When things are not quite right in Finnish

Monday, September 18, 2017

When things are not quite right in Finnish

Here's a list of expressions that you can use when things (or quite often clothes) are not the correct way. First, see if you have heard these ones before:

nurinkurin
päinvastoin
sikin sokin
takaperin
toisin päin
väärin päin
ylösalaisin

Here are the translations in sentences. Notice that the correct spelling of these expressions is tricky for native Finns as well. Sometimes both forms are correct.

Sun paita on nurinkurin. - Your shirt is inside out.
Mä tarkoitin päinvastoin. - I meant the the opposite way.
Sun huone on ihan sikin sokin! - Your room is a mess! (You can also say mullin mallin, hyrskyn myrskyn or hujan hajan!)
Sun paita on takaperin. - Your shirt is backwards.
Laita ne kengät toisin päin - Put the shoes the other way round.
Sä kirjoitit tämän d-kirjaimen väärin päin. - You wrote this letter d the wrong way.
Käännä se kakku ylösalaisin. - Turn the cake upside down.

Kirjoja sikin sokin!

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About the author of this blog:

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. You can contact me through www.privatefinnishlessons.com. You can subscribe to this blog from the right-hand banner.