Sanoja › Finnish words

Finnish words and phrases explained

Short guides to the Finnish words you meet first, with pronunciation, example sentences and the grammar that makes them change shape. Written for English speakers learning Finnish or living in Finland.

Greetings and politeness

• How to say "thank you" in Finnishkiitos
• How to say "hello" in Finnishhei
• How to say "goodbye" in Finnishnäkemiin
• Good morning, good evening and good night in Finnishhyvää huomenta
• How to say "how are you?" in Finnishmitä kuuluu
• How to say "sorry" and "excuse me" in Finnishanteeksi
• How to say "you're welcome" and "please" in Finnishole hyvä

Getting by in Finnish

• How to say "do you speak English?" in Finnishpuhutko englantia
• How to say "I don't understand" in Finnishen ymmärrä

Life in Finland

• "Shop" in Finnish: kauppa, and the three forms you needkauppa
• "Rent" in Finnish: vuokra and housing wordsvuokra
• "Doctor" in Finnish: lääkäri, and how to talk about healthlääkäri
• "Pharmacy" in Finnish: apteekkiapteekki
• "Work" in Finnish: työ, töissä and töihintyö
• "House" and "home" in Finnish: talo and kotitalo / koti

Everyday words

• "Water" in Finnish: vesi, and why it changes shapevesi
• "Coffee" in Finnish: kahvikahvi

Basics

• Numbers in Finnish: 1 to 10 and beyondyksi, kaksi, kolme
• Days of the week in Finnishmaanantai
• Colors in Finnishpunainen