Greetings and polite phrases
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| hei | hi | HAY | Hei, mitä kuuluu?Hi, how are you? |
| hyvää huomenta | good morning | HY-vaa HUO-men-ta | Hyvää huomenta, äiti.Good morning, mom. |
| hyvää iltaa | good evening | HY-vaa IL-taa | Hyvää iltaa kaikille.Good evening, everyone. |
| kiitos | thank you | KEE-tos | Kiitos avusta.Thank you for the help. |
| ole hyvä | you're welcome, please | O-le HY-vae | Ole hyvä, istu tähän.Please, sit here. |
| anteeksi | excuse me, sorry | AN-teek-si | Anteeksi, missä on vessa?Excuse me, where is the bathroom? |
| näkemiin | goodbye | NAE-ke-miin | Näkemiin huomenna!Goodbye, see you tomorrow! |
| hyvää yötä | good night | HY-vaa YOE-tae | Hyvää yötä, nuku hyvin.Good night, sleep well. |
| kyllä | yes | KUEL-lae | Kyllä, se on totta.Yes, that's true. |
| ei | no | AY | Ei, en pidä siitä.No, I don't like that. |
| terve | hi (informal) | TER-ve | Terve, mitä kuuluu?Hi, what's up? |
| tervetuloa | welcome | TER-ve-tu-lo-a | Tervetuloa Suomeen!Welcome to Finland! |
Numbers
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| yksi | one | UEK-si | Minulla on yksi koira.I have one dog. |
| kaksi | two | KAK-si | Ostan kaksi lippua.I'm buying two tickets. |
| kolme | three | KOL-me | Kello on kolme.It's three o'clock. |
| neljä | four | NEL-yae | Meillä on neljä lasta.We have four children. |
| viisi | five | VII-si | Tarvitsen viisi euroa.I need five euros. |
| kuusi | six | KUU-si | Minulla on kuusi appelsiinia.I have six oranges. |
| seitsemän | seven | SAYT-se-maen | Herään seitsemältä.I wake up at seven. |
| kahdeksan | eight | KAH-dek-san | Kauppa aukeaa kahdeksalta.The shop opens at eight. |
| yhdeksän | nine | UEH-dek-saen | Hän on yhdeksän vuotta vanha.He is nine years old. |
| kymmenen | ten | KUEM-me-nen | Laskin kymmeneen.I counted to ten. |
| sata | hundred | SA-ta | Se maksaa sata euroa.It costs a hundred euros. |
| tuhat | thousand | TU-hat | Kaupungissa asuu tuhat ihmistä.A thousand people live in the town. |
Colors
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| punainen | red | PU-nai-nen | Auto on punainen.The car is red. |
| sininen | blue | SI-ni-nen | Taivas on sininen.The sky is blue. |
| keltainen | yellow | KEL-tai-nen | Aurinko on keltainen.The sun is yellow. |
| vihreä | green | VIH-re-ae | Ruoho on vihreää.The grass is green. |
| musta | black | MUS-ta | Kissa on musta.The cat is black. |
| valkoinen | white | VAL-koi-nen | Lumi on valkoista.Snow is white. |
| harmaa | gray | HAR-maa | Taivas on harmaa tänään.The sky is gray today. |
| ruskea | brown | RUS-ke-a | Pöytä on ruskea.The table is brown. |
| oranssi | orange | O-rans-si | Kuppi on oranssi.The cup is orange. |
| vaaleanpunainen | pink | VAA-le-an-pu-nai-nen | Kukka on vaaleanpunainen.The flower is pink. |
| violetti | purple | VI-o-let-ti | Hänen mekkonsa on violetti.Her dress is purple. |
| kultainen | golden, gold-colored | KUL-tai-nen | Sormus on kultainen.The ring is golden. |
Family
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| äiti | mother | AE-i-ti | Äitini on opettaja.My mother is a teacher. |
| isä | father | I-sae | Isäni asuu Helsingissä.My father lives in Helsinki. |
| veli | brother | VE-li | Minulla on yksi veli.I have one brother. |
| sisko | sister | SIS-ko | Siskoni on nuorempi.My sister is younger. |
| poika | son, boy | POI-ka | Heillä on kaksi poikaa.They have two sons. |
| tytär | daughter | TUE-taer | Heidän tyttärensä on lääkäri.Their daughter is a doctor. |
| vaimo | wife | VAI-mo | Hänen vaimonsa on kiltti.His wife is kind. |
| mies | husband, man | MIES | Hänen miehensä työskentelee pankissa.Her husband works at a bank. |
| isoäiti | grandmother | I-so-ae-i-ti | Isoäitini leipoo pullaa.My grandmother bakes buns. |
| isoisä | grandfather | I-so-i-sae | Isoisäni kalastaa usein.My grandfather fishes often. |
| perhe | family | PER-he | Perheeni on suuri.My family is big. |
| lapsi | child | LAP-si | Lapsi leikkii puistossa.The child is playing in the park. |
Food and drink
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| leipä | bread | LAY-pae | Ostan leipää kaupasta.I buy bread from the shop. |
| vesi | water | VE-si | Juon lasin vettä.I drink a glass of water. |
| maito | milk | MAI-to | Lapsi juo maitoa.The child drinks milk. |
| kahvi | coffee | KAH-vi | Juon kahvia aamulla.I drink coffee in the morning. |
| kala | fish | KA-la | Syömme kalaa perjantaisin.We eat fish on Fridays. |
| liha | meat | LI-ha | Hän ei syö lihaa.He doesn't eat meat. |
| peruna | potato | PE-ru-na | Keitän perunoita.I'm boiling potatoes. |
| juusto | cheese | YUUS-to | Leivällä on juustoa.There's cheese on the bread. |
| omena | apple | O-me-na | Syön omenan joka päivä.I eat an apple every day. |
| suola | salt | SUO-la | Lisää suolaa keittoon.Add salt to the soup. |
| sokeri | sugar | SO-ke-ri | Kahvissa on sokeria.There's sugar in the coffee. |
| ruoka | food | RUO-ka | Ruoka on valmista.The food is ready. |
Time and days
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| päivä | day | PAE-i-vae | Tänään on kaunis päivä.Today is a beautiful day. |
| viikko | week | VIIK-ko | Viikossa on seitsemän päivää.There are seven days in a week. |
| maanantai | Monday | MAA-nan-tai | Maanantaina menen töihin.On Monday I go to work. |
| tiistai | Tuesday | TIIS-tai | Tapaamme tiistaina.We're meeting on Tuesday. |
| keskiviikko | Wednesday | KES-ki-viik-ko | Keskiviikkona sataa.It's raining on Wednesday. |
| torstai | Thursday | TORS-tai | Torstaina on kokous.There's a meeting on Thursday. |
| perjantai | Friday | PER-yan-tai | Perjantaina lähdemme matkalle.On Friday we leave for a trip. |
| lauantai | Saturday | LAU-an-tai | Lauantaina nukun pitkään.On Saturday I sleep in. |
| sunnuntai | Sunday | SUN-nun-tai | Sunnuntaina lepäämme.On Sunday we rest. |
| tänään | today | TAE-naeaen | Tänään on hyvä sää.Today the weather is good. |
| huomenna | tomorrow | HUO-men-na | Huomenna on lauantai.Tomorrow is Saturday. |
| eilen | yesterday | AY-len | Eilen satoi lunta.Yesterday it snowed. |
Travel and directions
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| lentokenttä | airport | LEN-to-kent-tae | Menemme lentokentälle.We're going to the airport. |
| juna | train | YU-na | Juna lähtee kello kahdeksan.The train leaves at eight o'clock. |
| bussi | bus | BUS-si | Otan bussin kouluun.I take the bus to school. |
| hotelli | hotel | HO-tel-li | Hotelli on keskustassa.The hotel is in the city center. |
| kartta | map | KART-ta | Katson karttaa.I'm looking at the map. |
| vasen | left | VA-sen | Käänny vasemmalle.Turn left. |
| oikea | right | OI-ke-a | Kauppa on oikealla.The shop is on the right. |
| suoraan | straight ahead | SUO-raan | Mene suoraan eteenpäin.Go straight ahead. |
| matka | trip, journey | MAT-ka | Matka kesti kaksi tuntia.The trip took two hours. |
| passi | passport | PAS-si | Näytä passisi.Show your passport. |
| lippu | ticket | LIP-pu | Ostin junalipun.I bought a train ticket. |
| kaupunki | city | KAU-pun-ki | Helsinki on iso kaupunki.Helsinki is a big city. |
Common verbs
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| olla | to be | OL-la | Minä olen suomalainen.I am Finnish. |
| mennä | to go | MEN-nae | Menen kotiin.I'm going home. |
| tulla | to come | TUL-la | Tule tänne.Come here. |
| syödä | to eat | SYOE-dae | Syön aamiaista.I'm eating breakfast. |
| juoda | to drink | YUO-da | Juon teetä.I'm drinking tea. |
| nähdä | to see | NAEH-dae | Näen linnun.I see a bird. |
| puhua | to speak | PU-hu-a | Puhun suomea.I speak Finnish. |
| tehdä | to do, to make | TEH-dae | Teen ruokaa.I'm making food. |
| haluta | to want | HA-lu-ta | Haluan kahvia.I want coffee. |
| osata | to know how to | O-sa-ta | Osaan uida.I know how to swim. |
| rakastaa | to love | RA-kas-taa | Rakastan sinua.I love you. |
| asua | to live | A-su-a | Asun Turussa.I live in Turku. |
Adjectives
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| iso | big | I-so | Talo on iso.The house is big. |
| pieni | small | PIE-ni | Koira on pieni.The dog is small. |
| hyvä | good | HY-vae | Ruoka on hyvää.The food is good. |
| huono | bad | HUO-no | Sää on huono.The weather is bad. |
| kaunis | beautiful | KAU-nis | Näkymä on kaunis.The view is beautiful. |
| vanha | old | VAN-ha | Rakennus on vanha.The building is old. |
| uusi | new | UU-si | Ostin uuden puhelimen.I bought a new phone. |
| nopea | fast | NO-pe-a | Auto on nopea.The car is fast. |
| hidas | slow | HI-das | Juna on hidas.The train is slow. |
| kylmä | cold | KUEL-mae | Vesi on kylmää.The water is cold. |
| lämmin | warm | LAEM-min | Kesällä on lämmin.It's warm in summer. |
| onnellinen | happy | ON-nel-li-nen | Olen onnellinen.I am happy. |
Question words
| Finnish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| mitä | what | MI-tae | Mitä sinä teet?What are you doing? |
| kuka | who | KU-ka | Kuka olet?Who are you? |
| missä | where | MIS-sae | Missä sinä asut?Where do you live? |
| milloin | when | MIL-loin | Milloin juna lähtee?When does the train leave? |
| miksi | why | MIK-si | Miksi olet myöhässä?Why are you late? |
| miten | how | MI-ten | Miten voit?How are you? |
| kuinka paljon | how much | KUIN-ka PAL-yon | Kuinka paljon tämä maksaa?How much does this cost? |
| mikä | what, which | MI-kae | Mikä on nimesi?What is your name? |
Study tips for Finnish
- Finnish spelling is very regular, since almost every letter always represents the same sound, so sounding words out is a reliable way to learn pronunciation.
- Word stress always falls on the first syllable, even in long compound words, so start there when practicing new vocabulary.
- Pay close attention to double letters, since double vowels and consonants change both the length of a sound and the meaning of the word.
- Finnish has no grammatical gender and no separate word for 'the' or 'a', which keeps basic sentence structure simpler than in many other European languages.
- Learn the partitive case forms of common nouns early, since Finnish uses them constantly after numbers and in negative sentences.
Frequently asked questions
How many words are on this Finnish vocabulary list?
This page covers 116 essential Finnish words and phrases across ten everyday topics, including greetings, numbers, colors, family, food, and travel.
Is Finnish grammar hard for beginners?
Finnish has many grammatical cases, but its spelling is very regular and it has no grammatical gender, which makes pronunciation and early vocabulary building more approachable than the case system might suggest.
What script is Finnish written in?
Finnish uses the Latin alphabet, plus the extra letters ä and ö, which represent distinct vowel sounds not found in English.