Quizzes
Most of these are real spoken Finnish, said the way people actually say it. Nothing there is advanced vocabulary - the test is whether you recognise ordinary words in the shape they arrive in. Two are photo rounds instead: Finnish food and Helsinki landmarks, against the things people mistake them for.
Why the quizzes are in puhekieli
A quiz written in textbook Finnish tests whether you did the homework. A quiz written in spoken Finnish tests whether you could be in the room, which is the thing people actually want to know and the thing a course does not tell you.
Every wrong answer comes with the reason it is wrong, and most of those reasons are structural rather than lexical - the passive standing in for we, a worn-down en tiedä, understatement being read as a shrug. That is where the real gap is, and it is a much smaller gap than it feels like from inside it.
Questions people ask
Are the quizzes in spoken or written Finnish?
Spoken. Every prompt is puhekieli - the form people say out loud - rather than the kirjakieli a course teaches. That gap is the whole point: it is why somebody who finished a B1 course can lose a conversation about lunch.
How long does a Finnish IRL quiz take?
About a minute. Six questions, one screen each, three options, and an explanation after every answer. They are built to be finished on a phone in a queue rather than sat down with.
How much Finnish do I need to take one?
Less than you would think, and a different kind. Nothing in them is advanced vocabulary - the words are common. What is being tested is whether you recognise those ordinary words in the shape Finns actually say them in.
Do the quizzes teach anything, or just score you?
Both, and the wrong answers carry most of it. Every option explains why it is wrong, and most of those reasons are structural rather than lexical - the passive standing in for we, a worn-down en tiedä, understatement being read as a shrug.
Are they free, and do I need an account?
Free, and no account. Nothing is saved, nothing is sent anywhere, and you can retake any of them as often as you like.
Newest words
Longer reads
One word.
Every morning.
One real Finnish word every morning - what it means, what the book form is, and when Finns actually say it.