I regularly share bite-sized spoken Finnish on Facebook and Threads. Each week, I’ll collect them here so you can catch up anytime.
Miten koputat ovee?
Learn Puhekieli from Real Finnish 
Ootsä koskaan miettiny…
Puhekieli
ootsä = oletko sinä (have you ever)
miettiny = miettinyt (thought about)
English Have you ever thought about…
Et kun sä meet jonkun ovelle ja koputat sitä ovee —
Puhekieli
sä = sinä (you)
meet = menet (go)
jonkun ovelle = to someone’s door
ovee = ovea (the door, partitive)
English Like when you go to someone’s door and knock on it —
nii sun ei tarvii nostaa kättä ylös?
Puhekieli
nii = niin (so / like)
sun = sinun (your)
ei tarvii = ei tarvitse (don’t need to)
nostaa kättä = lift your hand
English …so you don’t need to raise your hand?
Tällee. — Sit sä voisit vaa…
Puhekieli
tällee = tällä tavalla (like this)
sit = sitten (then)
voisit vaa = voisit vain (you could just)
English Like this. — Then you could just…
Sä voisit olla vaa sillee niiku pitää kädet tässä ja —
Puhekieli
voisit olla vaa = voisit vain olla (you could just be)
sillee niiku = sillä tavalla niin kuin (like, kind of)
pitää kädet tässä = keep your hands here
English You could just kind of keep your hands here and —
olla sillee tollee mut se ois vaan tosi outoo.
Puhekieli
sillee tollee = sillä tavalla tuolla tavalla (like that, that way)
ois = olisi (would be)
outoo = outoa (weird, partitive)
English …be like that, but it would just be really weird.
Toi ois psykopaattista. — Se ois.
Puhekieli
toi = tuo (that)
ois = olisi (would be)
psykopaattista = psychopathic (partitive)
English
That would be psychopathic. — It would.
Se on vähän ku sä joisit kahvin pillillä.
Puhekieli
vähän ku = vähän kuin (a bit like)
joisit = would drink (conditional)
pillillä = with a straw
English
It’s a bit like drinking coffee through a straw.
Ei, toi ois ihan sekopäistä.
Puhekieli
toi = tuo (that)
ois = olisi (would be)
ihan = completely
sekopäistä = crazy, insane (partitive)
English
No, that would be completely insane.
Villasukka-sääntö
Learn Puhekieli from Real Finnish
Onks sulla villasukkien alla normisukat?
Puhekieli
onks = onko (is there / do you have)
sulla = sinulla (you have)
villasukkien alla = under the wool socks
normisukat = normaalisukat (normal/regular socks)
English
Do you have regular socks under your wool socks?
On, koska on kylmä.
Puhekieli
on = yes / there are (short answer)
koska on kylmä = because it’s cold
English
Yes, because it’s cold.
No nimenomaan sen takia siellä ei pidetä normisukkia.
Puhekieli
no nimenomaan = well, exactly / that’s precisely why
sen takia = because of that / for that reason
siellä ei pidetä = (they) are not worn there (passive)
normisukkia = regular socks (partitive)
English
Well, that’s exactly why you don’t wear regular socks under them.
Ei se villa toimi noin.
Puhekieli
ei toimi = doesn’t work
se villa = the wool
noin = like that / that way
English
Wool doesn’t work like that.
Villa ei toimi noin.
(Same meaning, slightly more standard word order — emphatic repetition – accepted the truth)
English
Wool just doesn’t work that way.
Villa pitää laittaa…
Puhekieli
pitää laittaa = has to be put / you have to put
(sentence trails off)
English
Wool has to be put…
Ihoa vasten, se on kyl totta.
Puhekieli
ihoa vasten = against the skin
se on kyl totta = se on kyllä totta (that’s actually true)
kyl = kyllä (yes / indeed)
English
Against the skin — that’s actually true.
Alottelija.
Puhekieli
alottelija = aloittelija (beginner, rookie)
English
Rookie. (said teasingly — implying the other person doesn’t know the wool sock rule)
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