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

# kippis
URL: https://finnishirl.com/words/kippis
Translation: Cheers.
Pronunciation: /ˈkipːis/
Category: greeting
Archetypes: move, thing
Region: Finland - with regional variants
Register: casual and friendly
Literal meaning: A toasting word, from tilting the glass.
Tone and safety: Safe everywhere. Eye contact is appreciated but not policed the way it is in Germany or Sweden.
Published: 2026-10-01

Quick answer:
- Kippis is the ordinary Finnish cheers, used with anyone.
- Pohjanmaan kautta is roughly "bottoms up", and it commits you to finishing the glass.
- Said once, at the start, with the glasses touched. Repeating it through the evening is a party habit rather than a rule.

What it means:
- Kippis is the word you say raising a glass. It is short, casual and entirely standard, not slang, not old-fashioned.
- You will find the word confidently traced to German kippen, to tilt. That account circulates mainly in hospitality marketing rather than in etymological reference works, so it is not repeated here as fact. What is safe to say is that kippis is a toasting interjection and nothing more. It does not mean anything on its own.

How Finns use it:
- Once, at the start, glasses raised and touched. Repeating it through the evening is more of a party habit than a rule.
- Eye contact is normal and appreciated. Finland does not enforce it the way Sweden and Germany do, and nobody will be offended if you look at the glass.
- Kippis is the everyday one. Skål comes in from Swedish and is common in Swedish-speaking Finland and among older speakers; Finns write it skool when they use it themselves. The formal slot belongs to malja - kohotetaan malja, "let us raise a toast" - which is what you will hear in a speech. Terveydeksi is not really a live toast: it is what Finns say when someone sneezes.
- Pohjanmaan kautta - "via Ostrobothnia" - is bottoms up, and it is named for the gesture: the glass travels the long way round, over the shoulder or behind the head, before the shot goes down in one. It belongs to spirits, not beer. It is also dated and a bit hokey, so a foreigner saying it will be found funny rather than fluent.
- Hölkyn kölkyn is a nonsense toast used generally. Hölökyn kölökyn is the Savo rendering of it, and those extra vowels are the point - the epenthetic vowel is a Savo dialect feature, not a different word. Said with amusement either way.

Tone and safety:
- No risk in the word. The risk sits in what surrounds it: Finnish drinking rounds move faster than many visitors expect, and pohjanmaan kautta is a commitment rather than a phrase.
- Kippis works with alcohol-free drinks too, and nobody comments. Not drinking is unremarkable in Finland.

Common mistake:
- Using terveydeksi as the toast. It is what you say when someone sneezes; at a table it sounds odd. If you want the formal register, it is malja.
- Treating pohjanmaan kautta as a synonym for kippis. It is not; it means finish the glass.

Examples:
- Kippis! - Cheers!
- Kippis ja hyvää viikonloppua. - Cheers, and have a good weekend.
- Pohjanmaan kautta! - Bottoms up!

Mini dialogue:
A: No niin. Kippis!
B: Kippis.
A: Hyvää kesää.
B: Samoin.

FAQ:
Q: How do you say cheers in Finnish?
A: Kippis. Skål - written skool by Finns - also works, especially in Swedish-speaking Finland and with older speakers. In a speech, kohotetaan malja.

Q: What does pohjanmaan kautta mean?
A: Literally "via Ostrobothnia", in practice "bottoms up". The glass goes the long way round - over the shoulder or behind the head - and the shot is taken in one. It is dated and jokey, and it belongs to spirits.

Q: Is eye contact required when toasting in Finland?
A: It is normal and appreciated, but not enforced the way it is in Sweden or Germany. Nobody will correct you.

Q: What is terveydeksi?
A: "For health" - what Finns say when someone sneezes. It is not really used as a toast; the formal toast is malja.

Q: What is hölökyn kölökyn?
A: The Savo rendering of hölkyn kölkyn, a nonsense toast. The extra vowels are a Savo dialect feature rather than a separate word.

Related words: moi, kiitos, kalsarikannit, mita-kuuluu, alko

Sources:
- Kotus dictionaries, including Suomen murteiden sanakirja (Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://en.kotus.fi/dictionaries/
- Kielitoimiston sanakirja: kippis, terveydeksi, malja (Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://www.kielitoimistonsanakirja.fi/#/kippis
- Kielitoimiston ohjepankki (Kielitoimiston ohjepankki, Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://kielitoimistonohjepankki.fi/
- Kotus dictionaries (Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://en.kotus.fi/dictionaries/
- Kotus - Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://en.kotus.fi/