Spoken Finnish (puhekieli) tips

Here are some tips for spoken language. Notice that not everybody speaks like this, and it is totally ok to use the standard Finnish, if you want. However, these tips might help you to understand what (some) Finns say. The pronouns might be different depending on where you live, and many things depend on the local dialect. 

Pronouns

• Say 'se' instead of 'hän' (it, s/he).

• Say 'toi' instead of 'tuo' (that).

• Say 'tää' instead 'tämä' (this).

• Say 'ne' instead of 'he' (those, they) 

• Use the verb's singular form in the third person. Say 'ne on' instead of 'he ovat' and 'ne tulee' instead of 'he tulevat'. (They are. They come.)

• Use the personal pronouns. You can say things like 'Asun Helsingissä', but usually we'd say 'Mä / mää / mie / miä / minä asun Helsingissä.' (I live in Helsinki.

• Say 'Se on vaan joku kirja' and  'Se on jonkun puiston vieressä' instead of 'Se on vain jokin kirja' and 'Se on jonkin puiston vieressä.' (It's just some book. It's next to some park.)

• Say 'Se on jollain muulla.' instead of 'Se on jollakulla muulla.' (Someone else has it.)

• Say 'Kysy joltain muulta' instead of 'Kysy joltakulta muulta.' (Ask someone else.)

• Say 'Anna se jollekin muulle.' instead of 'Anna se jollekuulle muulle.' (Give it to someone else.)

Verb forms

• Forget the vat ending and just use the singular conjugation ne on and ne oli instead of he ovat and he olivat. (they are, they were)

• Say me ollaan instead of me olemme and me oltiin instead of me olimme.  (we are, we were)

• Say me ei olla instead of me emme ole and me ei oltu instead of me emme olleet. (we aren't , we weren't)  

• Ask Mitä me tehtäis? instead of Mitä me tekisimme? (What shall we do? What would we do?)

• The question ending ko is actually ks or ts.

Pronunciation

• Drop the d and say kaheksan, yheksän, nähään, tehään and ootan instead of kahdeksan, yhdeksän, nähdään, tehdään and odotan. (eight, nine, See you, Let's do, I wait)

• Don't be so careful with the pronunciation of two different vowels in a row. Say maitoo, juustoo, kinkkuu, vihree and  pehmee instead of maitoa, juustoa, kinkkua, vihreä and pehmeä. (some milk, some cheese, some ham, green and soft)

• Drop the t in the past participle active and say en ollu instead of en ollut.

• Don't be so careful with the endings. Some people say Helsingis instead of Helsingissä. Että is et, mutta is mut, sitten is sit, and so on. (that, but, then)

Other features

• Possessive suffixes are not really used in spoken language. What is kirjani is standard Finnish is usually mun, miun, or minun kirja in spoken Finnish. Now that I think of it, the only time I do use possessive suffixes is in expresssions like mun tietääkseni, as far as I know.

• Say 'vaan' instead of 'vain' (only).

• Say 'ku' instead of 'kuin' (than).

Hyödyllisiä linkkejä - Useful links:

• Loan words
• Words ending with -ari or -äri
• Words that I don't use (because I'm not cool enough)
• Confusing spoken language expressions (kylmä musta mäki)
• Urbaani sanakirja
• Puhutsä suomee? A course about puhekieli

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. Follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.  If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do it here.