro, one euro femma (FEHM-mah) five kymppi, kybä (KUUM-ppe, KUU-ba) ten huntti, satku (HOON-tte, SAHT-koo) hundred tonni (TOHN-ne) thousand

Do you accept American/ Australian/ Canadian dollars?: Hyväksyttekö Amerikan/ Australian/ Kanadan dollareita? (HUU-vak-suut-teh-keu AH-meh-ree-kan/AH-oo-strah-lee-ahn/KAH-nah-dahn DOH-llah-rey-tah?)
Do you accept British pounds?: Hyväksyttekö Britannian puntia? (HUU-vah-suut-teh-keu BREE-tah-nee-ahn POOHN-tee-ah?)

NOTE: 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 select 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? (VOYN-koh MAHK-sah LOO-oh-ttoh-kohr-tee-lla?)
Can you change money for me?: Voiko teillä vaihtaa rahaa? (VOY-koh TAIL-la VY-h-tah RAH-haa?)
Where can I get money changed?: Missä voin vaihtaa rahaa? (MEES-sa VOYN VY-h-tah RAH-haa?)
Can you change a traveler's check for me?: Voiko teillä vaihtaa matkashekkejä? (VOY-koh TAIL-lah VY-h-tah MAHT-kah-sheh-kay-a?)
Where can I get a traveler's check changed?: Missä voin vaihtaa matkashekkejä? (MEES-sa VOYN VY-h-tah MAHT-kah-sheh-key-a?)
What is the exchange rate?: Mikä on vaihtokurssi? (MEE-ka OHN VY-h-toh-koor-ssee)
Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?: Missä on (pankki/raha)-automaatti? (MEE-ssa OHN PAHN-kki/RAH-ha-AOO-toh-maah-ttee); Most Finnish ATMs are orange-coloured, with the logos "Otto" or "Solo".

Eating

A table for one person/two people, please.: Pöytä yhdelle/kahdelle kiitos. (PEU-uu-ta UUH-deh-lleh/KAH-deh-lle KEE-tos)
Can I look at the menu, please?: Saisinko ruokalistan? (SIGH-sin-koh ROO-oh-kah-lees-tahn?)
Can I look in the kitchen?: Voinko nähdä keittiön? (VOYN-koh NA-h-da KAY-ttee-euhn)
Is there a local specialty?: Onko teillä paikallisia erikoisuuksia? (OHN-ko TAIL-lah PI-kah-llee-see-ah EH-ree-koy-sook-see-ah?)
I'm a vegetarian.: Olen kasvissyöjä. (OH-lehn KAHS-vees-suu-euh-yah)
I don't eat pork.: En syö sianlihaa. (EHN SUU-euh SEE-ahn-lee-hah)
I don't eat beef.: En syö naudanlihaa. (EHN SUU-euh NOW-dahn-lee-hah)
I only eat kosher food.: Syön vain kosher-ruokaa. (SUU-euhn VINE KOH-shehr ROO-oh-kaah)
Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard): Voitteko tehdä siitä kevyttä? (VOY-tteh-koh TEHH-da SEE-ta KEH-vuu-tta?)
fixed-price meal: päivän ateria (PIGH-van AH-teh-ree-ah)
a la carte: a la carte (AH-lah-kahrt)
breakfast: aamiainen (AAH-mee-i-nehn)
lunch: lounas (LOH-oo-nahs)
dinner: päivällinen (PA-I-va-llee-nehn)
supper: illallinen (EEL-lal-eenen)
I want _____.: Saisinko _____. (SIGH-sin-koh_____)
I want a dish containing _____.: Saisinko jotain _____n kanssa. (SIGH-sin-koh JOH-tighn ______n KAHN-ssah)
chicken: kana (KAH-na)
beef: naudanliha (NOW-dahn-lee-hah)
reindeer: poro (POH-roh)
fish: kala (KAH-lah)
herring: silli (SEEL-lee)
baltic herring: silakka (SEEL-ahk-kah)
ham: kinkku (KEEN-kkooh)
sausage: makkara (MUCK-ah-rah)
cheese: juusto (YOOS-toh)
eggs: munia (MOOH-ne-ah)
salad: salaatti (SAH-laah-ttee)
(fresh) vegetables: (tuoreita) vihanneksia (TOO-oh-ray-tah VEE-hahn-nehk-see-ah)
(fresh) fruit: (tuoreita) hedelmiä (TOO-oh-ray-tah HEH-dehl-mee-ah)
bread: leipä (LAY-pa)
toast: paahtoleipä (PAH-toh-lay-pa)
noodles: nuudelit (NOO-deh-leet)
rice: riisi (REE-see)
beans: pavut (PAH-voot)
May I have a glass of _____?: Saisinko lasin _____? (SIGH-sin-koh LAH-sin______)
May I have a cup of _____?: Saisinko kupin _____? (SIGH-sin-koh KOO-pin_____)
May I have a bottle of _____?: Saisinko pullon _____? (SIGH-sin-koh POOL-lohn______)
coffee: kahvia (KAH-vee-ah)
tea (drink): teetä (TEH-ta)
juice: mehua (MEH-oo-ah)
(bubbly) water: soodavettä (SOOH-dah-veht-tah)
water: vettä (VEH-tah)
beer: olutta (OHL-oo-ttah)
red/white wine: puna/valko-viiniä (POO-nah/VAHL-koh-vee-nee-a)
May I have some _____?: Saisinko _____? (SIGH-sin-koh____?)
salt: suolaa (SOO-oh-laah)
black pepper: pippuria (PEEP-ooh-ree-ah)
butter: voita (VOY-tah)
Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server): Anteeksi, tarjoilija? (AHN-tehk-see TAHR-yoy-lee-ah?)
I'm finished.: Olen valmis. (OH-lehn VAHL-mees)
It was delicious.: Se oli herkullista/hyvää. (SEH OH-lee HEHR-kool-lees-tah/HUUH-vaa)
Please clear the plates.: Voitteko tyhjentää pöydän? (VOY-tteh-koh TUUH-yen-taa PEU-uu-dan)
The check, please.: Lasku, kiitos. (LAHS-kooh, KEE-tohs)

Bars

Do you serve alcohol?: Myyttekö alkoholia? (MUU-tte-keuh AHL-koh-hohl-eeah?)
Is there table service?: Onko teillä pöytiintarjoilua? (OHN-koh TAIL-la PEU-uu-teen-tahr-yoy-loo-ah?)
A beer/two beers, please.: Yksi olut/kaksi olutta kiitos. (UUK-see OH-loot/KAHK-see OH-loot-tah, KEE-tohs)
A glass of red/white wine, please.: Lasi puna/valkoviiniä kiitos. (LAH-see POO-nah/VAHL-koh vee-nee-a KEE-tohs)
A pint, please.: (Yksi) tuoppi kiitos. ((UUK-see) TOO-oh-ppee, KEE-tohs)
A bottle, please.: Yksi pullo kiitos. (UUK-see POOL-loh, KEE-tohs)
_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.: _____-_____, kiitos. (___-____, KEE-tohs)
whiskey: viskiä (VEE-skee-a)
vodka: vodkaa (VOHT-kah)
rum: rommia (ROH-mmee-ah)
water: vettä (VEH-tta)
club soda: soodavettä (SOOH-dah-veh-tta)
tonic water: tonic-vettä (TOH-nic-veh-tta)
orange juice: appelsiinimehua (AHP-pehl-see-nee-meh-oo-ah)
Coke (soda): kolaa (KOH-laah)
Do you have any bar snacks?: Onko teillä pikkupurtavia? (OHN-koh TAIL-la PEEK-kooh-poor-tah-vee-ah?)
One more, please.: Yksi vielä, kiitos. (UUK-seeh VEE-eh-la KEE-tohs)
Another round, please.: Toinen kierros, kiitos. (TOY-nehn KEE-eh-rrohs)
When is closing time?: Mihin aikaan suljette? (MEE-heehn I-kahn SOOL-yet-teh?)

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?: Onko teillä tätä minun koossani? (OHN-koh TAIL-la TA-ta MEE-noon KOH-ssah-nne?)
How much is this?: Paljonko tämä maksaa? (PAHL-yohn-ko TA-ma MAHK-saah?)
That's too expensive.: Se on liian kallis. (SEH OHN LEE-ahn KAH-lles)
Would you take _____?: Miten olisi _____? (ME-tehn OHL-eese____?)
expensive: kallis (KAHL-lees)
cheap: halpa (HAHL-pah)
I can't afford it.: Minulla ei ole varaa siihen. (MEEN-ooh-llah AY OH-leh VAH-raah SEE-hehn)
I don't want it.: En tahdo sitä. (EHN TAH-doh SEE-ta)
You're cheating me.: Huijaatte minua. (HOO-yaah-tteh MEE-noo-ah)
I'm not interested.: En ole kiinnostunut. (EHN OH-leh KEEN-nohs-tooh-noot)
OK, I'll take it.: Hyvä, otan sen. (HUU-va, OH-tahn SEHN)
Can I have a bag?: Voinko saada muovipussin? (VOYN-koh SAH-dah MOO-oh-vee-pooss-een?)
Do you ship (overseas)?: Lähetättekö tavaroita myös (ulkomaille)? (LAHEH-ta-tte-keuh MUU-euhs TAH-vah-roy-tah OOL-koh-my-lleh?)
I need...: Tarvitsen... (TAHR-veet-sehn...)
...toothpaste.: ...hammastahnaa. (...HAH-mmahs-tahh-naah)
...a toothbrush.: ...hammasharjan. (...HAH-mmahs-hahr-yan)
...tampons.: ...tampooneita. (...TAHM-poh-nay-tah)
...soap.: ...saippuaa. (...SIGH-poo-aah)
...shampoo.: ...shampoota. (...SHAHM-poo-tah)
...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen): ...särkylääkettä. (...SAR-kuu-laak-keht-ta)
...cold medicine.: ...flunssalääkettä. (...FLOON-sah-laak-keht-ta)
...stomach medicine.: ...vatsalääkettä. (...VAHT-sah-laak-keht-ta)
...a razor.: ...partaterän. (...PAHR-tah-tehr-an)
...an umbrella.: ...sateenvarjon. (...SAHT-eehn-vahr-yon)
...sunblock lotion.: ...aurinkovoidetta. (...OW-reen-koh-voy-deh-ttah)
...a postcard.: ...postikortin. (...POHS-tee-kohr-ten)
...postage stamps.: ...postimerkkejä. (...POHS-tee-mehr-kkaya)
...batteries.: ...pattereita/paristoja. (...PAHT-eh-ray-tah/PAH-rees-toy-ah)
...writing paper.: ...kirjepaperia. (...KEER-yeh-pah-peh-ree-yah)
...a pen.: ...kynän. (...KUU-nan)
...English-language books.: ...englanninkielisiä kirjoja. (...EHNG-lahn-nin-kee-eh-lee-see-ya KEER-yo-yah)
...English-language magazines.: ...englanninkielisiä lehtiä. (...EHNG-lahn-nin-kee-eh-lee-see-ya LEH-tee-a)
...an English-language newspaper.: ...englanninkielisen sanomalehden. (...EHNG-lahn-nin-kee-eh-lee-sehn SAH-noh-mah-leh-dehn)
...an English-Finnish dictionary.: ...englanti-suomi sanakirjan. (...EHNG-lahn-tee SOO-oh-mee SAH-nah-keer-yan)

Driving

I want to rent a car.: Haluaisin vuokrata auton. (HAH-loo-i-seen VOO-oh-krah-tah OW-tohn)
Can I get insurance?: Voinko saada vakuutuksen? (VOYN-koh SAAH-dah VAH-koo-toohk-sehn=)
stop (on a street sign): stop (STOHP)
one way: yksisuuntainen (UUK-see-soon-tigh-nehn)
yield: antaa tietä (literally "give way")/'kolmio' (triangle, the common European yield sign) (...AHN-taah TEE-eh-ta/KOHL-mee-oh)
no parking: ei pysäköintiä (...AY PUU-sa-keu-een-tee-a)
speed limit: nopeusrajoitus (...NOH-peh-oos-rye-oy-toos)
gas (petrol) station: bensa-asema/huoltoasema (...BEHN-sah-ah-seh-mah/HOO-ohl-toh-ah-seh-mah)
petrol: bensiini (...BEHN-see-neeh)
diesel: diesel (...DEE-sehl)

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.: En ole tehnyt mitään väärää. (EHN OH-leh TEH-nuut MEEH-ta-an VAA-raa)
It was a misunderstanding.: Se oli väärinkäsitys. (SEH OH-lee VAA-reen-ka-see-toos)
Where are you taking me?: Minne viette minut? (MEE-heen VEE-eh-tteh MEE-noot?)
Am I under arrest?: Olenko pidätetty? (OH-lehn-koh PEE-da-teh-ttuu?)
I am an American/ Australian/ British/ Canadian citizen.: Olen Amerikan/ Australian/ Britannian/ Kanadan kansalainen. (OH-lehn AH-meh-ree-kahn/OW-strah-lee-ahn/BREET-ahn-ee-ahn/KAHN-ah-dahn KAHN-sah-lye-nehn)
I want to talk to the American/ Australian/ British/ Canadian embassy/ consulate.: Haluan puhua USA:n (oo-ass-ahn)/ Australian/ Britannian/ Kanadan konsulaatin kanssa. (HAH-loo-ahn POO-hoo-ah AH-meh-ree-kahn/OW-strah-lee-ahn/BREET-ahn-ee-ahn/KAHN-ah-dahn SOOR-la-heh-tuus-teuhn KAHN-ssah)
I want to talk to a lawyer.: Haluan puhua lakimiehelle/asianajajalle. (HAH-loo-ahn POO-hoo-ah LAH-kee-mee-eh-heh-lleh/AHS-ee-ahn-ah-yaah-yah-lleh)

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Finnish phrasebook

Contents

Understand