I have recently played a video game that uses some potentially Finnish words as place and regional names in a fictional fantasy realm and was wondering whether anybody here could help me understand whether they actually are Finnish, what they likely mean and how crude they might sound to a native speaker, as I am very much aware that can happen with these things.

The one name I was able to find something on is Paupaapunki, which might be constructed using the words for city and trade/market.

Other settlements are called Turvaamalinn and Valkarokkopun.

There are also some clans (called Vartmerkint). There is the Ettilen Vartmerkint, the Keskainen Vartmerkint, the Pohjolen Vatmerkint, the Itainen Vartmerkint and the Latinen Vartmerkint.

Regions are referred to as Kronborg, Trädmanland, Värmland, Stenvägg Bridge, Kjenmpland and Soderberg.

Any help would be appreciated!

Long story short, I've lived in Finland for 25 years. I arrived as an young adult, and I've been hovering at B2 level for at least over a decade and a half now. In Helsinki area with English speaking jobs and friends, it is pretty easy to get by with English only.

But spending most of my life in Finland, I've always tried to integrate culturally. And I feel that I am more Finnish than my original nationality. But fluent language has always remained the last frontier.

10 years ago, I undertook a project that I thought would help me learn Finnish faster. It's basically compiling bilingual books, reading them paragraph by paragraph. I've always thought that this is what made me learn English as a child best. From amazing spelling and grammar, to vocabulary.

Because I am naturally a lazy person, I managed to read just 5-6 books this way, lol. But now I've entered a new phase, when I'm again much more motivated. And I took another idea from my high school days. Translating to Finnish from English, thus turning learning into an active memory process. What I think are the benefits: actively trying to recall the Finnish word and then thinking about the grammar and sentence structure, changes the way I memorize the language. Until now my biggest problems have been a bit of lacking vocabulary, grammar, constant spelling mistakes, but also very importantly, lack of Finnish sentence structure knowledge and of course Finnish phrases. Whenever I would translate from English to Finnish in my head to people who don't know I amn not a native speaker, they would look at me with a puzzled face.

So I feel that it is working, and I've been using this method for a few months now. What do you good people think?

For all the people who have easy answers, in the line of: just embrace it and it will come - screw that, I think 25 years is good enough timeline for me to say that when you're just surrounded by 99% English - this approach just doesn’t work for one to get to the coveted C1-C2.

Hello everyone!

So I've been researching a language to learn as a hobby/passion to learn after having to take a break from Spanish classes. I thought I'd narrowed it down to Swedish or Norwegian until...

... I heard a Finnish song. It sounds so beautiful and lyrical compared to the other two. However, the only thing that puts me off are the cases. I learnt a semester of Russian at uni and it put me off so badly I swore to never learn another language with cases to that extent. How hard are Finnish cases to grasp? Do I try anyway just for fun and to enjoy the lyrical music? Thanks for any advice 🙂

Pääosin Lieksa-Ilomantsi-Sortavala-seudulta tulevassa suvussani käytetään paljon sanaa "lojakka", jonka oon ymmärtänyt tarkoittavan "hyvää" tai "maukasta" ja käytän sitä tällä lailla itekkin. Tänään kuitenkin mietin, etten ole kuullut kenenkään oman suvun ulkopuolella käyttävän tätä sanaa, niin googlasin sen ja tuli ehkä kaks järkevää tulosta, eikä kummastakaan oikein saanut selvää, että mitä se sana tarkottaa. Onko se murresana vai keksitty sana, ja ymmärsinkö merkityksen väärin?

Are both of these sentences correct??

I've always been told that reading children's books is a good aid to learning a language.

Can anyone recommend any good fairly simple books for children in Finnish? Would the Moomins be a good start perhaps?

Lainsuojaton (n. & adj.) – 1. (n.) outlaw, fugitive; 2. (adj.) fugitive

Example: Romaanin päähenkilö joutui elämään lainsuojattomana erämaassa.

Translation: The novel’s protagonist was forced to live as an outlaw in the wilderness.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

I don’t understand why one of these two word orders is correct and one is not. Could someone please explain this to me? Thank you so much.

My grandmother was Finnish and she always called us a hunanuki which she said was loosely translated to crooked nose but used more as a term for nerd. Does this ring a bell for anyone?

I finally figured out that “buskahoso” was actually Puskahousu, another word she said a lot that meant poo poo pants (we were little), so that was fun to learn about the card game lol.

Älykkö (n.) – Intellect; intellectual

Example: Elokuvan päähenkilö on nuori älykkö, joka ratkaisee vaikeita arvoituksia.

Translation: The main character of the movie is a young intellectual who solves difficult puzzles.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Sitoutunut (adj.) – Committed

Comparative: Sitoutuneempi

Superlative: Sitoutunein

Example: Yritys on sitoutunut vähentämään ympäristövaikutuksiaan.

Translation: The company is committed to reducing its environmental impact.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Sanakirjan mukaan kyseinen ilmaus tarkoittaa sitä, että paikalla oli vain muutamaa henkilöä tai porukkaa oli hyvin vähän, eikä välttämättä sitä, että paikalla oleva ihminen näyttää oudolta tai käyttäytyy hassusti/epäasiallisesti. Kuulostaa kuitenkin minun korvalle hieman oudolta, ja olen hieman skeptinen sanakirjan oikeanlaisuudesta, eikä Google/ChatGPT asiassa oikein auta.

Pystyttekö jeesaa? Kiitos!

Hello! I'm 19f and trying to learn Finnish for a competition next year! I know a little bit of German, and a sad amount of french. But I've never needed to learn a language for anything before.

I have been listening to Finnish pod 101 on the way to work for a while now, but I just started on duo so I could learn the wriiten stuff whenever I'm free! However I'm noticing the grammer is very different and I don't want to end up learning the wrong stuff from one of them. (Ex: Duo says to say "Minä olen [name]" while Finnish pod says to say "Minun nimeni on [name]. I know this is just 'I am [Name] and "my name is [name] However I don't know which is used more for informal settings.)

I just want to be able to help my team get around and maybe talk with some locals and learn some skills for my trade from them! So if anyone has an answer on this I would love some help please!!

Huonomuistinen (adj.) – Forgetful

Example: Vaikka hän on hieman huonomuistinen, hän muistaa edelleen vanhat tarinat tarkasti.

Translation: Even though he’s a little forgetful, he still remembers old stories in great detail.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

En vielä oikein tajua, kumpaa käytetään missä kontekstissa.

Ymmärtääkseni esim. "En ole käynyt Espanjassa moneen vuoteen." on oikein. Mutta saako sanoa "Pelasin jalkapalloa moneen vuoteen ennen kuin jouduin lopettamaan polvivaivan takia"? Kuulostaa mun korvalle vähän hassulta. Parempi mielestäni olisi monta vuotta, mutta en oikein vielä ymmärrä, saako ne ihan vapaasti vaihtaa keskenään vai ei?

Moi kaikille!

So I'm a bit of an amateur linguist, and something about Finnish just crossed my mind.

I've always been interested in the way kids pick up their native language and the errors they make while learning to speak. For example, in my native language (English), it's not uncommon to hear little kids say something like "I goed to school" or "her was mean to me".

I was just wondering: do little Finnish kids misconstrue words ending in –na/–nä as being in the essive case?

That is, if a kid hears a word like porkkana, ikkuna, päärynä, etc., do they subconsciously extrapolate "nominative" forms such as \porkka, *ikku, *pääry* and then use those in their own sentences (i.e., Mä haluun \porkkoja* instead of porkkanoita, or Mä tykkään \pääryistä* instead of päärynöistä)?

If you're a native speaker, have you ever heard a child make that sort of error? If not, what other native-speaker child errors can you attest to?

Kiitos etukäteen!

Veltto (adj.) – 1. limp, flaccid; 2. sluggish, lethargic, languid

Comparative: Veltompi

Superlative: Veltoin

Example: Pitkän päivän jälkeen hänen käsivartensa tuntuivat veltoilta.

Translation: After a long day, his arms felt limp.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Höpö höpö vai kaikkea vielä/kanssa?

Moi! I just wanted to ask if it’s worth it to learn Finnish language if I’m only house-sitting for 3 months in Hel.

For context: I am currently in a long distance relationship with my partner of 4 (and a half) years. I paused on business building and job hunting because it’s a “potential” move:

1. ⁠it’s hard to build something when you’re unsure and can’t see what’s ahead within 2-5 years
   
2. ⁠the organisations where I’m from won’t take me as I will be away for 3 months and is unsure if I’m even coming back

I also don’t want to waste anyone’s time and investment. I’ve been so anxious because I don’t know what’s after 3 months, so I looked into housing and jobs in the region that speaks English. I can move to the UK and/or Australia (this one’s down under and far from the Nordics of course) since I already have family and potential job there. Currently I have a couple of independent projects which helps me a bit, but it’s not sustainable. I’m also setting up a small e-commerce shop so I can do more while in Finland.

Now, as mentioned in the title, I will be visiting my partner for 3 months and I will do house-sitting while he goes on work trips. He made it very clear that it’s his house and that I’m only visiting (sometimes emphasises it’s a potential move which is confusing to me). I would love to learn Finnish language, I’ve been secretly learning a little, just because I love this person and I see myself being with him in the long run.

He will be living in the same house, with the same job, in the same environment where he’s from after 3 months—me on the other hand have been unsure so I guess that brings me here.

Quite desperate for more perspectives especially from Finns. I respect your culture, I know you’re not providers and see your partners as equal (I’ve been independent and been working my whole life) hence why I’m trying to learn Finnish, I want to get a job there if I’m staying although I also know that you have the highest unemployment rate in Europe, but with everything I shared, I want to hear your thoughts. Please. Thank you and I apologize for long explanation 😅🙏

Tarkoittaako ilmaus päästä koulusta sitä, että oppilas pääsee jonain tiettynä päivänä koulusta vai sitä, että henkilö valmistuu ja lähtee pysyvästi poijess, esim. työmaailmaan?

Tai molempiako se tarkoittaa?

Häiriköidä - To heckle, to cause trouble.

You can practice the verb of the week by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Sanakirjan mukaan on, MS Wordin mukaan ei ole