Finnish, along with Estonian, is part of the Baltic-Finnic sub group of the Finno-Ugrian languages.
6,000,000 speakers
Finnish is the official language in Finland and officially recognised in Sweden and Norway. It is also spoken in Russia and is one of the official languages of the European Union.
The written language uses the Roman alphabet, with the addition of ä, ö and y. The consonants b, c, z and x are only used in loan words.
The first examples of Finnish are place names in medieval Latin records. The language was first written in the 16th century, with an ABC book in 1542 and then a catechism in 1544, both written by a local bishop.
Although the language makes no distinction as to gender, and has no articles, either definite or indefinite, the number of case forms for nouns is staggering: while German has four cases, Latin five, and Russian six, Finnish has no fewer than fifteen!
Key Phrases
Joo/kyllä.
Yes. (spoken/written language)
Ei.
No.
Tervetuloa!
Welcome!
Hauska tavata.
Pleased to meet you.
Hei!
Hello.
Näkemiin.
Goodbye.
Kiitos.
Thank you.
Minun nimeni on....
My name is ...
Puhutteko englantia?
Do you speak English?
Anteeksi, en puhu suomea.
I'm sorry, I don't speak Finnish.
Tarvitsen apua.
I need help.
Anteeksi, missä on WC?
Where is the toilet, please?
