We have a problem and we are not ashamed to admit it. No other nation in the world drinks as much kahvi, "coffee", as the Finns do. We start in the morning and stop in the evening.
Pulla, or nisu, is a coffeebread made out of wheat flour. It has a firm texture, and while it is sweet, it does not have as much sugar as most pastries. The dough often contains cardamom. Pulla comes in many shapes and sizes, varying from small buns and rolls to large, braided loaves.
Greetings!
The greeting hei is used for both "hi" and "bye". You can also double it when you use it in the latter meaning.
Hei Väinö!
Hi Väinö!/Bye Väinö!
Hei hei Musti!
Goodbye Musti!
While Finns use the titles rouva (Ms.) and herra (Mr.) only in extremely formal situations and in the military, referring to people using their last name only is very common, especially among men. This can be both a very informal situation, like greeting someone, or a more formal one, like calling the name of the next patient in a waiting room.
Terve Pöllö!
Hello Pöllö!
Behave yourself
The Finnish language does not have a word for "please", but do not make the mistake of thinking that the lack of this one word means that Finns are rude. We simply express politeness by using other means. We do not plead, we give thanks. The Finnish word for "thank you" is kiitos. You also use it the same way English speakers use the word "please" when you are asking for something at a shop, a café, or a restaurant.
Yksi kahvi, kiitos.
One coffee, please.
Kahvi ja pulla, kiitos.
A coffee and a pulla, please.
Since the word means "thank you" and is therefore stronger than "please", you do not have to repeat it quite as often. Kiitos is also used after ei ("no") and kyllä ("yes" ).
Ei, kiitos.
No, thank you.
Kyllä, kiitos.
Yes, please.
Kyllä is mainly used with kiitos, as an affirmative answer to questions that begin with haluaisitko, "would you like to have" and in the military. In other situations, you have two options. First, you can say joo or juu (both mean "yes", or "yeah"). The second and the more used option is repeating the verb in the question.
- Oletko sinä Pöllölä? - Olen.
- Are you Pöllölä? - (Yes,) I am.
- Onko tämä oikein? - On.
- Is this correct? - (Yes,) It is.
Ole hyvä, literally "be good", is used when passing objects to another person. You are expected to answer with kiitos.
- Kahvi, ole hyvä. - Kiitos.
- Here you are, a coffee. - Thank you.
Notice that ole hyvä find its place at the end of a sentence. If you use the phrase in the beginning of a sentence, it will sound like you are addressing the coffee. The place after the expression is reserved for names. As coffee obsessed as we are, not even Finns talk to their coffee cups.
Ole hyvä, Anna!
Anna! Here you are!
Correct!
Much like väärin, the word for "incorrect" and "wrong", oikein, the word for "correct" and "right", cannot precede a noun but always stands alone.
Tämä on oikein ja tuo on väärin.
This one is correct and that one is incorrect.
Hot and cold
To express how people and animals experience different temperatures, you need to use the adessive + on structure. In other words, Finns are not hot nor cold, we "have" hot or cold.