SanojaSanoja › Finnish words › Greetings and politeness
How to say "hello" in Finnish
Hei means "hello" or "hi". Moi is the very common casual version.
The everyday greetings
| Finnish | Feels like | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| hei | hello / hi | Safe in every situation |
| moi | hi | Very common, casual |
| moikka | hiya | Casual, friendly |
| terve | hello / hey | Informal, a bit hearty |
| päivää | good day | Short form of hyvää päivää, more formal |
Hello and goodbye are often the same word
Finnish uses hei and moi for both greeting and parting. People double them to say goodbye: hei hei and moi moi. The tone and the situation tell you which one is meant.
Which one should you use?
With friends, colleagues and shop staff, moi and hei are both fine. When you want to sound more formal, for example with a stranger in an official setting, hyvää päivää is the polite choice. If you are unsure, hei is the one that is never wrong.
Example sentences
- Hei, mitä kuuluu?Hi, how are you?
- Moi! Kiva nähdä.Hi! Nice to see you.
- Hyvää päivää.Good day. (formal)
- Hei hei!Bye!
Common questions
What is the most common way to say hello in Finnish?
Moi and hei. Both are used all the time, and moi is the more casual of the two.
Can hei also mean goodbye?
Yes. Hei hei and moi moi are common ways to say goodbye.
What is a formal greeting in Finnish?
Hyvää päivää ("good day"), or just päivää, is the formal option.
Related words
Meet a Finnish word you don't know?
Sanoja is a free browser extension: select any word on a page to see its translation, hear it, and save it to a spaced-repetition list. No account, no ads, no tracking.
Add Sanoja to Chrome