Suomi Sunnuntai ~ Part two

Part two of last weeks Suomi Sunnuntai "Roy's Pants". Looking for help finding interesting translations to Finnish words.

[Mythago]

Here's some fun words with literal translations (and a proper English word for it):
huutokauppa = shouting store (auction)
suojatie = safe/sheltered way (crosswalk)
harhaluulo = astray belief (delusion)
monimutkainen = multi-curved, i.e. with many curves (complicated)
tiedonjanoinen = information-thirsty (inquisitive)

[MissPaula]

You speak better and better Finnish every day!!💥

[jennas]

it must be tough during these covid times to not be able to spontaneously travel to Finland when you want, it is clearly a place where you feel like you belong, same way as Canada, I would imagine. I lived in Germany for 5 years and it became my second home - not being able to frequently fly there and back has been the most challenging part of covid life. I think not many people can relate to this - relying on being able to be in two places but then being forced to be in just one of them. It's odd. Thankfully this won't last forever. Have a great spring!

[skipidip]

Kaukoputki = Distance pipe, spyglass
Polkupyörä = Pedal wheel, bicycle
Sarvikuono = Horn snout, rhino
Kilpikonna = Shield toad, turtle/tortoise
Mäyräkoira = Badger dog, dachshund (also a slang word for a 12-pack of beer)
Kampasimpukka = Comb clam, scallop
Vuoristorata = mountainscape track, rollercoaster
Hajuvesi = smell water, perfume

[finternational]

This list is endless? Makuupussi = laying bag, kerrostalo = layer house, lentokone = fly machine, kuorma-auto = load car, jääkaappi = ice locker etc.

[haltsinberg]

As others have said, the list is endless. Finnish has a vast amount of compound words, that is, "yhdyssana." For this reason, words that sound normal in Finnish will seem odd in other languages if "broken down" or "deconstructed."

That being said, the funniest ones I can think of are: "lohikäärme" (dragon, salmon - snake), "pyykkipoika" (laundry peg, laundry - boy), "lentokone" (airplane, flying - machine), "mustekala" (octopus, ink - fish), "sarvikuono" (rhino, horn - snout), "maapallo" (Earth, earth/dirt - ball).

As a side note, I'd like to point out some quick neat facts about Finnish in comparison to English. In Finnish, we have "kaula" and "niska, " that is, 'front neck' and 'back neck, ' whereas English doesn't have a separate words for these. Another thing I'd like to point out is how intuitive the words for teeth are in Finnish. For example, molars, that is, 'back teeth, ' are called just that: "takahampaat" (plural) ("takahammas" (singular)).

And lastly, I'd like to point out the intuitiveness of the lack of the "dummy subject" in Finnish. For example, in English you would say: "It is raining." Whereas in Finnish you would simply say: "Sataa." This makes sense, since, after all, what is this mysterious "it, " in the clause "it is raining?" What is raining? This also means only a predicate is required for a complete clause in Finnish; you can have a complete clause that consists of only one word.

Hope this finds you well and you get either a laugh or some use of it! Cheers!

[markkumoilanen]

Kyllä sinä puhut jo nyt ymmärrettävästi suomen kieltä. Luin eilen, oliko iltasanomat vai iltalehti, että etsit Suomesta itsellesi vaimoa. Uskon, että löydät hänet nopeasti, kun olet fiksu, hyväntapainen ja huumorintajuinen mies. Onnea kuitenkin etsintään. 👍

[wristviber]

You put in alot of work with thoes subtiles! Thank you! Helps alot 💪🏽

[elwyyra]

Kahvinkeitin = coffee's boiler. The word "keitin" comes from the verb "keittää" ("to boil") and the -in suffix pretty much turns the word into a device or an object of a specific function, so "keitin" is a device for boiling. Same with the electric kettle = vedenkeitin = water's boiler.

The same logic could also be used for example:
- "istuin", an object specified for sitting aka "a seat" (like a car seat), comes from a verb "istua" = "to sit"
- "avain", an object for opening something aka "key", comes from a verb "avata" = "to open" or "unlock"
- "puhelin", a device for chatting/talking aka "phone", comes from a verb "puhella" or "puhua" = "to chat" (chatter) or "to talk"
And talking about phones, our word for landline phones is "lankapuhelin" = "string phone" 😃

[singleturbosupra]

I was also having a cup of coffee while watching this :D

For some words, here are few:
refridgerator = jääkaappi, is literally in English: ice-cupboard
railway = rautatie, is literally in English: iron-road
detached house = omakotitalo, is literally in English: own-home-house
curfew = ulkonaliikkumiskielto, is literally in English: outside-moving-ban (luckily we don't have ulkonaliikkumiskielto in Finland right now :D)
drag race = kiihdytyskisa, is literally in English: acceleration-race

Loads of others definitely, but those are the few I could think of from top of my head. Finns seem to like highly literal words lol. But the heavy use of compound words definitely makes it easier to just stick few words together to describe something instead of inventing some fancy new word :D

[eijakela]

Mukava kuunnella kun puhut suomea, odotan kovasti seuraavia suomen kielen videoitasi :-) Joitakin käännöksiä, jotka tulivat mieleeni:
asuntoauto = apartment car
iltapäivä = evening day
palapeli = piece game

revontulet = fox´s fires
savupiippu = smoke pipe

[AnuMariaLaitinenBusiness]

Thanks for the question. Not only translating single words is tricky, but the words connected to each other as well. For example when we switch on the tv we ”open the tv”, avataan televisio. We never take a shower, but we go to the shower, mennään suihkuun. We never take the train, we go on the train, mennään junalla. We don’t take meds, we eat them, syödään lääkkeitä. There are so many sayings that are different.

[Trekker]

Hyvä video. Siitä se suomi lähtee. Kiitoksia.

[finntheraven]

Some interesting ones I like are "liukuportaat" meaning escalator but literally "sliding stairs" or the phrase "luja tahto vie läpi harmaan kiven", which is similar to the English "where there's a will there's a way", but it's literally "A strong will takes you through the grey stone"

[ohmp]

A vacuum cleaner is "pölynimuri". It's literally dustsucker. Another funny one is dragon, "lohikäärme". It's literally salmon snake :)

[annalehtonen]

Kivijalka (stone foundation) = stone foot.
Kivijalkakauppa (local shop inside a building) = stone foot shop

[robinm]

Kiitos kivasta videosta. Tuo sun muumimuki on hieno ; ) Hyvää sunnuntaita sullekin!

[Eurochopper]

Did you know it's kalevalan päivä today? The day of finnish literature

[zekevarg]

Mustasukkainen - black socked - jealous.

[emiliaranta]

How awesome! It is still incredible to me how well you speak Finnish. I love your Moomin mugs!! To me there is something very Finnish (especially) in the corners of your eyes.