--- title: "torilla tavataan" translation: "See you at the market square." type: "word" category: "sanonta" url: "https://finnishirl.com/words/torilla-tavataan" canonical: "https://finnishirl.com/words/torilla-tavataan" published: "2026-10-13" updated: "2026-10-13" author: "Andrey the Nomad" site: "Finnish IRL" license: "https://finnishirl.com/terms#ip" --- # torilla tavataan URL: https://finnishirl.com/words/torilla-tavataan Translation: See you at the market square. Pronunciation: /ˈtorilːɑ ˈtɑvɑtɑːn/ Category: sanonta Archetypes: thing, move Region: Finland Register: casual, celebratory, often ironic online Literal meaning: "At the market square, we meet" - the passive again. Tone and safety: Safe. It is a joke Finns make about themselves. Published: 2026-10-13 Quick answer: - Torilla tavataan means see you at the market square: the summons that goes round when Finland has won something worth gathering for. - It started at the ice hockey. Crowds gather at the tori, the central market square, when Finland wins a championship, and the phrase is the summons. - Online it has become a running joke, posted under any sighting of Finland abroad. What it means: - The phrase calls everyone to the square. Grammatically it is the passive - literally at the market square it is met, which is how Finnish proposes things to a group. - The tori in question is a real place in every Finnish town: the central market square, and in Helsinki the Kauppatori by the harbour. How Finns use it: - After a national win, most reliably ice hockey. The phrase started as an ice hockey chant and stuck. - Online, wherever Finland turns up unexpectedly in a foreign context. Someone posts torilla tavataan and a small pile-up of Finns follows. It is affectionate self-parody. - Sarcastically, when something trivially Finnish happens, a Finn appearing in a film, a Finnish word in a crossword. - It is also one of Finland's official emojis, which tells you how established the joke is. Tone and safety: - Entirely safe and warmly received. A foreigner using it correctly gets a good reaction, because it signals you have been paying attention to how Finns talk about themselves. - It is not solemn. Using it about something genuinely serious would land badly, because the register is celebration and self-mockery. Common mistake: - Reading it as a real invitation. Nobody is going anywhere; the phrase does the celebrating. - Missing that it is the passive. Torilla tavataan is the same grammar as mennään - Finnish proposes to a group without naming who. Examples - torilla tavataan after a win, and before one: - The original use. A national win, and the phrase is the celebration. Suomi voitti. Torilla tavataan! - Finland won. See you at the market square! - Said about something that has not happened yet, which is half of the fun. Torilla tavataan, jos tää menee läpi. - Market square, if this goes through. Examples - Taking torilla tavataan literally, and the shape it usually comes in: - Explaining the phrase to somebody who took it literally. Ei tartte mennä torille oikeesti. - You don't actually have to go to the square. - Before the result, with the condition attached. The commonest shape online. Jos Suomi voittaa tän, niin torilla tavataan. - If Finland win this one, then it's the market square. Examples - torilla tavataan used sarcastically, and the short form: - The sarcastic use, for something trivially Finnish spotted abroad. Suomalainen sana ristikossa. Torilla tavataan. - A Finnish word in a crossword. See you at the square. - The short form, which is what actually gets shouted. Torille! - To the square! Mini dialogue: A: Näitsä sen maalin? B: Näin. Torilla tavataan! A: Ollaanks me menossa oikeesti? B: Ei. Se on vaan sanonta. FAQ: Q: What does torilla tavataan mean? A: See you at the market square. It is what Finns say when the country wins something. Q: Where does the phrase come from? A: From ice hockey celebrations, where crowds gather at the central market square after a championship. The team slogan tavataan torilla flipped into the version people say now. Q: Do Finns actually go to the square? A: Sometimes, after a real national win. Most of the time the phrase is the celebration and nobody moves. Q: Why does it appear under random posts about Finland? A: It became an online in-joke: any sighting of Finland abroad draws a pile of Finns posting it. It is affectionate self-parody. Q: What is the tori? A: The central market square, which every Finnish town has. In Helsinki it is the Kauppatori by the harbour. Related words: mennaan, sisu, kippis Sources: - Torilla tavataan: where Finns meet when the country triumphs (thisisFINLAND, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland): https://finland.fi/life-society/torilla-tavataan-where-finns-meet-when-the-country-triumphs/ - Torilla tavataan - Finland's official emoji (thisisFINLAND, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland): https://finland.fi/emoji/torilla-tavataan/ - VISK § 802 - Mennäänks meille, jooko, kai mä voin tulla (Iso suomen kielioppi, Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://kaino.kotus.fi/visk/sisallys.php?p=802 - Finland emojis (thisisFINLAND, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland): https://finland.fi/emoji/ - Kielitoimiston sanakirja: tori, tavata (Kotimaisten kielten keskus): https://www.kielitoimistonsanakirja.fi/#/tori