German and Nordic Language How Similar Are They? (Germany VS Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland)

Are German and Nordic languages are really similar?

Today, we invited 5 pannels from Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland

And compare the words they use

Also, please follow our pannels!

🇩🇪 @sveawedis
🇳🇴 @saragrewes
🇸🇪 @sofia_ljungstrom
🇩🇰 @azemiiin
🇫🇮 @finunni

[prageruwu]

the finnish girl saying "i don't want to do this" after everyone said 'strand' killed me lmao

[Purple_Box]

You should had someone from Estonia. Then Finland wouldn’t feel so alone 😂

[hanomazom]

Interesting thing about Finnish is that it has preserved even some ancient Germanic words like they used to be. Word 'kuningas' is still in the same form as it was long time ago in Germanic language, the word has changed so that Germans say 'König' nowadays but Finns have kept the original form! So you Germans might wanna loan it back, wouldnt you? We kept the word unchanged in case you would like to use it again! 😂😂😂

[tobiasv.b.]

Finnish is useless? I've learned it though. As a German learning Swedish, Norwegian or Danish would have been easier but Finnish is even more special. I love the sound of the language and the whole culture 🇫🇮🤍💙.
And of course all the other Nordic countries are so beautiful as well. It really is a special region on our planet🌍

[noorakookoo]

Funny facts about hattara. Hattara is derived from ”pilven hattara” which means a white and fluffy cumulus cloud. Cotton candies used to be only white in Finland hence they look like a cloud in stick.

The word hattara itself comes from Finnish mythology. Hattara is a formidable female giant and a mighty sorceress living in the sky. One could never know whether a fluffy cloud is simply a cloud or an uncontrollable sky giant. Hattaras were so powerful that even gods were unable to control them.

There’s something to think about next time you eat candy floss.

[JelenaW]

Finland is my favorite country, it's my dream to visit. Also, love how unique Finnish language is. <3

[lissandrafreljord]

Interesting how the word for Window in German (Fenster) and Swedish (Fönster) sounds more Latin-based, as it is similar in Italian (Finestra), French (Fenêtre), and Romanian (Fereastră). Most likely, like the Swedish girl mentioned, the Swedish word for Window comes from German, as there are a lot of German borrowed words in Swedish. In Latin, window is Fenestra, which comes from the Greek word Phàino (to give light). Interestingly enough, in Spanish, the word for Window follows a more similar interpretation to the other Germanic languages, as windows were more defined by their ability to let air or wind/breeze in, rather than light. In Spanish, Window is Ventana from the word Viento (wind), just like Window comes from Wind in English, Vindu comes from Vind in Norwegian, and Vindue comes from Vind in Danish. You can clearly see the word for Wind/Vind/Viento all share a similar Indo-European connection. If English were to have undergone the consonant shift that other continental Germanic languages underwent, the W in Wind would've been pronounced like a V, making it sound exactly like in Norwegian and Danish, and a little bit closer to Spanish.

[dl]

4:21 Finnish "ranta" is actually distantly related to the Germanic word "Strand."
In German, "der Rand" is the edge, which is not related to "Strand, " and so it is just a coincidence that it sounds like "ranta."

[indrahx]

The Finnish language is NOT useless! It's a beautiful piece of culture and linguistically very interesting. I have tried to learn it a little bit online, but it really is hard. My first language is German, and even though it's more widely spoken than Finnish, you can't use it that much abroad. Anyway, no language is ever useless! And Finnish is super cool.

[Verbalaesthet]

As a German I always felt a deep connection when meeting Swedish people. We have a lot in common. It might be the same with Norwegian and Danish people but I havent met any.

[jimboninho]

It's really funny to hear the similarities. I am german with Swedish and Norwegian ancestors. So I understood most of it. I love Scandinavia and feel always a deep connection to it.
In the end we are all humans from the same origins, no matter where were from.
Love y'all!

[lordtains]

Here's Dutch, which is pretty similar to German:
Window = Venster
Sausage = Worst or worstje
Country = Land
Beach = Strand
Bedroom = Slaapkamer
Coffee = Koffie
Tomato = Tomaten

[allangalan]

Please, we need Lotta with another different people in order to find similarities in finnish language.

[bonesvivi]

It's fun to watch this as someone who knows both danish and german, because I grew up in a german/danish family in Germany.
I love how danish just sounds, I love the more softer way we pronounce things, for example our "can you speak danish test", which is to say "Rød grød med fløde", which in itself can be a tongue twister.

[ctwentysevenj]

Finnish is part of the Finno-Ugric family of languages which includes Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Sammi, Khanty etc.

[JoseyStranded]

Lotta. When we were touring the US with my former band we shared a van with a band from Australia and another from US. We understood everything they spoke but when we wanted to talk something in private we just switched to finnish. No one understood what we were saying. So there you have it: a great language for encrypted messages. :D If you want to make it even more difficult for someone to understand you can always switch to Kontti.

[DieBlutigeLynn]

I have waited for this for a long time! I would love to see more with this language combination! House, door etc. etc. other germanic words! :) And maybe you could include someone Dutch too.

[SebHaarfagre]

Well Finnish might not be so applicable in Scandinavia or the rest of the world, but I love it nonetheless.
Also I can read perfect Finnish but I'll have no idea what I'm saying 😂😂 It's super easy to pronounce as everything is consistent sounding and written exactly how to pronounce it.

Love from Norway, Hyvää Suomi!

[Mercure]

Sorry Lotta, but "coffee" is what we call a Wanderwort, i.e. "wander word", which is a type of word that travels from one specific place and ends up in almost all languages. So this word being similar in Finnish is not surprising. (Edit : More or less the same for "tomato")
We definitely need her to be compared to an Estonian speaker, so she won't feel so alone lol

[GOAT-rluq]

Roughly 65% of words in Finnish are loans, and about half of those come from various forms of Swedish (starting with Riimuruotsi = "Rune Swedish", spoken between 800-1200AD).

Before those early Swedish loans, we got about 500 (broadly speaking) proto-Germanic loans. Kuningaz turned into Kuningas (king), Gaizaz turned into Keihäs (spear), hrengaz turned into rengas (ring, or band).