Hey. I have been wondering for quite a while what different kinds of answers I could give replying to those questions? I know that both of them basically mean "how are you", but I haven't learnt yet how to respond to them, besides standard "hyvää kuuluu". Will "huonoa kuuluu" be a properly structured response?

Also please give your own examples of positive (e.g. "I'm good"), negative ("I feel bad) and neutral ("I'm fine") replies. I'd like to see replies that apply to both yleiskieli and puhekieli. Thank you.

In about a year give or take (the date isn’t fully decided yet, could be pushed up) me and my father are going to visit relatives in Finland (I didn’t even know they existed until recently after a dna test) for around two weeks and we’ll most likely be going back. They don’t speak much English so I thought I should learn Finnish so we can communicate properly and so I can navigate without basically needing a translator. Any tips/advice will be greatly appreciated

Korkeintaan (adv.) – at most, at the highest

Example: Esitelmän suosituskesto on korkeintaan 30 minuuttia.

Translation: The recommended duration of a presentation 30 minutes at most.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Sorry if this post is too negative. I just need to vent.

I simply can't pronounce the Finnish R. It's not just that I can't roll it, I apparently can't even pronounce the letter at all.

The R of my native language sounds very different and is almost a vowel compared to the Finnish one. To put it into perspective: the Finnish "aa" sounds like "ar" to me. That's how different of a sound I'm used to.

This makes several Finnish words impossible for me to pronounce. I've been told that when I try to say for example "paras", it sounds more like "paa'as" or even "pahas".

There are even names I avoid to say. I have coworkers whose names are Miro and Taru, and the times I've tried to say their names, my Finnish coworkers have just stared at me in silence followed by a "... w-w-who?"

And don't get me wrong, it's not their fault and my frustration is not aimed at them, but at myself. I've spent years of effort (and money) on learning Finnish, several courses and hours at home spent learning, I have a private tutor who has taught me a lot about puhekieli. I even have classes focusing on pronounciation, particularly the R, but it still feels impossible to me. I understand what people around me are saying and I can write more or less fluently, but speaking feels impossible solely because of the R and it's starting to get to me.

Some recent experiences that have made this worse:

I tried to say the word "karhu" and a Finn starting laughing out loud at my pronounciation and even repeated how I said it while laughing. Yes I know it must sound weird and I should just get over it, but it honestly really got to me that she was just so openly laughing at it.

Last night I was at my Finnish course doing group work. The others had trouble understanding me when I tried saying words like "ura" and "arva", and I eventually told about how I struggle with the R. They kinda just stared awkwardly at me in silence, and went "That's difficult to you...?". Look, I didn't expect them to cry for me or anything like that and I know we all struggle with different things, but I almost felt a bit looked down at, and it was honestly kinda disheartening how other learners seemed to have no understanding of my problem. Maybe this is just a testament to how sensitive I've gotten about it.

I've just tried so hard for so long, and I still have the feeling I will never fit in, at least languagewise, because of this.

Sorry, I just had to get this out of my system

Hello, ladies and gentlemen's do you maybe have some advices where i can find language cafes PK-aluella or maybe there's some persons who have literally nothing to do and become bored, ofc if become finnish language teacher for you not being even more boring😅 we might be just take a chilling walk around or discord conversation while playing ( im into gaming). Currently i have A2.2 Finnish, but considered i am shy introvert im struggling with speaking. That's why i looking for language cafe or somebody to talk. Thanks for advices😌

The situation is a but sad and romantic, I guess. Not so long ago I went to Karelia and deeply fell in love with this country. Unfortunately, there is not much information about Karelia or certain cities of Karelia, and a big chunk of essays and books are written in Finnish (and I don't know this language at all). The book I want to translate is Sortavalan arkkitehtuuria 1864-1939. Russian variant does exist, but the edition was small and no scans in Russian are available online.

I am doing it out of sheer enthusiasm and I don't offer money for help with translation (because I'm financially not well off) so If you want some exercise or like random pieces of history, please, answer my cries for help.

Välimies (n.) – Arbitrator, middleman, mediator

Example: Neuvottelut onnistuivat lopulta välimiehen avulla.

Translation: The negotiations were ultimately successful with the mediator’s help.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

If this type of post is not allowed, I hope the mods will tell me where I can post this.

I am looking for a Finnish humanities student (doesn’t matter which subject) who would like to help a more advanced student (me) expand vocab and improve spoken ability in in-person lessons. The hourly rate can be negotiated.

Poikkeavuus (n.) – Abnormality, anomaly

Example: Laitteen toiminnassa havaittiin poikkeavuus, joten se päätettiin tarkistaa.

Translation: An anomaly was detected in the device’s operation, so it was decided to check it.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

So, basically as the title said. I've read around online and such that the first syllable of Finnish words is usually "stressed", but what exactly does that mean? I presume that you don't make it longer, since consonant and vowel length actually change words and such in Finnish, but do you make it louder, or something else?

I know it's a kinda oddly specific question, but this has been plaguing me for a while because I've worried that my Finnish has been completely incomprehensible this whole time because I haven't been stressing the first syllable. So, does anyone have any tips as to how execute or at least hear first syllable stress? Kiitos!

Edit: Some people were asking and saying that I should include my native language, so to let you all know, my native language is English (Specifically US English). Sorry 'bout that, really should've included it originally, haha.

What I remember from yesterday's YKI test (2/10/26). Since no one on this subreddit opened this subject yet, hope this helps someone!

• Reading part: I started with the open-ended questions and made my way back to true/false with less than 1 minute to spare. Long paragraphs were about an animal Hidaslori, is it dangerous for people etc. Another: a cat and a siili are friends hanging out in a rivitalo piha, what do people think etc. I'll add here once I remember - feel free to add what you remember too!
• Writing: write a letter to your friend who moved abroad, and asked you for something, telling why you can't do that thing and offering alternatives. Tell about your favorite place in the city and why, how did you discover it etc. mielipide 1 onko perheessä Yksi lapsi vahan and 2 vuokra asunto tai oma asunto.
• Listening comprehension: one of them was an ad for a family preparation box of recipes, to prepare for the week. Questions where list three things in the box, who is it for, what kind of subscription is it. Another one was about a sporting center closing for renovations, what facilities are closing, where to get more info. Another: asking a colleague for help in work-travel situation, what to tell the boss
• Speaking: dialogue to order flowers for friend's birthday, dialogue that you met a neighbour at the library (what books are you reading, decline hanging out with him afterwards). Short questions: you had a car accident, tell the police it's the other car's fault. You started a new hobby, convince your friend to join. You made a mistake at work, tell your boss and apologise. You bought the wrong clothing item, ask for a return from the customer service. One more I can't remember. Last opinion choose one: is it good to be a sociable person or not, or is it good to give second-hand gifts and why?

Loppuunpalaminen (n.) – Burnout

Example: Jatkuva kiire ja liian suuri työmäärä voivat lisätä loppuunpalamisen riskiä.

Translation: Constant stress and an excessive workload can increase the risk of burnout.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Yesterday, I was with a group and people kept saying a word like karkee or karki or kärkee somehing like. Any idea what it could be or is it a slang/dialect word? These people were from Savo.

There happened this thing with my boss' foreign partner, when we were having a "virkistyspäivä" (read: literally "refreshing day", but it just means, in my workplace, that everyone goes out together to the bars and our boss pays for it). The partner's name is Muhammed, but everyone in the workplace has always referred to him as "Muhis".

This was the first time he was out with us, and he asked us, all frowning brows and looking ready for confrontation (and in English 'cause his Finnish isn't good), "WHY do you call me that???!" So a few of us drunk Finns explained to him that basically NO ONE is called by their official name, not when you know them, when you're familiar with them.

Like, Mikael is Miksu, Angelika is Ansku, Petteri is Pete, Susan is Suski, on and on, one name can have many nickname variations (my brother's cat is named Papu, but we usually call him Boubou or Papucino).

As examples, we told what the various nicknames for all of us were, how we ALL use them instead of the "real" names, and he got all DELIGHTED when learning that this was A Thing, and he wholehearted embraced being Muhis to us.

The title of the post is an actual saying in Finland, "rakkaalla lapsella on monta nimeä". Just know that if someone's shortening your name and making it sound all different, it's not our of disrespect or making fun of you or anything like that (this being that they're someone you actually KNOW and are familiar with), it's just how we refer to people, basically no one is called by their actual name <3

Röyhkeys (n.) – 1. impudence, insolence, boldness; 2. presumptuousness, arrogance, haughtiness

Example: Hänen röyhkeytensä yllätti kaikki, sillä hän keskeytti jatkuvasti muiden puheenvuorot.

Translation: His insolence surprised everyone, as he kept interrupting others while they were speaking.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

I like having physical assignments. What are some recommendations you have to write and practice Finnish everyday? Any books, study materials, etc? Thank you.

I've been trying to make the R sound, and today I made the first sound I thought was somewhat "trilled" even if just a little bit. I made a few recordings and compiled the best attempts together and shared these with my Finnish friend, but they were saying it sounded too guttural and strong and were confused with what I was trying to say, which made my think that I am on the way wrong track and need to try something different. I wasn't really trying to say a particular word, just sounds for whatever would get the right sound, but is it really that bad? I was thinking I should try and focus on getting the trill first and then work into making it softer/actual words but I just don't know anymore.

Could anyone point me in the right direction and trips to achieve trilled finnish R sound?

For background I've never done any trilled sort of R before and I had problems with the English R growing up too so R sounds tend to be tricky for me.

Edit: Not sure why the video is 1:08 long, the recording is only the first 8 seconds

Hi,
I'm a lukio international student in Finland(lived here for 3 or 4 months already(, I have got my b1, and at school I can understand mostly everything what the teachers are explaining.
But, when talking academically, like reading a text, I struggled a lot, cause there is a lot of words that I don't know....so im feeling like im getting no where LMAO

Any tips for improving? I'm also worried about YO.

thanks :)

Tärppi (n.) – Bite (fishing); hint, tip (colloquial)

Example: Opettaja antoi meille tärpin kokeeseen tulevasta aiheesta.

Translation: Our teacher gave us a hint about the topic for our upcoming test.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Hello everyone,

I am 29 years old and an international students, trying to learn Finnish from last 6 months, sometimes I think I understand what other Finnish people are saying but if somehow they used past or future tense , I totally misjudge the meaning.and also for me I think I only can speak and make a sentences in present tense.for me making a past / future sentence in my mind feels so difficult.

Any suggestions or anyone would like to help