Tavatessa - Meeting people

In the following dialog, two guys Matti and Antti run into each other. Read the dialog, and learn how they greet each other.

Matti ja antti tapaavat kadulla.

• Matti: Hei!
• Antti: No, mutta hei! Tämäpä yllätys! Mitä kuuluu?
• Matti: Minulle kuuluu hyvää! Entä itsellesi?
• Antti: Mikäpä tässä.
• Matti: Onko sinulla kiire? Mennäänkö kahville?
• Antti: Ei ole. Mennään vaan.

Tervehdykset - Greetings

Here are some common greetings in Finnish.

Hei!
Terve!
these are neutral or informal ways to say Hello! or Hi
Moi!
Moro!
informal greetings you can use with your friends
Päivää
Hyvää päivää
formal
Hyvää iltaa
formal, after 6 pm.(~ Good afternoon)
Hyvää huomenta!
Good morning!, at morning
Nähdään!
See you! informal
Näkemiin
Good bye! formal
Hauska tutustua!
Nice to meet you! when you meet someone for the first time
Mitä sinulle kuuluu?
small talk (how do you do?)
Minulle kuuluu hyvää
positive answer (I'm doing fine)
Mitäpä tässä...
not so positive answer (so and so...)

Kiitos!
neutral (thank you!)
Kiitti!
informal (thanks!)
kiitoksia
paljon kiitoksia
formal (thank you very much)
Ole hyvä!

You say "Ole hyvä" when you greet someone or give something. Finnish language does not have a word equivalent to "please!" or "bitte!" or "s'il vôus plait!". You can use "kiitos" or "ole hyvä" in some situations, but it's not very polite. More polite is to say "Saisinko..." (May I have..).

Eipä kestä
answer to kiitos! (you're welcome)

Finns use kiitos quite often. It's normal to say it after any phrase, and repeat it often. That's perhaps because there's no word for 'please' in Finnish.

Finns shake hands more rarely than many other nationalities. It happens mainly in formal settings and official events. If you meet someone for the first time, it's good manners to shake hands, but friends very rarely shake hands. So don't be offended if your Finnish friends don't shake hands all the time!

Kissing on the cheek in South European style is considered as too girlish. Finnish men don't usually kiss each other, women only if they are friends. Do not kiss a Finn without warning! :)

Personal pronouns

singular	plural
minä	me
sinä	te
hän	he

In formal context plural pronoun te is usually used instead of sinä. (Like in French: tu/vous). More about pronouns.

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All lessons

• Lesson 1 - Meeting people
• Lesson 2 - At a café
• Lesson 3 - How to introduce
• Lesson 4 - Making plans
• Lesson 5 - Buying tickets
• Lesson 6 - More about yourself
• Lesson 7 - Family
• Lesson 8 - At home
• Lesson 9 - Telephone conversation
• Lesson 10 - Asking the directions