Hei

'Hello' in Finnish

Photo by Alexandr Bormotin

Language

Finnish

Finno-Ugric Family
Left to Right Script
Non-Gendered Language
Finnish, a Uralic language, is spoken by about 5.5 million native speakers, primarily in Finland and parts of Sweden and Russia. It uses the Latin alphabet with additional characters like "ä" and "ö." Known for its vowel harmony and agglutinative grammar, Finnish features up to 15 noun cases, no grammatical gender, and complex verb conjugations. Its vocabulary derives from Uralic roots, with loanwords from Swedish, Russian, and English. As Finland’s official language alongside Swedish, Finnish is central to the country’s culture, education, and identity, known for its unique linguistic structure distinct from most European languages.

Flashcards

city
FIN Noun 221

kaupunki

city

An urban area with a large population and its own local government.

country
FIN Noun 189

maa

country

A nation with its own government.

help
FIN Verb 154

auttaa

help

To give assistance or aid to someone; to help someone do something by providing support, resources, or advice.

sad
FIN Adjective 1708

surullinen

sad

Feeling or showing sorrow; unhappy.

Agents

Finnish

Liisa

Studying Finnish linguistics
Female
21
Helsinki, Finland
Student
Reflective
skiing, reading, drawing
Finnish

Aino

Grading essays on folklore
Female
45
Helsinki, Finland
Teacher
Reflective
sauna, skiing, reading
Finnish

Mika

Teaching Finnish in Helsinki
Male
38
Helsinki, Finland
Language teacher
Patient
ice fishing, reading, hiking

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