What do Santa Claus, saunas, suicides,
IRC, ammonium chloride, vowels with lots of cute dots on them, reindeer, Nokia
cell phones, and gold-medalist ski jumpers who have recently turned into porn
stars all have in common? That's right -- they're all Finnish!
Who needs sexist languages such as English when Finnish provides the gender-neutral
word hän, which translates as "he or she"? Finnish
(or Suomi) is also a much more compact language than English:
You will be able to have some of my apples = Saat omenoitani.
Perhaps not surpsisingly, Finnish is not related to any of the Indo-European languages. Hungarian, Estonian, and Sami (Laplander) are some of its closest living relatives.
Impress your friends at parties with Finnish linguistic trivia! Here is a collection of indispensable phrases to use (and not to use!) while mingling with the restless natives during your travels though Finland, from Hanko to Ivalo!
The basics
|
Hello!
|
Hei! or Moi! or Terve! |
|
Good day!
|
Hyvää päivää! |
|
Good evening!
|
Hyvä iltaa! |
|
My name is ***
|
Minun nimeni on *** |
|
I think you have a cute president.
|
Mielestäni teillä on söpö presidentti. |
|
Do you know Pan(a)sonic?
(a Finnish electronic minimalist band)
|
Tunnetteko Pan(a)sonicin? |
|
How much for a gram of H?
|
Paljonko maksaisi gramma heroiinia? |
|
What time does the sun set this
afternoon?
|
Mihinkä aikaan aurinko laskee tänä iltapäivänä? |
|
Well, how many of your uncles
commited suicide this year?
|
No, moniko sinun sedistäsi on tehnyt itsemurhan tänä vuonna? |
|
I'm awfully sorry... was that your ferret?
|
Oho! Tota noin.. Eihän se vaa ollu' sun ajokoira? |
|
Is it OK if I bring my laptop in
the sauna?
|
Käyhän että tuon kannettavani saunaan? |
|
What is that thing sticking out
of your ear?
|
Mikä tuo korvastasi pilkottava juttu on? |
|
Is it true that in the Finnish
Christmas tradition, Santa Claus used to be a wild boar that would eat
children?
|
Onko totta, että suomalaisessa jouluperinteessä joulupukki oli lapsia syövä villisika? |
|
So, do you listen to a lot of black
metal?
|
No, kuunteletkos paljon metallimusaa? |
|
Wait... let me shave it off.
|
Odota, anna minun ajaa se pois. |
|
#*($ you!
|
Haista vittu! |
|
Some salmiakki, please.
(Ammonium chloride,
or salmiakki, a mysteriously popular Finnish candy that tastes
something like oversalted black liquorice, is said to be an acquired
taste.)
|
Saisinko salmiakkia? |
|
You know, both the sautéed reindeer stew and those
thin pancakes made with blood served with lingonberry jam look good.
(Finnish meat specialties)
|
Tiedätkö, sekä poronkäristys että veriohukaiset
näyttävät hyviltä. |
|
Do you take whortleberry jam or
Arctic cloudberry jam or on those small pancakes?
(Finns are very keen
on all these rare species of berries, many of which grow nowhere
else.)
|
Otatko ohukaisten kanssa mustikka- vai lakkahilloa? |
|
More bear steak!
|
Lisää karhunpaistia! |
|
A house is not a home without a
sauna.
|
Koti ei ole koti ilman saunaa. |
|
I like beans.
|
Minä pidän pavuista. |
|
Reindeer are cute.
|
Porot ovat söpöjä. |
|
Cheers!
|
Kippis! |
|
Drive quietly on the bridge.
(Taken from a sign, this Finnish sentence
is said to be one of the most pleasant-sounding of all the world's languages.)
|
Aja hiljaa sillalla. |
|
Can you prescribe me an antidepressant?
|
Voitteko kirjoittaa reseptin jotain piristävää varten? |
|
Must I swallow them whole?
|
Täytyykö ne niellä kokonaisina? |
|
I don't want it pulled out.
|
En halua, että se vedetään pois. |
|
I've been vomiting.
|
Olen oksentanut. |
|
She is bleeding profusely.
|
Hän vuotaa verta runsaasti. |
|
Breathe deeeply.
|
Hengittäkää syvään. |
|
Please undress.
|
Riisuuntukaa. |
|
I want a specimen of your urine.
|
Tarvitsen teiltä virtsanäytteen. |
|
I know a good discotheque.
|
Tiedän hyvän diskon. |
|
No thank you, I'm gay.
|
Ei kiitos, mä oon homo. |
|
Your blond hair is so beautiful.
|
Vaalea tukkasi on niin kaunis. |
|
What is the price per night?
|
Mitä hinta on yöltä? |
|
I love you.
|
Söisin mieluummin salmiakkia. |
Send comments, requests, and complaints to Sonja Kisa.
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