Handy Finnish Phrases
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
This page contains phrases that a hiker in h2g2 might find useful when meeting another hiker from Finland. I am also happy to answer to any questions concerning Finland or Finnish language. =)
See also magrathea's more complete Essential Finnish.
Finnish is mostly pronounced as it's written, though many not-finnish people find it almost impossible to do that. Well, believe me, it isn't impossible.
There are also some extra letters in Finnish that come after z in alphabet - Å, Ä and Ö.
Å isn't actually used in Finnish language, but it's left in our alphabet because we were a part of Sweden once - and they really use that letter a lot. =)
Ä looks like an A with two dots above it, and is pronounced much like A in the word sandwich.
The last letter Ö is just like an O with dots, and is pronounced pretty much like U in the word Thursday.
| ENGLISH | FINNISH | ||
| Hello! | Hei! / Terve! / Moi! | ||
| Good Morning! | Huomenta! | ||
| Good Day! (/How do you do?) | (Hyvää) päivää. | ||
| Good Evening! | (Hyvää) iltaa. | ||
| Good night! | Hyvää yötä! | ||
| Hello and welcome (to the Guide)! | Heipä hei ja tervetuloa (käsikirjaan)! | ||
| How are you? | Mitä kuuluu? | ||
| Please. | Ole kiltti. | ||
| Could you please... | Voisitko... | ||
| Thanks (a lot)! | Kiitos (paljon)! | ||
| Who are you? / What's your name? | Kuka sinä olet? / Mikä sinun nimesi on? | ||
| I'm called... / My name is... | Olen... / Nimeni on... | ||
| Where do you live? | Missä asut? | ||
| I'm from..., where are you from? | Olen ...sta, mistä sinä olet? | ||
| I didn't understand that. | En ymmärtänyt tuota. | ||
| Sleep well! | Nuku hyvin! | ||
| Sweet dreams! | Kauniita unia! | ||
| Sorry! / Excuse me! | Anteeksi! | ||
| I'm sorry. | Anteeksi. / Olen pahoillani. | ||
| Can you say that again? | Voisitko toistaa sen? | ||
| Can you paraphrase that, I didn't understand? | Voisitko ilmaista sen toisin, en ymmärtänyt. | ||
| Your Finnish is too complicated for me. | Suomen kielesi on liian monimutkaista minulle. | ||
| I try to write Finnish. | Yritän kirjoittaa suomea. | ||
| Do you speak English? | Puhutko englantia? | ||
| Who? | Kuka? | ||
| What? | Mitä? | ||
| When? | Milloin? | ||
| Where? | Missä? | ||
| Why? | Miksi? | ||
| How? | Miten? | ||
| Finland | Suomi | ||
| Finnish | suomi / suomen kieli | ||
| Take care! | Voi hyvin! | ||
| See you! / Bye! | Nähdään! / Näkemisiin! | ||
| Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! | Hyvää Joulua ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta! | ||
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Linnunradan käsikirja liftareille | ||
| Babel Fish | Baabelin kala | ||
| Excuse me, have you seen my towel? | Anteeksi, oletko nähnyt pyyhettäni? | ||
| In which direction could I find Earth? | Missähän päin on maa? | ||
| I'd need a lift | Tarvitsisin kyydin | ||
| Life, the Universe and Everything | Elämä, Maailmankaikkeus ja Kaikki | ||
| The Restaurant at the End of the Universe | Maailmanlopun Ravintola | ||
| So long, and thanks for all the fish! | Terve, ja kiitos kaloista | ||
| Mostly Harmless | Enimmäkseen harmiton | ||
| A fish - many fish | Kala - paljon kaloja | ||
| The Universe | Maailmankaikkeus (/universumi) | ||
| Galaxy (Milky Way) | Galaksi (Linnunrata) | ||
| One | Yksi | ||
| Two | Kaksi | ||
| Three | Kolme | ||
| Four | Neljä | ||
| Five | Viisi | ||
| Six | Kuusi | ||
| Seven | Seitsemän | ||
| Eight | Kahdeksan | ||
| Nine | Yhdeksän | ||
| Ten | Kymmenen | ||
| Forty-two | Neljäkymmentäkaksi | ||
| Shovel | Lapio |
