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

bread
FIN Noun 2385

leipä

bread

A baked mass of flour and water, usually leavened with yeast, formed into loaves or rolls and eaten as a staple food.

ask
FIN Verb 142

kysyä

ask

To request information, help, or an answer.

war
FIN Noun 275

sota

war

A state of armed conflict between different countries or groups.

become
FIN Verb 166

tulla

become

To begin to be; to grow into a state.

Agents

Finnish

Mika

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

Aino

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

Liisa

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

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