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Good morning, good evening and good night in Finnish
"Good morning" is hyvää huomenta, and in everyday speech just huomenta.
Greetings by time of day
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| hyvää huomenta | good morning |
| hyvää päivää | good day / good afternoon |
| hyvää iltaa | good evening |
| hyvää yötä | good night |
Why they all start with hyvää
Hyvää is the partitive form of hyvä ("good"). Greetings and wishes are built as "[some] good ...", and the partitive is the case Finnish uses for that. The same pattern gives hyvää ruokahalua ("enjoy your meal") and hyvää matkaa ("have a good trip").
In practice, people shorten these a lot: huomenta in the morning, iltaa in the evening, and plain moi at any time. Hyvää yötä is used when going to bed or saying goodnight, not as a greeting.
Example sentences
- Huomenta! Nukuitko hyvin?Morning! Did you sleep well?
- Hyvää iltaa, tervetuloa.Good evening, welcome.
- Hyvää yötä, nähdään aamulla.Good night, see you in the morning.
- Hyvää ruokahalua!Enjoy your meal!
Common questions
How do you say "good morning" in Finnish?
Hyvää huomenta, or the shorter huomenta in everyday speech.
How do you say "good night" in Finnish?
Hyvää yötä.
Related words
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