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Tavatessa -
In the following dialog, two guys Matti and Antti run into each other. Read the dialog, and learn how they greet each other.
- 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.
| No, mutta hei! | Oh hi! |
| Tämäpä yllätys! | What a surprise! |
| Mitä kuuluu? | How are you doing? |
| hyvä | good, fine |
| entä itsellesi | how about you |
| Mitäpä tässä | I'm fine, nothing special |
| Onko sinulla kiire? | Are you busy? |
| Ei (ole) | No (I'm not) |
| Mennäänkö...? | Shall we go...? |
| kahville | to drink coffee |
| Mennään vaan | Let's go |
Tervehdykset - Greetings
Here are some common greetings in Finnish.
Hei!
Terve!
neutral (Hi!, Hello!)
Moi!
Moro!
informal
Päivää
Hyvää päivää
formal
Hyvää iltaa
formal, after 6 pm.
Hyvää huomenta!
Good morning!, at morning, before 12 am.
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 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.
Eipä kestäanswer 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 perhpas because there's no word for 'please' in Finnish. It's not that common to shake hands in Finland; 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!
French kisses are even more rare, almost non-existent. 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.