I said yeah, it's hard to be a tonttu
As many of you don't know, I speak reasonably good (read: really bad) Finnish. It has a reputation for being unlike any other language - a reputation that is quite well-founded. However, there are a few words in Finnish that, while they may look and/or sound similar to English words, mean something completely different. Here are just a few of them.
Note that these words are not pronounced the same as the English words they resemble. In most cases, Finnish pronunciation is entirely phonetic. I'll try to give a "pronunciation guide" as best as I can.
Tie - Road (TEE-eh)
Vain - Only (Pronounced like "vine")
Korea - Pretty/Beautiful (KOR-ay-a) (Can also mean the country) (Note: Most Finns would say kaunis to mean beautiful)
Ale - Sale (AH-leh)
Home (HOM-eh) - Mould/fungus
No - An interjection. With a question mark, it means "Really?", without a question mark, it means "Well..." (as a hesitation for starting a sentence). It's pronounced more like the English word "not" with the T cut off than the English word "no".
Some words that look/sound similar to English words, but mean something different:
Pussi - Bag (Sounds like "pussy"). The Finnish for "pussy" as in "cat" is "kissa", and the Finnish for "pussy" in the "lady garden" sense is "pillu", "tussu" or "pimppi", though the last one is quite childish. "Tussu" is quite vulgar.
Fagotti - Bassoon (Similar to "faggot"). "Faggot" (i.e. homosexual) in Finnish is homo, short for homoseksuelli, which is derived from the English word. "Hinttari" is a more vulgar slang way of saying it.
Pasuuna - Trombone (Sounds like "bassoon")
Greippi sounds like it should mean grape, but it actually means grapefruit - grape is rypäle
Biljoona actually means trillion, not billion - billion is miljardi in Finnish (million is miljoona, confusingly enough)
A novelli in Finnish is a short story, not a novel.
Similarly, a motoristi in Finnish is not merely a motorist, but a motorcyclist.
Harmonikka, though spelt and pronounced almost identical to the English word harmonica, actually means an accordion. The Finnish word for harmonica is huuliharppu, literally "lip harp" (compare to the English "mouth harp").
Petroli means paraffin oil, not petrol (gas in American English). The Finnish for petrol is bensiini, derived from the English word benzine.
Undulaatti means a budgerigar. To undulate in Finnish is aaltoilla or lainehtia.
Maailma, though it looks vaguely similar to mailman, means world. A mailman is a postinjakaja, postinkantaja or postimies.
Flipperi means a pinball machine. The word for "flipper" as in the appendage is räpylä.
"Munkki" (see below) means either "filled doughnut" ("rinkeli" is the Finnish for a ring doughnut) or "monk", not "monkey". Monkey in Finnish is apina, which also means ape.
Vaippa sounds a bit like viper, but it means nappy/diaper. Viper in Finnish is kyy or kyykäärme.
Puu, though it may sound rather scatological, means wood or tree.
Kädet sounds like cadet, but it means hands (plural of käsi). Cadet in Finnish is kadetti.
Perse in Finnish means ass (as in backside, rear end). Though it's pronounced the same, it does not mean the same as "per se", the Latin phrase often used in English that literally means "through itself", "by itself" or "in itself".
Kissa does not mean kiss. It means cat.
Appelsiini, despite the first two syllables looking and sounding like apple, means orange. Apple in Finnish is omena.
I know Lapin looks like the French word for rabbit, but it's actually the possessive form of Lappi, meaning Lapland (i.e. "Lapland's"). It's pronounced "LAP-in", not "la-PAHN" like the French word.
"Vaan" is an interjection with several meanings, such as "but" or "instead". It doesn't mean van - that's pakettiauto, literally packet car.
A lot of words in Finnish, like in English, have two or more completely different meanings. Here are a few of them.
"Voi" is one of my favourites. Depending on the context, it can either mean "Oh" ("Voi ei" = "Oh no", for instance), "butter", or "he/she is able to".
"Patteri" can either mean "battery" or "radiator".
"Munkki" can mean either a filled doughnut, or a monk.
Leopardi means leopard, but it can also mean panther. Pantteri means panther, but it can also mean leopard. Confused yet?
Just like in English, kieli can mean either tongue (as in the appendage) or language.
"Onnea" can mean either "congratulations" or "good luck". To avoid confusion, Finns sometimes use "onneksi olkoon", which is a more formal way of saying "I wish you good luck". "Paljon onnea vaan" also means "many happy returns" - it's what you say to someone on their birthday.
Pallo can mean either ball or balloon.
And finally, here's a list of similar words in Finnish that beginners should be careful not to get confused between.
By the way, if you're wondering how someone could get a y confused with a u, it's because in Finnish y is pronounced like the Greek upsilon. Try to say an e while making your mouth round like an o and you'll see what I mean.
Kakku means cake. Kakka means poop. Be careful with this if you get invited to someone's birthday party, or any kind of party for that matter.
Tytti is a girl's first name. Tutti means dummy/pacifier. Tuttu means familiar.
Kuka means who, kukka means flower.
Pussi means bag. Pusu means to kiss.
Sakset means scissors. Saksat means Germanies (as in plural of the country Germany).
Peruna means potato. Päärynä means pear.
Vain means only. Vaan means but/instead. However, vaan can also mean "just" or "only" in spoken Finnish. It can also be added to the end of a sentence to signal impatience or insistence (i.e. "Mene vaan" = "Just go" or "Go already".)
Also, don't confuse vaan and mutta. Both words can be translated as "but", but their meaning is different. For instance:
Se ei ole punainen, vaan sininen. = It is not red, but blue.
En halua punaiset, vaan siniset. = I don't want the red ones, I want the blue ones (instead).
Haluan mennä, mutta ei ole rahaa. = I want to go, but I don't have the money. (Literally "There is no money")
Vesi means water. Vessa means toilet. (It's short for veesee, which means WC, as in Water Closet).
And finally, mostly for Angel's benefit, this is a brief vocabulary of Finnish phrases/words I often use, mostly to NiGHTS (my cat).
Mitä? - What?
Mikä on? - What is it?
Mitä haluut? - What do you want? (Slightly slurred/slang pronunciation of "mitä haluat")
Noin - There (as in "Okay" or "Done", not as in "Located there")
No? - Really? or Oh?
No niin - "Okay then" or "There you go then". Sort of hard to translate/explain this one.
Mene vaan - Go on then/Just go (see above). Used when letting someone go before me.
Tule/Tule vaan/Tänne/Tänne näin - All different ways of saying "Come here". Used to call NiGHTS when she looks like she wants to get onto the bed/sofa/whatever.
Nii - Yes (used for agreement, or to show that I'm paying attention. Short Finnish form of "niin", which means the same thing).
Moi/Moro/Morjes - Basically all slang ways of saying hi. Moro and morjes are derived from the Swedish morgon, which means morning.
Moikka - Byebye/see ya. Can also mean the opposite, confusingly enough.
Öitä - Good night. Short/slang form of hyvää yötä.
Vittu! - Fuck! (Usually used when dying/failing in a video game).
Rauhoittu (vaan) - (Just) calm down (a little).
Note that these words are not pronounced the same as the English words they resemble. In most cases, Finnish pronunciation is entirely phonetic. I'll try to give a "pronunciation guide" as best as I can.
Tie - Road (TEE-eh)
Vain - Only (Pronounced like "vine")
Korea - Pretty/Beautiful (KOR-ay-a) (Can also mean the country) (Note: Most Finns would say kaunis to mean beautiful)
Ale - Sale (AH-leh)
Home (HOM-eh) - Mould/fungus
No - An interjection. With a question mark, it means "Really?", without a question mark, it means "Well..." (as a hesitation for starting a sentence). It's pronounced more like the English word "not" with the T cut off than the English word "no".
Some words that look/sound similar to English words, but mean something different:
Pussi - Bag (Sounds like "pussy"). The Finnish for "pussy" as in "cat" is "kissa", and the Finnish for "pussy" in the "lady garden" sense is "pillu", "tussu" or "pimppi", though the last one is quite childish. "Tussu" is quite vulgar.
Fagotti - Bassoon (Similar to "faggot"). "Faggot" (i.e. homosexual) in Finnish is homo, short for homoseksuelli, which is derived from the English word. "Hinttari" is a more vulgar slang way of saying it.
Pasuuna - Trombone (Sounds like "bassoon")
Greippi sounds like it should mean grape, but it actually means grapefruit - grape is rypäle
Biljoona actually means trillion, not billion - billion is miljardi in Finnish (million is miljoona, confusingly enough)
A novelli in Finnish is a short story, not a novel.
Similarly, a motoristi in Finnish is not merely a motorist, but a motorcyclist.
Harmonikka, though spelt and pronounced almost identical to the English word harmonica, actually means an accordion. The Finnish word for harmonica is huuliharppu, literally "lip harp" (compare to the English "mouth harp").
Petroli means paraffin oil, not petrol (gas in American English). The Finnish for petrol is bensiini, derived from the English word benzine.
Undulaatti means a budgerigar. To undulate in Finnish is aaltoilla or lainehtia.
Maailma, though it looks vaguely similar to mailman, means world. A mailman is a postinjakaja, postinkantaja or postimies.
Flipperi means a pinball machine. The word for "flipper" as in the appendage is räpylä.
"Munkki" (see below) means either "filled doughnut" ("rinkeli" is the Finnish for a ring doughnut) or "monk", not "monkey". Monkey in Finnish is apina, which also means ape.
Vaippa sounds a bit like viper, but it means nappy/diaper. Viper in Finnish is kyy or kyykäärme.
Puu, though it may sound rather scatological, means wood or tree.
Kädet sounds like cadet, but it means hands (plural of käsi). Cadet in Finnish is kadetti.
Perse in Finnish means ass (as in backside, rear end). Though it's pronounced the same, it does not mean the same as "per se", the Latin phrase often used in English that literally means "through itself", "by itself" or "in itself".
Kissa does not mean kiss. It means cat.
Appelsiini, despite the first two syllables looking and sounding like apple, means orange. Apple in Finnish is omena.
I know Lapin looks like the French word for rabbit, but it's actually the possessive form of Lappi, meaning Lapland (i.e. "Lapland's"). It's pronounced "LAP-in", not "la-PAHN" like the French word.
"Vaan" is an interjection with several meanings, such as "but" or "instead". It doesn't mean van - that's pakettiauto, literally packet car.
A lot of words in Finnish, like in English, have two or more completely different meanings. Here are a few of them.
"Voi" is one of my favourites. Depending on the context, it can either mean "Oh" ("Voi ei" = "Oh no", for instance), "butter", or "he/she is able to".
"Patteri" can either mean "battery" or "radiator".
"Munkki" can mean either a filled doughnut, or a monk.
Leopardi means leopard, but it can also mean panther. Pantteri means panther, but it can also mean leopard. Confused yet?
Just like in English, kieli can mean either tongue (as in the appendage) or language.
"Onnea" can mean either "congratulations" or "good luck". To avoid confusion, Finns sometimes use "onneksi olkoon", which is a more formal way of saying "I wish you good luck". "Paljon onnea vaan" also means "many happy returns" - it's what you say to someone on their birthday.
Pallo can mean either ball or balloon.
And finally, here's a list of similar words in Finnish that beginners should be careful not to get confused between.
By the way, if you're wondering how someone could get a y confused with a u, it's because in Finnish y is pronounced like the Greek upsilon. Try to say an e while making your mouth round like an o and you'll see what I mean.
Kakku means cake. Kakka means poop. Be careful with this if you get invited to someone's birthday party, or any kind of party for that matter.
Tytti is a girl's first name. Tutti means dummy/pacifier. Tuttu means familiar.
Kuka means who, kukka means flower.
Pussi means bag. Pusu means to kiss.
Sakset means scissors. Saksat means Germanies (as in plural of the country Germany).
Peruna means potato. Päärynä means pear.
Vain means only. Vaan means but/instead. However, vaan can also mean "just" or "only" in spoken Finnish. It can also be added to the end of a sentence to signal impatience or insistence (i.e. "Mene vaan" = "Just go" or "Go already".)
Also, don't confuse vaan and mutta. Both words can be translated as "but", but their meaning is different. For instance:
Se ei ole punainen, vaan sininen. = It is not red, but blue.
En halua punaiset, vaan siniset. = I don't want the red ones, I want the blue ones (instead).
Haluan mennä, mutta ei ole rahaa. = I want to go, but I don't have the money. (Literally "There is no money")
Vesi means water. Vessa means toilet. (It's short for veesee, which means WC, as in Water Closet).
And finally, mostly for Angel's benefit, this is a brief vocabulary of Finnish phrases/words I often use, mostly to NiGHTS (my cat).
Mitä? - What?
Mikä on? - What is it?
Mitä haluut? - What do you want? (Slightly slurred/slang pronunciation of "mitä haluat")
Noin - There (as in "Okay" or "Done", not as in "Located there")
No? - Really? or Oh?
No niin - "Okay then" or "There you go then". Sort of hard to translate/explain this one.
Mene vaan - Go on then/Just go (see above). Used when letting someone go before me.
Tule/Tule vaan/Tänne/Tänne näin - All different ways of saying "Come here". Used to call NiGHTS when she looks like she wants to get onto the bed/sofa/whatever.
Nii - Yes (used for agreement, or to show that I'm paying attention. Short Finnish form of "niin", which means the same thing).
Moi/Moro/Morjes - Basically all slang ways of saying hi. Moro and morjes are derived from the Swedish morgon, which means morning.
Moikka - Byebye/see ya. Can also mean the opposite, confusingly enough.
Öitä - Good night. Short/slang form of hyvää yötä.
Vittu! - Fuck! (Usually used when dying/failing in a video game).
Rauhoittu (vaan) - (Just) calm down (a little).
Comments
Post a Comment