---
title: "ihan"
translation: "Quite. Completely. Really."
type: "word"
category: "puhekieli"
url: "https://finnishirl.com/words/ihan"
canonical: "https://finnishirl.com/words/ihan"
published: "2026-10-01"
updated: "2026-10-01"
author: "Andrey the Nomad"
site: "Finnish IRL"
license: "https://finnishirl.com/terms#ip"
---

# ihan
URL: https://finnishirl.com/words/ihan
Translation: Quite. Completely. Really.
Pronunciation: /ˈihɑn/
Category: puhekieli
Archetypes: reaction
Region: Finland
Register: neutral spoken Finnish, very frequent
Literal meaning: Wholly, entirely.
Tone and safety: Safe. Getting the strength wrong is the risk, not offence.
Published: 2026-10-01

Quick answer:
- Ihan intensifies. Ihan sama is completely the same. It also softens: ihan hyvä is only quite good.
- Which one it is comes from intonation and from the word it sits in front of, not from ihan itself.
- Ihan hyvä flat is fine, nothing special. Ihan hyvä with weight on ihan is genuinely good.

What it means:
- Ihan means wholly or entirely. That is the strengthening sense, and it is the one the dictionary leads with.
- In front of a mild positive such as hyvä, kiva or ok, it does the opposite. Ihan hyvä is not completely good. It is fine, it will do.

How Finns use it:
- Strengthening, in front of anything absolute or strong: ihan sama, ihan varma, ihan totta, and equally ihan kamala, ihan surkea, ihan mahdotonta. Strong negatives get strengthened too.
- Softening, in front of an evaluation: ihan hyvä, ihan kiva, ihan ok. Here it lowers the temperature.
- As a lone answer, meaning good enough: - Miten meni? - Ihan hyvin.
- Ihan jees is the under-35 version, and it means the same thing with a loan word in the middle.

Tone and safety:
- There is no rudeness in it, but there is a real risk of misreading praise. A Finn who calls your work ihan hyvä is not enthusing. They are also not criticising.
- If you want the strong reading, the tone has to carry it, or use tosi hyvä instead.

Common mistake:
- Translating ihan hyvä as very good and taking it as high praise. On a flat delivery it means fine.
- Assuming it always intensifies because the dictionary says wholly. In front of a mild positive it does the reverse.

Examples:
- Se oli ihan hyvä. - It was fine.
- Mulle on ihan sama. - It makes no difference to me at all.
- Toi on ihan totta. - That's completely true.

Mini dialogue:
A: Millanen leffa oli?
B: Ihan hyvä.
A: Eli ei kummonen.
B: No, kyl mä katoin sen loppuun.

FAQ:
Q: What does ihan mean?
A: Wholly or entirely when it strengthens, and quite or fairly when it softens. The word itself does not tell you which.

Q: Does ihan hyvä mean very good?
A: Usually not. On a flat delivery it means fine or good enough. With weight on ihan it becomes genuinely good.

Q: How do I know if ihan is strengthening or softening?
A: By the strength of the word after it. Absolutes and strong adjectives - sama, varma, totta, kamala - get strengthened. Mild positives - hyvä, kiva, ok - get downtoned.

Q: What is ihan jees?
A: The same as ihan hyvä with an English loan in the middle. Common under 35.

Q: How do I say something is genuinely good?
A: Tosi hyvä, or tosi hyvä juttu. Leaving ihan out is the clearest way to be unambiguous.

Related words: ihan-sama, ei-hassumpaa, no

Sources:
- VISK § 830 - implications brought by a particle (Iso suomen kielioppi, Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://kaino.kotus.fi/visk/sisallys.php?p=830
- VISK § 797 - what dialogue particles are (Iso suomen kielioppi, Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://kaino.kotus.fi/visk/sisallys.php?p=797
- VISK § 1201 - answering with a verb or a particle (Iso suomen kielioppi, Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://kaino.kotus.fi/visk/sisallys.php?p=1201
- VISK § 793 - grammatical tradition and a new grouping (Iso suomen kielioppi, Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://kaino.kotus.fi/visk/sisallys.php?p=793
- Kielitoimiston sanakirja: ihan (Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://www.kielitoimistonsanakirja.fi/#/ihan