Monday, January 13, 2014

How to use the Finnish nouns 'kokous', 'tapaaminen' and 'treffit'

Notice the difference between these meetings in Finnish:

Kokous is the most official form of a meeting. 


Usually kokous involves more than two people.

  • Puhuttiinko kokouksessa ensi vuoden budjetista? - Was the next year's budget discussed in the meeting?
  • Kokouksen jälkeen on kahvitarjoilu. - Coffee will be served after the meeting. 

Palaveri is a more colloquial form of kokous.


I've also heard people talking about paltsu. (Finns are really good at making annoying nicknames for everyday things.)

  • Onko tästäkin pakko pitää palaveri? - Is it really necessary to have a meeting about this, too?
  • Sopiiko teille ryhmätyöpalaveri ensi tiistaina? - Is it ok for you to have a meeting about the group work next Tuesday?

Tapaaminen is any kind of meeting between two or more people.


  • Meillä on tapaaminen kolmelta. - We have a meeting at three o'clock. 
  • Oliko teillä hyvä tapaaminen? - Did you have a good meeting?
  • Mulla on perjantaina ensimmäinen tapaaminen mun henkilökohtaisen valmentajan kanssa. - I'll have a first meeting with my personal trainer on Friday. 


Treffit can be a romantic date or just a meeting among friends.


  • Mulla on Elinan kanssa treffit Sokoksen edessä. - I'm meeting Elina in front of Sokos. 
  • Me oltiin Mikon kanssa treffeillä Figarossa. - Mikko and I went out for a date in Figaro.


Illanvietto is a gathering in the evening.


  • Meillä oli illanvietto uusille jäsenille. - We had a sociel evening for the new members. 
  • Yes, it comes from the verb viettää, to spend time.





About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.  


6 comments:

tigareth said...

I'd probably also note that "treffit" is from Swedish "träff" (although my first guess was German "Treffen", which is just as reasonable).

Also, how is the final t dealt with for inflection? Does it get treated as though it's a fixed plural?

Anonymous said...

Yes, like "sakset" and "housut". Otherwise it would just be too awkward with the trailing T.

Anonymous said...

``Finns are really good at making annoying nicknames for everyday things``, it is absolutely true! It looks to me that Finland has two languages, one is spoken language and another is written language, as a foreigner if you just learn the written language you can hardly handle the daily talking with ordinary people around you. This is my own experiments.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your blog Hanna. I sometimes teach Finnish but it isn't always easy to think of explanations for words especially as I haven't lived in Finland for a long time. This blog about meetings is a good example of your blog. You say it all very clearly.

Hanna said...

Kiitos palautteesta! Kiva kuulla, että blogista on hyötyä myös opettajille. :) Missä sinä opetat suomea?

Anonymous said...

Opetan Lontoossa. Olen mukana Suomikoulun toiminnassa. Jos et tiedä, niin Suomikoulut toimivat eri puolilla maailmaa ja ovat yleensä tarkoitetut kouluikäisille kaksikielisille lapsille. Minä kyllä opetan englanninkielisiä aikuisia. Koulu on auki noin joka toinen viikko kaksi tuntia. Olin niin mielissäni, kun löysin blogisi. Siitä on vuosia kun asuin Suomessa enkä aina tiedä uusia sanontoja. Kieli, kun muuttuu koko ajan. Vielä kerron kiitos. T. Eeva