Finnish IRL

Situation

The work coffee room, where the conversation is not in English

Your meetings are in English. The ten minutes around the coffee machine are not, and that is where the team actually is.

The short version

  • Kahville - "to coffee" - is an invitation, and accepting it is the single highest-value thing you can do socially at a Finnish workplace.
  • No niin opens and closes the break. When somebody says it and stands up, the break is over.
  • You do not have to talk. Sitting with the group in silence is genuinely normal and is not read as being unfriendly.

Getting into it

Finnish English When
Finnish Kahville? EnglishCoffee? When the whole invitation, one word Safe anywhere
Finnish Mennään. written: Menemme. EnglishLet's go. When accepting anything Safe anywhere
Finnish Mä tuun kohta. written: Minä tulen kohta. EnglishI'll come in a minute. When when you need to finish something Casual - fine once you know people
Finnish Onks kahvia? written: Onko kahvia? EnglishIs there coffee? When the pot is communal Safe anywhere

The actual small talk

Finnish English When
Finnish Mitä kuuluu? EnglishHow are you? When a real question here, not a greeting Safe anywhere
Finnish Ei hassumpaa. EnglishNot bad. When the standard answer Safe anywhere
Finnish Ihan hyvää. EnglishPretty good. When the other standard answer Safe anywhere
Finnish Kiireistä. EnglishBusy. When always available, always true Safe anywhere
Finnish No niin. EnglishRight then. When opens the break and ends it Safe anywhere

When you are lost

Finnish English When
Finnish Anteeks, mitä? EnglishSorry, what? When the one to have ready Safe anywhere
Finnish Voitko sanoa uudestaan? EnglishCan you say that again? When asking for a repeat Safe anywhere
Finnish En ihan ymmärtänyt. EnglishI didn't quite catch that. When softer than asking for a repeat Safe anywhere
Finnish Puhutko vähän hitaammin? EnglishCould you speak a bit more slowly? When works, and people do Safe anywhere

The move that gives you away

Don't

  • Do not apologise for your Finnish before every sentence, and do not switch the table to English so you can take part.

Do

  • Say the Finnish you have, let the rest go past, and ask about the one thing you actually want to know.

Finns will switch to English the second they sense you are struggling, and they mean it kindly. Every apology is an invitation to switch, and once the table is in English it does not switch back.

Same thing, three registers

  1. Written Anteeksi, en valitettavasti ymmärtänyt.

  2. Spoken Anteeks, mitä?

  3. Casual Häh?

Häh is fine among people you know and abrupt with anyone you do not. The middle one is right almost always.

The invitation

Kahville? Coffee?
Joo, mennään. Yeah, let's go.
Mitä kuuluu? How are you?
Ei hassumpaa. Vähän kiireistä. Entä sulle? Not bad. A bit busy. And you?
Sama juttu. Same here.

Losing the thread and getting it back

...ja sit se sano et se deadline siirtyy ens viikolle. ...and then they said the deadline moves to next week.
Anteeks, mitä siirtyy? Sorry, what moves?
Se deadline. Ens viikkoon. The deadline. To next week.
Aa, okei. Kiitos. Ah, okay. Thanks.

Quick check

A colleague asks "Mitä kuuluu?" What is the safest thing to say back?

You did not understand something. What is most likely to keep the conversation in Finnish?

Words used here

no niin - two older women on a sauna bench wrapped in towels, the stove glowing beside them
no niin Two words, no meaning, and a Finn can run a whole conversation on them
ei hassumpaa - two men standing by a barbecue at a Finnish summer cottage, one giving the smallest possible shrug of contentment, a lake behind them
ei hassumpaa "Nothing more foolish" is how a Finn tells you things are going well
mennään - two friends standing up from a café table at the same moment, one already pulling a coat on, melting snow outside the window
mennään written menemme "Let's go" and "we go" are the same word, and your textbook taught neither
anteeks - a young man squeezing past an older woman in a narrow Finnish supermarket aisle with one hand slightly raised, melting snow tracked across the floor
anteeks written anteeksi The most-used politeness word in the country, and the final letter falls off
niinku - a woman explaining something to a younger colleague across a Finnish canteen table with one hand circling in the air, snow outside the window
niinku written niin kuin Finns are teased for this one and say it anyway

Questions people ask

Do I have to talk in a Finnish coffee break?

No, and that is not a polite fiction. Sitting with the group without contributing is genuinely normal and is not read as coldness. Being there is most of the point.

Why do my colleagues switch to English when I try Finnish?

Because they are being helpful, and because Finns are often self-conscious about making a foreigner struggle. Asking them directly to keep going in Finnish works - they will, they just need permission.

What does kahville mean?

Literally "to coffee", in the allative case. As an invitation it is the entire sentence, and accepting is worth more socially than anything you will say once you get there.

How much coffee is normal at a Finnish workplace?

Finland drinks more coffee per head than any other country and the breaks are contractual in many workplaces. Two a day is standard, and declining every one of them is noticed.

The sauna At the mökki