Greetings and politeness in Finnish
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on. Play the ten Finnish words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 11 Finnish phrases in this lesson
- HeiHEI
- Hello
- Hyvää huomentaHÜ-vää HUO-men-ta
- Good morning
- Hyvää iltaaHÜ-vää IL-taa
- Good evening
- NäkemiinNÄ-ke-miin
- Goodbye
- NähdäänNAH-h-daan
- See you
- Ole hyväO-le HÜ-vä
- Please
- KiitosKII-tos
- Thank you
- Eipä kestäEI-pä KES-tä
- You're welcome
- Olen pahoillaniO-len PA-hoil-la-ni
- Sorry
- AnteeksiAN-teek-si
- Excuse me
- Hauska tutustuaHAUS-ka TU-tus-tu-a
- Nice to meet you
An all-purpose hello. Pronunciation key for this course: capitals mark first-syllable stress; doubled letters are held longer. ä sounds like a in cat, ö is e with rounded lips, and ü represents Finnish y: say ee with rounded lips. The hints are approximations; use the audio too.
A morning greeting. Keep the short y distinct from the long ää in hyvää; length can change the meaning of Finnish words.
An evening greeting, used on arrival from late afternoon on. Moi and hei work at any hour.
A more formal goodbye. In everyday conversation, hei hei or moi moi are common alternatives. Hold the final ii longer.
Literally "we'll see", the everyday goodbye. Friends also say moi moi. Näkemiin is the polite one.
Finnish has no single word for please. "Ole hyvä ja..." (be good and...) makes a polite request, and kiitos at the end of an order does the rest: kahvi, kiitos.
The everyday thank-you. Kiitos can also close an order: kahvi, kiitos means coffee, please.
Literally "it does not last", meaning it was nothing. The everyday reply to kiitos.
Literally "I am in a bad mood about it", the real apology.
Used to get someone's attention, to ask to pass, or to say sorry for a small bump.
Literally "fun to get acquainted".