anteeks
/ˈɑnteːks/
Sorry. Excuse me. Pardon? Written anteeksi The most-used politeness word in the country, and the final letter falls off
anteeksi on paper, anteeks out loud
One of the written-and-spoken pairs - every word on this site that exists in both forms is in that table, beside the change between them.
| What you will hear | What the book writes |
|---|---|
| Anteeks, pääseeks tästä ohi? | Anteeksi, pääseekö tästä ohi? |
| Anteeks? En kuullu. | Anteeksi? En kuullut. |
| Anteeks, mä en huomannu sua. | Anteeksi, en huomannut sinua. |
Quick answer
Anteeks is the spoken form of anteeksi. It covers sorry, excuse me, and pardon - three English words in one.
- The final -i drops in ordinary speech, which is why the word you learned can be hard to catch.
- Say it to get past someone, to get attention, to apologise, and to ask someone to repeat themselves.
What anteeks means
Anteeks does three jobs English splits between three words: sorry, excuse me, and pardon. It is the politeness word you will reach for most.
It comes from antaa, to give, in the sense of forgiveness being granted.
Three jobs at once: apologising, getting past someone in a shop aisle, and asking someone to say that again. Tone and situation separate them, not different words.
Why anteeksi became anteeks
Anteeksi is the written form. In speech the final vowel falls away and you get anteeks - the same apocope that gives you yks and kaks for yksi and kaksi, viis for viisi, sit for sitten and viel for vielä.
This is one of the reasons ordinary Finnish is so hard to catch: the ends of words go missing, and the words you were taught are exactly the ones that lose them. If you learned anteeksi and cannot hear anteeks, the problem is not vocabulary.
Anteeksi is not the only option. For small apologies, under-40s reach for the English loan sori at least as often. It sounds lighter, closer to "oops". It does not do the other two jobs: sori never means excuse-me or pardon.
How Finns actually use anteeks
Passing someone in a narrow aisle: anteeks, said without stopping, often with a hand slightly raised.
Getting a stranger's attention: anteeks, voisinks mä kysyä yhtä juttua, and the conditional voisinks is what makes it a request rather than a demand.
Not hearing something: anteeks? on a rising tone, which is the standard "pardon?".
A real apology usually comes with a reason or a repair attached, the same way a refusal does. Anteeks, mä en huomannu - sorry, I didn't notice.
anteeks in a sentence
- Anteeks, pääseeks tästä ohi? Sorry, can I get past here? · written: Anteeksi, pääseekö tästä ohi?
- Anteeks? En kuullu. Sorry? I didn't hear. · written: Anteeksi? En kuullut.
- Anteeks, mä en huomannu sua. Sorry, I didn't see you. · written: Anteeksi, en huomannut sinua.
One word.
Every morning.
One real Finnish word every morning - what it means, what the book form is, and when Finns actually say it.
anteeks in a conversation
The mistake everyone makes with anteeks
Waiting to have the whole sentence ready before speaking. Anteeks on its own is a complete, correct utterance and it buys you the moment you need.
Using anteeksi where sori fits better, or the reverse. For bumping a chair, sori. For being an hour late, anteeksi.
Where you will actually hear anteeks
The whole scene: the shop , the work coffee room , kela and the paperwork , the health centre
Questions people ask about anteeks
How do you say sorry in Finnish?
Anteeksi, or anteeks in speech. Under-40s often use the loan sori for small things.
Why do Finns say anteeks and not anteeksi?
The final -i drops in ordinary speech. It is a general feature of spoken Finnish, not carelessness, and it affects many of the words a course teaches in full.
What is the difference between anteeks and sori?
Sori is lighter, closer to "oops", and is a loan from English. Anteeksi is the fuller apology and also does the work of "excuse me" and "pardon".
How do you say excuse me in Finnish to get past someone?
Anteeks, usually without stopping. Adding pääsisinkö ohi - "could I get past" - makes it a full request.
How do you say pardon in Finnish?
Anteeks? on a rising tone. Among friends, Häh? and Täh? are what people actually say. Mitä? works too, though a bare mitä can sound blunt with someone you don't know.
Is anteeks correct Finnish?
Yes. Anteeks is the spoken form; anteeksi is the written one. Both are standard Finnish - they belong to different registers, and neither is a degraded version of the other.
Is anteeks a bad word?
Always safe as an excuse-me. As an apology it can be overdone - once is enough.
Words that go with anteeks
Sources for anteeks
- VISK § 1645 - what directives are Iso suomen kielioppi, Kotimaisten kielten keskus - The class of utterance anteeks + a request belongs to, and the range of forms Finnish uses for it.
- VISK § 1662 - the conditional in a question: tulisitteko jo Iso suomen kielioppi, Kotimaisten kielten keskus - Why anteeks, pääsisinkö ohi is a request: the conditional does the softening, not the apology.
- Kohtelias kehotus tai pyyntö: kysymysmuoto Kielitoimiston ohjepankki, Kotimaisten kielten keskus - Official guidance on the polite request in question form.
- VISK § 1201 - answering with a verb or a particle Iso suomen kielioppi, Kotimaisten kielten keskus - The answers this word attracts - on on, ei mitään - and how they are built.
- Kielitoimiston sanakirja: anteeksi, antaa Kotimaisten kielten keskus - The derivation from antaa, to give.
One word.
Every morning.
One real Finnish word every morning - what it means, what the book form is, and when Finns actually say it.
