10 WEIRD Finnish Phrases Finns Don't Expect You to Know
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- The Finnish language has some pretty funny words and expressions. Today you will learn 10 weird but useful words in Finnish you can use when speaking Finnish.
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I've never thought about it before, but "mennä nappiin" could refer to some kind of target shooting. You try to hit a small target, size of a button. When you hit it, bulls eye, se meni nappiin, it went to the button. Perfect result.
You're right!
The way I've always thought of "mukiinmenevä" is that the "menevä" part actually means "to fit" instead of "to go". In order to "go" into a mug, it has to fit inside the mug, and one definition/synonym for "mukiinmenevä" would be "sopiva" ("fitting"). So it's "mug fitting". That makes perfect sense, at least inside my brain. 🤣
That is probably the original way it was meant to be. :)
AKCHUALLY, "mukiin" in "mukiinmenevä" is a plural form of "mukaan" - the stem word being "muka", which originally means a group of people or some such (I think)... This stem word is also used in the expression "muassa", such as in "muun muassa", and in the expressions "mukana", "mukava", "mukailla", etc.
@@hyhhy Interesting, I've never thought of it that way. Makes sense though. Thanks, I learned something new!
It's just one of those words that you pretty much never use, *except* in a specific context, like "muun muassa", so the word itself almost loses meaning. And it doesn't help that another much more common word (or meaning) is spelled/written the exact same way.
@@SamiKankaristo Indeed, the Finnish language has many expressions which are based on an old stem word that by itself is not used anymore, yet the expressions based on it keep being used.
"Mitä kuuluu" has an exact counterpart in Polish, in the expression "co słychać?", literally "what is being heard?". It is used to ask a friend about what has recently happened to him/her. Another perfect calque is the expression "jak idzie?" (How are things going), or "jak leci?" (How are things flying/flowing), which is an exact counterpart to Finnish "miten menee?". Here are Polish and Finnish like sibling languages. By the way, Spanish "como va" means just the same. These expressions are possible in "prodrop" languages, in which you don't have to use any word to denote the subject of the sentence.
U.S. American has problems.
Thanks for the finnish lessons
Thanks Elton so much! Really appreciate it! 😃🙌
Lainhuutotodistus is an excellent word to describe the taking of ownership of a property. Instead of screaming I would use the word "loudly declaring for all to hear". The word lainhuutotodistus implies, "The law is loudly declaring the validity of this certificate which is backed by the full authority of the Finnish government."
I think the Finnish language is fantastic. I enjoy learning these expressions.
Thanks for the great explanation!
You got the idea pretty good. But there is also a historical aspect. Time before media or even people who can read, these kind of things were literaly shouted out in the town square by town officials.
@@AleksiHimself Also during the Swedish rule the ownership of something was actually made legal by announcing it at the land court (maakäräjät) by actually shouting it for all to hear. Owner disputes were also handled there and the resolution made legal by shouting it for all to hear. So it is a very descriptive word with historical background.
Nobody wrote it, so I will do:
Hungarian word for "to go" is "menni" and I am buffled by the fact that it is almoat identical to the Finnish "mennä".
Probably they are close because Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian are distantly related. This connection makes for some interesting Google searches!
välikuolema is also an awesome song by käärijä- and also something i frequently do, so i'm amazed there is a word for it 😂
I love that song! When I looked up a translation for the lyrics välikuolema was just translated as “respite”, so I’m so glad Aleksi gave us this more detailed breakdown because it makes the song even funnier 😂
I've learnt Finnish in the past 8 years, but I'm always surprised by the variety of idiomatic expressions... This has been the most entertaining video on the topic with half of the idioms new to me.
4:54 I'd translate "Mitä kuuluu?" to "What is concerning you?" - kuulua is a homonym and quite literal "How are you?".
At first 'harrastaa seksiä' seemed a bit funny to me, but then I realized that in Polish we use the word 'uprawiać' which also means 'to grow' (for example vegetables/fruits). XD
Actually in Poland we have similar way to say "How are you?" and it's "Co słychać?" which means literally something around "What can be heard?"
If I could have a power nap at a party, I might even be able to attend a party!
Good stuff!
Interesting, in Hebrew one of the ways to ask "how are you?" is like saying "what is heard?" and we also say that someone's piss got up to their head to mean pretty much the same, usually like when someone gets famous or doing very well and it makes them become arrogant/full of themselves.
In Polish we use to say: "Co słychać?" which is striking similar to "Mitä kuuluu?". It literally means "What's being heard?", but it's actually an idiom meaning "What's up/How are you?".
Have you ever covered Finnish idioms in a video? This video has peaked my curiosity about them
I have a few pretty old ones. Might make some updated ones in the future.
@@AleksiHimself Man gather finnish Idioms and make videos. Your style is very good and with finnish Idioms you can make alot of videos. Because finnish Idioms are very intersting and funny and there are soooooooooooooo many that I cant even believe it. I love in Finland and am quite good with basic general use finnish. But I have a best finnish friend here, man He in proper situations come up always new Idioms. I mean ten years with him but he still comes up with new one time after time. All of you finns know those, but mostly they come up in your heads at proper situation.
You are an interesting and funny guy. 🤣🤣🤣. Great stuff 👍. Nice Goku wallpaper
Thanks! It's actually a towel. 😃
Kiitos Aleksi, i loved this video! I like the mennä nappiin as it is simple and really possible to use daily. I actually made up a similar word, a combo of mennä nappiin and to take a nap in English, as a joke to my partner and now we use it all the time. It is ,,to take a näppi" which is the Finnish way of saying that one would take a nap (mennä näppiin). Since nappi means a button, I just switched to näppi with the ,,ä" :D let's see when the words makes it into the Finnish modern vocabulary 😂
That's great" Helps to remember stuff, too. :)
more content like this please
Good to know!
My favorite one I learnt recently was rekkamiehen pastilli. We’ve a pretty hairy dog and someone asked us the other day ‘has your dog been rolling in the mud or is that rekkamiehen pastillit on his ass.’ That’s truckers pastilles. 😂
Lol that's funny. :D
Love the phrases. And the editing! That colour shift effect is rad!
Mitä kuuluu? -"Kuu= the moon (in the sky). Luu= a bone." So; "What about a moon bone?"😂
Very Informative ❤
Great content Aleksi. I'm coming to learn that inferations of phrases is a whole other beast when dealing with foreign languages. The same way I can't directly translate an idiom from my Australian English repertoire and expect it to give the same pop or dazzle as it might in it's original form with a hometown hero. Slang borrowed from english -> multipasking (multipaskamisen?) is very straight forward and western recognized phrases kuten 'Nousta kusi päähä' i can also infer with a direct translation. Going to check out your resources, very professional work.
@@Prof.P.P.P.Eräreikä niin. Oon maailman toisella puolen, mutta pidän paljon arvosta suomalaiselle. Kiitos kommentiin
Wait, talking about sex is not a tabu in Finland?
I love this one! >w<
Because it always annoys me when the topic switches to that but everyone is so quiet. ;w;
Good stuff! 😃🙌
@@AleksiHimself Also thank you for showing us all of this! :3
I cannot say the word askarrella (crafting) normally anymore, because one funny character in a tv-show always said it ”askarrella paskarrella” like ”crafting shitting” and though it was really stupid it was really funny.
Enjoyable! I like you style! 😂
Aah! Välikuolema … is also the title of one of Käärijä’s tracks. :D
mennä nappiin probably just refers to how difficult it can be to button something up, so it's good when the hole goes into the button real easily.
I have a question. I have travelled to many countries in the world and on my travels. I have met many many Swedish people and Norwegian people but to the best of my memory I have never met anybody from Finland so my question is do Finnish people rarely travel? Do they prefer to stay in their country at home or have I just been unlucky and not bumped into the right people? I was just wondering. I have just come across your videos as I have some interest in Finland so it is good to find out more information about the country. I like the idea of a sparsely populated country with lots of open spaces. However, I am sure the winters can get quite depressing. Good luck with your videos.
Some definitely travel yes. I think you've just been unlucky. Also we are only 5,5 million people. :)
Portland Oregon is full of Finns. They tend to come as students or tech workers. We have saunas, nice parks, a relatively healthy view on sex/ nudity. You can legally buy cannabis if you are 21+. I tell people it's an English speaking Helsinki with less vowels and worse hockey.
If you do come, stop by Powell's Books. You may never want to leave. It's an intelligent person's amusement park.
Finnish is a awesome language 😅
My gosh, did I heard it right? Easiest language? 😂😂 I don’t think so.. I got a lot of sleepless nights because of studying your language. But luckily I’m almost there. Hard-work and sacrifices paid off. Although I’m not fluent but I can speak and understand some a little bit. 😂
Awesome! Keep it up!
@@AleksiHimself Kiitos paljon. Nähdään Suomessa pian 😊
Great phrases! Kiitos paljon!
Thanks Harry!
Great content 😍
7:49 a possible explanation for „mennä nappiin“ could be the Same as it is in german. The german equivalant for it is „it went like a push on a Button“.
BTW "mukiin" in mukiinmenevä has nothing to do with muki (which is a very recent loan word from English). Mukiin in this case is actually the plural form of "mukaan", so mukiinmenevä means "something that comes along". The plural is not used anymore in Finnish.
Thks, it makes sense! Interesting!
Sex is definitely a hobby I share with my girlfriend. 😄
In the USA we have sayings like this. If we understand or can relate to something a person is saying, we may say to them " I feel you". If we think something is good it nice, we may say something like " that's a sweet deal" or as an examination we will say just the word "Sweet!".
Here in the States when someone is not successful and has to come back home, they are said to have " hat in hand". When you succeed or get something right you " hit the nail on the head" sort of like what you said about the button.
This is when everyone is pretty sure you used to have some serious beef with someone named Jesse 😆
I like to use Jesse in my examples. :P
Kiitos, Aleksi.
Kiitos Alvin!
mennä nappiin could be translated as "zapięte na ostatni guzik" which in english would be "closed up to the last button" meaning something was done well, with care, thoroughly
Huuto is also a, declaration. Especially the words of law and justice comes from the history. In this case, announcemenrs or declarations used To be shouted on the market place or so. People couldnt read. Same was used everywhere like 7n Rooman empire. Milktrain comes from the movie Tuntematon sotilas.
Mita kuuluu makes sense for me as a polish pearson becasue it has the exact same meaning as polish ,,co słychać''
I can't wait to use these! xD
Minulla oli tämä hullu askel Isoisä, jolla oli tapana sanoa Jeepers Christmas koko ajan
Haha :)
I love Finland Suomi Helsinki, Rovaniemi 🎄 compliment. Hay from north Italy ciao 🇫🇮 🙂🎄💚 💛 💙
Thanks again Aleksi!!!!!
Thanks Kostas!
@@AleksiHimself 👍
Thou I'm American, but my first language is spanish because I'm Puertorican, finnish isn't so hard for me for some reason I guess I could study a little more finnish. 🤔
The Milk Run yes we use that too !
Great video Aleksi. What is a proper response to Mitä kuluu?
Hyvää kuuluu.
"Hyvää"
"Hyvää kuuluu"
"Kiitos hyvää"
Kiitos!
Ole hyvä!
Saw you on TubeSpanner so came by to say hi and have a look around... I like it! Come over for a visit sometime! 🙂
I would describe mukiinmenevä as something that's not anything special, but also nothing to complain about either.
I'm learning Finnish and I need a native to communicate with to help me learn easier and better
Try this: aleksihimself.com/italki
Mitä kuuluu? Exactly as in Hebrew מה נשמע? Mah nishmá' or, what is it heard?
Kuuluu is sound?
In Hebrew, the word is qol, or kol קול, which is also used for: voice, and vote. Odd coincidence, or another little piece of evidence in favour of the nostratic hypothesis?
Finnish rocks!
Mennä nappin reminds me of 'nailed it'.
It you think you wanna skip the vid, at least this! --> 2:30
The dancing section hahhaahaah
😎🙌
you should consider not to put the written content on the same part of the screen, where the subtitle is. Most of people are using the CC option of youtube if non native in English. So pls. put the content on the top eg. :)
love it, yes.
Good stuff!
Mietin just itse et mennä nappiin vois olla lähtenyt napakympistä tai jotain.ampuessa 10 tai jotain vastaavaa.enpä ole aiemmin miettinyt asiaa.
The Finnish language is easy to learn language. I myself am a foreigner in Finland. Finnish language need to be taught to foreigners atleast to A2 lvl. Already I'm seeing the trend of rise of English in Finland, which should be kept in limit. Finnish doesn't share any roots with Swedish, Estonian etc. which makes it quite vulnerable and susceptible to extinction, (if not focussed). Teaching Finland to every foreigner should be mandatory....Thnx for reading.
The meaning of mennä nappiin is same as swahili word "kuingiana" ... to mean something went as planned.
Thanks June!
Every languages and culture has their sayings. Mukiinmenevä - fit like a fist. It doesn't matter what fit and where. Meaning is the Same everywhere.
Välikuolema is not used. Multipasking I heard here for the first time. ( and I am 50 yrs)
Harrastaa is also To act. It does not mean sex is hobby. It just means To have sex.
There is a lot of cultural crab on YT. Do not believe everything.
Kiitos, Aleksi. Olen "Suomi tyhmä"😅 minä Suomi on paskaa.
I did want to ask, how popular are Sanni and Jenni Vartiainen in Suomea?
Also, do people take Tippa T seriously as a rapper? Sometimes I think he's goofy as hell, other times I'll be driving down the street blasting "Mehu" through my speakers 😂
They are both quite popular. I have never heard of Tippa T.
Mennä nappiin - very similar to hitting the nail on the head.
“To a tee” also
How are you = Mitä kuuluu = What moon bone
Haha
great content but use less sharpening/unclear filter on your thumbnails 👍🏻🇫🇮 perkele
Perkele thanks for the feedback 🙌
haha great
There is a similar phrase to "Mitä kuuluu?" in English. It is out of fashion now, but you could say "What's the word?". You would use it with a friend in a casual way.
wow, I didn't know that! Interesting :)
Well, American English, that is. I'm not sure if it was popular elsewhere.
Good stuff! 😃🙌
Clearly someone had to much shit to do that involved swapping between English and Finnish when the word multipasking was invented. That seems to make the term even better. Bit of Finglish action :P
Good stuff! 😃🙌
What is being heard*
😅😅😅😅😅😅
Sex, a hobby or a profession, that's the question. 🤔
Haha it can be both!
and "harrastaa" can also be translated as "to practice", so there is no mystery after all
Omg the words are so long
Some of them are indeed.
Why Finnish sounds like Greek?
Sex is not my hobby
many funny phrases using putki also
..why??
Why putki?
@@AleksiHimself From nykysuomen sanakirja Pikkujoulusta alkanut viikon putki ; Suomi voitti neljä ottelua putkeen;Olin kuumeessa viisi päivää putkeen;Mennä putkeen; Joukkueen alkukausi ei mennyt ihan putkeen; Reissu ei mennyt putkeen.
Then there is the eläkeputki which had me confused.
@@hauskalainen Eläkeputki is a bit more obscure, but I see it like this: if you enter inside putki, it usually has only one direction to go. Eläkeputki means a situation where you become unemployed, but you don't have that long to retirement and you get "ansiosidonnainen" a bit longer and straight into retirement. So it is a bit like straight line, pathway, direction to retirement.
Urho Kujantsuu can't be wrong!
Parranajo olisi paras neuvo tälle tyypille