Monday, November 28, 2016

Finnish words that mean something else in other languages

..and by something else, I mean something inappropriate. I hope that I don't offend too many readers with this post!

I'm sure that many of you have giggled at this picture of a megapussi: (nowadays it's just a megabag.)




Are you familiar with these everyday Finnish words and their meanings in other languages?
  1. aho
  2. Hui!
  3. jopa
  4. Katso!
  5. kirja
  6. koskaan
  7. kun
  8. lohi
  9. maukas
  10. merta
  11. pukki
  12. suka

Here are the translations and meanings in different languages:

  1. aho - a glade, uncultivated land, also a common Finnish last name (アホ , idiot in Japanese)
  2. Hui! - Oops! (хуй, dick in Russian)
  3. jopa - even (жопа, ass in Russian)
  4. Katso! - Look! (cazzo, a penis in Italian)
  5. kirja - a book (کیریا, a motherf*cker in Farsi)
  6. koskaan - ever (کس کان, a vagina-butt in Farsi)
  7. kun - when (کون, butt in Farsi)
  8. lohi - salmon (лохи, stupid guys in Russian)
  9. maukas - tasty (sluts in Latvian)
  10. merta - a partitive form of meri, a sea (Merda is sh*t in Italian and Portuguese)
  11. pukki - a male goat (пуки, farts in Russian)
  12. suka - a horse brush (сука, slut in Russian) 

Feel free to share more examples in the comments!

If you are wondering which foreign words and names sound funny to Finns, Mr. Pascal Vittu is definitely the winner.


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.

19 comments:

  1. NathalieNovember 28, 2016 at 3:43 PM

    In French, Salo (the name of the city) sounds like "salaud" (asshole) :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 28, 2016 at 6:03 PM

    In spanish:
    - Puuta sounds like "puta" (Whore).
    - Paja means "Wank" (in spanish is pronounced "paha")
    - Name Asko sounds like "asco" (disgust, revulsion)
    - Name Timo means "scam/cheat".

    Not a nice group of words, but it is what it is...

    ReplyDelete
  3. MelanieNovember 28, 2016 at 6:59 PM

    Korva - ear (kurva, whore in Czech)
    Panna - put (virgin in Czech)
    Name Kari - Czech word for curry

    ReplyDelete
  4. liza.foi@gmail.comNovember 28, 2016 at 8:25 PM

    "Suka" in Russian means "bitch".
    "Minkkiä" sounds like "minchia", "cock" in Italian. Great Finnish phrase: "Katso, minkkiä!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousDecember 1, 2016 at 6:20 PM

      "Suka" too can result hilarious to italians since it's a well known dialectal/regional form of the italian imperative "succhia" (that sounds like "sukkia").

      Delete
  5. AnonymousNovember 28, 2016 at 10:08 PM

    Nice list! 'Kuuma' means 'pussy' in swahili. 'Moi' means 'pubic hair' in thai.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Random Finnish Lesson / Hanna MännikkölahtiNovember 28, 2016 at 10:23 PM

      OMG! I did NOT know that. That explains why my Thai students seem to prefer "Hei" or "Terve". Kiitos! :)

      Delete
  6. Tommy QuistNovember 29, 2016 at 12:45 PM

    Some of these are quite a stretch. The pronunciation of the Х in most of Russia (a voiceless velar fricative) sounds nothing like its glottal and pharyngeal cousins found in Finnish.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousNovember 29, 2016 at 5:59 PM

    Could you make a post about "cool greetings"? I met a Finnish friend the other day, and when we met he slapped my hand and said "mitäs jätkä". I just stood there like an idiot. I don't understand the whole "mitäs tässä"-thing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. kaefNovember 29, 2016 at 6:43 PM

    Some other examples:
    matka - "mother" in Polish
    paska - genitive of "belt" in Polish
    sana - "I hope" in Tagalog
    muna - "first" ("ensiksi") in Tagalog

    Note that all of them have stress on the first syllable, like in Finnish :).

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousDecember 1, 2016 at 2:11 PM

    there's a huge difference in pronunciation of Finnish jopa and Russian жопа...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Paula BorkowskiDecember 2, 2016 at 10:55 AM

    One of my favorites of these "false friends" (words that look or sound the same but have different meaning) is the word 'runo'. In Finnish, it means "a poem". In Polish, it means the layer of small plants etc. on the ground in the forest. I don't know how to call it in English :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousDecember 4, 2016 at 2:24 PM

    It may be best not to offer 'pulla' to a Romanian... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_profanity

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousDecember 7, 2016 at 3:40 PM

    In Hungarian, 'persze' (pronounced as 'perse') means 'of course' :) So we try to avoid using it in Finland :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousDecember 8, 2016 at 12:54 PM

    Asunto in Spanish (stressed in the U) means a matter or subject.

    ReplyDelete
  14. jose peiranoMay 13, 2018 at 8:43 AM

    Well... A lot of them come to mi mind right now:

    - Osa: a part in finnish, a female bear in spanish.
    - Asunto: apartment in finnish, subject in spanish.
    - Pala: piece or imperative of burn in finnish, a shovel in spanish.
    - Selva: in finnish selvä, clear. Means jungle in spanish.
    - Sota: war in finnish, in Argentina is a person who pretends not knowing something in order to get an advantage. Also one of the Spanish deck of cards.
    - Pelotón: (peloton in finnish) means fearless... But in spanish is a squadron or group of soldiers.
    - Susi: a wolf in finnish, diminutive for "Susana" (name) in spanish.
    - Peto: beast in finnish, the armor part for the chest in spanish.
    - Número: also number in spanish, the accent only means stress in that syllabe.
    -Olla: to be in finnish, a cooking pot in spanish.
    - Paja: a workshop in finnish, an impolite word for masturbation in spanish.
    - Tapa: way or imperative of kill in finnish, cover/top/cap in spanish.
    - Sana: a word in finnish, imperative of "sanar" (to heal/ become better or recover health) in spanish.
    - Jumala: god in finnish, a popular brand of spices in Argentina. (Not very good quality).
    - Palo: a fire in finnish, a stick in spanish.
    - Lento: a flight in finnish, means "slow" in spanish.
    - Rata: a gear or cog wheel in finnish, a rat in spanish.
    - Ratas: same as above, "rats" in plural.

    ReplyDelete
  15. statprogSeptember 10, 2018 at 7:50 PM

    inflated in Arabic ;
    Kuusi 6 means my vagina
    Keskus, kus = vagina
    Kyllä = no
    Ei = yes

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownSeptember 10, 2018 at 10:05 PM

    Here's my list of Macedonian - Finnish false friends:

    Word - Meaning in Finnish - Meaning in Macedonian

    jäsen - member - (adjective, masculine) clear
    kusi - (vulgar) urine, piss - (plural, of length) short
    kasi - (colloquial) eight - cash registers
    kasa - heap, stack - to bite
    kuka - who, whoever - hook
    kori - basket - barks, crusts, pastry sheet
    koska - because, when - bone
    koski - rapid (river) - bones
    matka - trip - womb, uterus
    se - it - all
    ne - they (plural of "se") - no
    no - well - but
    putka - drunk tank, jail - (vulgar) vagina
    putki - tube, pipe - (vulgar) vaginas
    turva - protection, safety, security - (colloquial) to pour
    veri - blood - to become engaged

    ReplyDelete