Finnish IRL - word of the dayOne real Finnish word a day: the spoken form, the written form beside it, and who actually says it.https://finnishirl.comen© Finnish IRLanteeks (anteeksi) - Sorry. Excuse me. Pardon?https://finnishirl.com/words/anteekshttps://finnishirl.com/words/anteeksThe most-used politeness word in the country, and the final letter falls offThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)duuni - Work. A job.https://finnishirl.com/words/duunihttps://finnishirl.com/words/duuniFine in the office, wrong in the applicationThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTslangmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)ei hassumpaa - Not bad. Meaning: pretty good.https://finnishirl.com/words/ei-hassumpaahttps://finnishirl.com/words/ei-hassumpaa"Nothing more foolish" is how a Finn tells you things are going wellThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTsanontamoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)ei oo (ei ole) - There isn't. It isn't. We don't have it.https://finnishirl.com/words/ei-oohttps://finnishirl.com/words/ei-ooThe sentence a shop assistant says to you, in the shape they say itThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)ei tartte (ei tarvitse) - No need. You don't have to. Don't bother.https://finnishirl.com/words/ei-tarttehttps://finnishirl.com/words/ei-tartteReach for someone's bag in Finland and this is what you getThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)ei - No. Not. Doesn't. Isn't.https://finnishirl.com/words/eihttps://finnishirl.com/words/eiFinnish says no with a verb, and it conjugatesThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)eiku (ei kun) - No wait. I mean. Scratch that.https://finnishirl.com/words/eikuhttps://finnishirl.com/words/eikuOne word for taking back the last thing you saidThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)en jaksa - I haven't got the energy. I can't face it. I can't be bothered.https://finnishirl.com/words/en-jaksahttps://finnishirl.com/words/en-jaksaNot laziness and not refusal, and Finland accepts it as a reasonThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTsanontamoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)en tiiä (en tiedä) - I don't know.https://finnishirl.com/words/en-tiiahttps://finnishirl.com/words/en-tiiaThe most useful thing you can say badlyThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)ihan sama - Whatever. Same to me. Doesn't matter.https://finnishirl.com/words/ihan-samahttps://finnishirl.com/words/ihan-sama"Whatever" - and it lands harder than the translation suggestsThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTsanontamoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)ihan - Quite. Completely. Really.https://finnishirl.com/words/ihanhttps://finnishirl.com/words/ihanIt strengthens and it weakens, and the word does not tell you whichThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)joo joo - Yeah yeah. I heard you.https://finnishirl.com/words/joo-joohttps://finnishirl.com/words/joo-jooSay yes twice and you have stopped agreeingThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTsanontamoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)joo - Yes. Yeah. Mm-hm.https://finnishirl.com/words/joohttps://finnishirl.com/words/jooThe everyday yes, and kyllä is not its posher twinThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTinterjectionmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)just joo - Sure. Right. Of course you did.https://finnishirl.com/words/just-joohttps://finnishirl.com/words/just-jooTwo words that tell you the other person is not buying itThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTsanontamoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)kaamos - The polar night.https://finnishirl.com/words/kaamoshttps://finnishirl.com/words/kaamosNot "dark winter", and the distinction is one Finns will correct you onThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTstandardmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)kalsarikännit - Drinking at home, alone, in your underwear, with no intention of going out.https://finnishirl.com/words/kalsarikannithttps://finnishirl.com/words/kalsarikannitTrousers off, curtains shut, nowhere to beThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTslangmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)kato (katso) - Look. And, half the time, nothing at all.https://finnishirl.com/words/katohttps://finnishirl.com/words/katoIt means look, until it stops meaning anythingThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)katotaan (katsotaan) - We'll see. Let's see. Let's have a look.https://finnishirl.com/words/katotaanhttps://finnishirl.com/words/katotaanNothing is a plan here until someone names a timeThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)käy - That works. That suits me. Fine.https://finnishirl.com/words/kayhttps://finnishirl.com/words/kayKäyks kuudelt? - Käy. That is the whole negotiationThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTstandardmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)Kela - Finland's social insurance agency.https://finnishirl.com/words/kelahttps://finnishirl.com/words/kelaThe letter arrives before you have worked out who sent itThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTloanmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)kiitos - Thanks. Thank you.https://finnishirl.com/words/kiitoshttps://finnishirl.com/words/kiitosFinnish has no word for please, and this is what fills the gapThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTgreetingmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)kippis - Cheers.https://finnishirl.com/words/kippishttps://finnishirl.com/words/kippisThe glass goes over your shoulder before the shot goes downThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTgreetingmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)löyly - The wave of vapour that rises when water hits the sauna stones.https://finnishirl.com/words/loylyhttps://finnishirl.com/words/loylyThe word meant soul for four thousand years before it meant steamThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTstandardmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)mä tykkään susta (minä tykkään sinusta) - I like you.https://finnishirl.com/words/ma-tykkaan-sustahttps://finnishirl.com/words/ma-tykkaan-sustaThe sentence that does the work "I love you" does in EnglishThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTsanontamoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)mä (minä) - I. Me.https://finnishirl.com/words/mahttps://finnishirl.com/words/maThe word every textbook spells with three more lettersThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)meen (menen) - I go. I'm going. I'm off.https://finnishirl.com/words/meenhttps://finnishirl.com/words/meenIn Finnish you do not get married - you go into marriages, and it is pluralThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)mennään (menemme) - Let's go. We go. We're going.https://finnishirl.com/words/mennaanhttps://finnishirl.com/words/mennaan"Let's go" and "we go" are the same word, and your textbook taught neitherThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)moi - Hi. Also bye.https://finnishirl.com/words/moihttps://finnishirl.com/words/moiSay it once and it is hello, say it twice and you are leavingThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTgreetingmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)mökki - A cottage. Specifically the summer place a Finnish family disappears to.https://finnishirl.com/words/mokkihttps://finnishirl.com/words/mokkiHalf a million of them, and the rules are all unwrittenThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTstandardmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)mulla on (minulla on) - I have.https://finnishirl.com/words/mulla-onhttps://finnishirl.com/words/mulla-onI'm hungry in Finnish is at me is a hunger, because the language never built a verb for haveThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)mun (minun) - My. Mine.https://finnishirl.com/words/munhttps://finnishirl.com/words/munSay the phrase your textbook drilled and a Finn hears you arguing over whose book it isThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)myötähäpeä - Second-hand embarrassment.https://finnishirl.com/words/myotahapeahttps://finnishirl.com/words/myotahapeaOne word for the feeling that makes you cover your eyes at a wedding speechThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTstandardmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)ne (he) - They. Those.https://finnishirl.com/words/nehttps://finnishirl.com/words/neFinland advertised its pronoun on billboards abroad. At home it says this oneThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)nii (niin) - Yeah. Right. Mm. Go on.https://finnishirl.com/words/niihttps://finnishirl.com/words/niiSomeone wrote 330 pages on the difference between this and jooThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)niinku (niin kuin) - Like. As. You know.https://finnishirl.com/words/niinkuhttps://finnishirl.com/words/niinkuFinns are teased for this one and say it anywayThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)no niin - Right then. Well. There we go.https://finnishirl.com/words/no-niinhttps://finnishirl.com/words/no-niinTwo words, no meaning, and a Finn can run a whole conversation on themThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTinterjectionmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)no - Well. So. Right.https://finnishirl.com/words/nohttps://finnishirl.com/words/noIt looks like English "no" and means the opposite of a refusalThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTinterjectionmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)onks (onko) - Is there? Is it? Do you have?https://finnishirl.com/words/onkshttps://finnishirl.com/words/onksMove the question letter one word to the left and you have asked something elseThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)oon (olen) - I am.https://finnishirl.com/words/oonhttps://finnishirl.com/words/oonSomeone rings to say where they are. This is the word you will missThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)perkele - The national swear word. Roughly "damn it", with considerably more force.https://finnishirl.com/words/perkelehttps://finnishirl.com/words/perkeleNot the Finnish for "oh dear"Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTinterjectionmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)puhutko englantia - Do you speak English?https://finnishirl.com/words/puhutko-englantiahttps://finnishirl.com/words/puhutko-englantiaThe answer is yes, and that is the whole problemThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTgreetingmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)punanen (punainen) - Red.https://finnishirl.com/words/punanenhttps://finnishirl.com/words/punanenThe national dream is a punainen tupa, and nobody pronounces the iThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)sä (sinä) - You (singular).https://finnishirl.com/words/sahttps://finnishirl.com/words/saThe polite version you are looking for does not existThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)sauna - Sauna - the room, the building, and the practice.https://finnishirl.com/words/saunahttps://finnishirl.com/words/saunaMore saunas than cars, and one rule everyone actually enforcesThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTstandardmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)se (hän) - It. And, in spoken Finnish, he or she.https://finnishirl.com/words/sehttps://finnishirl.com/words/seFinns call people "it", and no course will tell youThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)semmonen (semmoinen) - That kind of. Like that.https://finnishirl.com/words/semmonenhttps://finnishirl.com/words/semmonenFinnish has three words for "that kind of", and one is how bad news arrivesThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)sisu - Extraordinary perseverance.https://finnishirl.com/words/sisuhttps://finnishirl.com/words/sisuThe noun is the export. Finns reach for a different form of itThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTstandardmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)vessa (käymälä) - Toilet. Loo.https://finnishirl.com/words/vessahttps://finnishirl.com/words/vessaThe word on the sign is not the word anyone saysThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTpuhekielimoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)vittu - The strongest Finnish swear word.https://finnishirl.com/words/vittuhttps://finnishirl.com/words/vittuThe most vulgar word in the language, and the one Finns say mostThu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMTinterjectionmoi@finnishirl.com (Andrey the Nomad)