Adventures in learning Finnish

I'm learning Finnish. I'm s̸o̸m̸e̸ many years in, and still only know about s̸i̸x̸ ten words. It's going to be a long journey.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Lost in translation.

Looking for a hiking trail in the local area: Kirintövaara. I think the Google English translation makes it sound like a lovely day out.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Finnish idioms my wife has translated directly into English:

- There are no roses for pigs

- One potato at a time

- Put ice in their hats

- The horses are escaping

- She's no spring onion

- To have one's own cow in the ditch

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Yrjö = George, of course it does.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

What?

1955 kids book with a lot of casual colonial racism has some odd entries I can't decode, like this, any ideas?

A kind of Dr Seuss Edward Scissorhands Nightmare on Elm Street Wicker Man kinda vibe.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Meanwhile, in Finland.

nautitaan lämmöstä, let's enjoy the heat

We found this in the sauna of the mökki we're staying in at the moment.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

A birthday email from Finnkino, a cinema chain in Finland. For someone from the UK, the idea of having poppers in the cinema is hilarious.

I'm not sure I understand the sense of popparit in this sense?

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Is there really only one word for both snail and slug in Finnish?

Noun, etana: slug, snail

They're quite different!

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Here's a particularly Finnish classified ad:

Kokenut raitis autoileva Joulupukki kera tontun.

Experienced sober driving Santa Claus with an elf.

My partner tells me that one year a hired Santa turned up drunk at their house, hit on her grandma and refused to leave, so I guess you need to specify! 

For those of you that don't know, Santa appears in-person in Finnish houses, there's a song, and he hands out gifts. And so the kids don't recognise him there's a business of Santas for hire!

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

"Tukkoisuutta" (congestion)

"Ilmatieallergiaa" (airborne allergies)

"Poskiontelovaivoja" (sinus problems)

"Nuha" (runny nose or cold?)

"Astma" (asthma)

Found this clearing out Annopin vanha talo. I wonder if Finns still use these?!

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

The Finn just announced that we’d handle some things “one potato at a time”.

Another idiom she has seamlessly translated from Finnish into English that’s completely wonderful.

[kevytmaitohorsma]

I’m convinced this lady just made up her own idiom on the spot because I read the tags and nobody has ever heard of it before. I like this lady.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

It's a real thing 😂 🥔

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Halloween ideas for kids from 1983 Finland.

Thanks, Finland, now I can never sleep again in case the breadface children sneak into my bedroom.

Vau, miten makeet naamarit

Wow, what sweet masks

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Presenting the MINI SAUNA!

Finns love sauna so much that there's a market for a 1m³ hot box! Perfect for that 40m² flat in the centre of Helsinki.

Tunnissa pystyyn ja kunnon löylyyn

So this means up in an hour and into a proper ... and then Google says proper bath (wrong), chatgpt says good sauna which I think misses the mark?

Doesn't it mean a proper löyly? And is there even a translation for that? 😄

löyly — the steam that rises from the sauna stove (kiuas) or the heat of the sauna

Wikipedia tells me that löyly derives from earlier languages meaning soul, spirit or ghost, which I do find rather lovely and poetic.

*I should point out that I found this in a magazine from 1983 😁

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Sushi sounds delicious in Finnish.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

I pass two young kids in the street.

Soon after I hear, 'Morjens, morjens!' 

I figure it's not directed at me so just walk on. 

Next, louder, 'Mikä sun nimi on?' 

Do they mean me? I hesitate...

'Sun nimi on PEKKA!' they yell and when I look round they're folded up in hysterics laughing.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

The Finn just announced that we'd handle some things "one potato at a time".

Another idiom she has seamlessly translated from Finnish into English that's completely wonderful.

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

Finland, we're on holiday.

The Finn says, 'Look, I've been bitten by something on my Lady Toe.'

'Your...' I try to remain nonchalant, 'Lady Toe?'

'Yes.' she says, pointing to it.

'Is there... a Gentleman Toe?'

And apparently there is—toes have gender in Finnish, she tells me.

'What, all of them?' I ask, looking at her feet.

'No, don't be silly. Just the first two.'

[adventuresinlearningfinnish]

If you had to summarise Finland in a photo, this might do. Is there a name for this genre of handles in mökkis? Something that middle-aged people suddenly have an overpowering urge to craft? 😂