When acquaintances meet they often ask:
Miten menee? How is it going?

The respond could be:
Ihan hyvin. Quite good!

If you want to be formal you might ask:
Mitä kuuluu? How are you?

The respond could be:
Ihan hyvää, kiitos. Entä sinulle? Quite good, thank you. And you?

Ei erikoista. Nothing special, nothing much

Finns seldom address people by their first name and they do not necessarily greet people they do not know.

Here you are and thank you!

The phrase Ole hyvä! Here you are! is used when giving something to someone.

The respond is Kiitos! Thank you! or more colloqual Kiitti! Thanks!


Excuse me! Pardon!

You can apologise by saying:
Anteeksi! I am sorry!


You hear people saying 'sorry' pronounced in a Finnish way


You respond to apology by saying:
Ei se mitään. Never mind.


Last modified: Monday, 1 February 2021, 7:37 AM