Monday, February 16, 2015

Words that are both Finnish and English

Read these English words aloud.

  1. me
  2. he
  3. no
  4. on
  5. sun
  6. tee
  7. tie
  8. into
  9. home
  10. some
  11. oven
  12. pore
  13. pure
  14. sure
  15. made
  16. side
  17. alas
  18. lava
  19. vain
  20. teen
  21. join
  22. vein
  23. villa
  24. helmet

Then read them in Finnish, because they're normal Finnish words, too!

  1. me - we
  2. he - they
  3. no - well
  4. on - is 
  5. sun - your, yours
  6. tee - tea
  7. tie - a road, a street
  8. into - enthusiasm
  9. home - mold
  10. some - social media
  11. oven - door's (genitive of ovi)
  12. pore - a bubble, fizz
  13. pure - bite (imperative of purra)
  14. sure - mourn (imperative of surra)
  15. made - a burbot
  16. side - a bandage, gauze, sanitary pad
  17. alas - (to) down
  18. lava - stage,  platform
  19. vain - only
  20. teen - I do, I make (also the genitive of tee)
  21. join - I drunk (past tense of juoda in 1st person singular)
  22. vein - I took (past tense of viedä in 1st person singular)
  23. villa - wool
  24. helmet - pearls



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. 

12 comments:

  1. Well, there's that stupid poem, which works (for a given value of "works") in Finnish and is also a collection of English words...

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    Replies
    1. One poem I know of is the following (it dates from the '50s and I believe was written as a parody of T. S. Eliot and other "modernists" – I think the author used the pseudonym "T. S. Eliö"):

      Sun on helmet
      sun on villas.
      Talon join.
      Ah, sure Hamlet.
      Miss lie into sun?
      Miss on ties?
      Maiden pimento tie.
      Vale helmet vain sullen vein.

      Delete
  2. Vau, kiitos. Silmiin sattuu. Pitääpä poimia tuosta lisää sanoja listaan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Tee" ei näytä myöskään olevan vielä listalla :)

      Delete
  3. Just saw this one: some
    Jos tänä päivänä aikoo menestyä politiikassa, on pakko olla somessa.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Also teen! I don't know what the rules of this game are, but if names count: Ellen, Eli and Tale. If puhekieli counts: rupee

    ReplyDelete
  5. Had a quick look at the dictionary and found these: aura, hame. Also vale which was already mentioned in the poem above. :)

    ReplyDelete