Forty words carry you through the first week: greeting the neighbour, thanking the cashier, apologising on the tram, and admitting you did not understand. Learn them with the audio, then let the flashcards decide when you need to see them again.
Greetings
Finnish has one greeting for everyone (hei) and a few that signal formality. When in doubt, hei is never wrong.
| Hei! | Hi! Hello! (and bye) Works everywhere, with everyone. |
| Moi! | Hi! (casual) Friends, shops, colleagues. Also goodbye. |
| Terve! | Hello (neutral, slightly old-fashioned) |
| Hyvää huomenta! | Good morning! Until about ten. "Huomenta!" alone is fine. |
| Hyvää päivää! | Good day! Formal. Offices, older people. |
| Hyvää iltaa! | Good evening! |
| Hyvää yötä! | Good night! |
| Näkemiin! | Goodbye (formal) |
| Nähdään! | See you! |
| Moi moi! Moikka! | Bye! |
| Mitä kuuluu? | How are you? Answer "Hyvää, kiitos" or "Ihan hyvää". Finns answer honestly. |
| Kiitos, hyvää. | Fine, thanks. |
| Entä sinulle? | And you? |
Politeness
There is no word for "please". Kiitos at the end of a request does the job: Yksi kahvi, kiitos.
| Kiitos. | Thank you. |
| Kiitos paljon! | Thank you very much! |
| Ole hyvä. | You're welcome. / Here you are. Both meanings. Said when handing something over. |
| Anteeksi. | Sorry. / Excuse me. Use it to get attention, to apologise, and to squeeze past. |
| Ei se mitään. | No problem. / It's nothing. |
| Tervetuloa! | Welcome! |
| Onnea! | Congratulations! / Good luck! |
| Hyvää ruokahalua! | Enjoy your meal! |
| Kippis! | Cheers! |
The basics
| Kyllä. | Yes. |
| Joo. | Yeah. (spoken, most common) |
| Ei. | No. |
| Ehkä. | Maybe. |
| Selvä. | Okay. / Got it. |
| Okei. | Okay. |
| Totta kai. | Of course. |
| En tiedä. | I don't know. Spoken "en tiiä". |
| En ymmärrä. | I don't understand. |
| Puhutko englantia? | Do you speak English? |
| Voitko toistaa? | Can you repeat? |
| Hitaammin, kiitos. | Slower, please. |
| Mitä tämä tarkoittaa? | What does this mean? |
| Minä olen… | I am… |
| Nimeni on… | My name is… |
| Olen kotoisin Nepalista. | I come from Nepal. |
| Hauska tavata! | Nice to meet you! |
Flashcards
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