Tietosanakiria
An 11 Volume Finnish Encyclopedia 1909-1922
Basic Greetings
(Hyvää) huomenta – Good morning
(Hyvää) päivää – Good afternoon (literally "Good day")
(Hyvää) iltaa – Good evening
Hyvää yötä / Öitä – Good night / Good night
Terve! / Moro! – Hello!
Heippa! / Moikka! / Hei hei! / Moi moi! – Bye!
Nähdään – See you later (literally "will be seen")
Näkemiin / Hyvästi – Goodbye
Kiitos – Thank you
Mitä kuuluu? – How are you / How you doing? (Not used among strangers.) (literally "what is heard?")
Tervetuloa! – Welcome
Important Words and Phrases
minä, sinä, hän – I, you, he/she
me, te, he – we, you, they
minä olen – I am
sinä olet - you are
minä rakastan sinua – I love you
anteeksi – forgive me, excuse me
Suomi – Finland
Mitä kuuluu? – How are you? (note: not used among strangers)
¹Puhut(te)ko englantia? – Do you speak English?
¹Olet(te)ko englantilainen? – Are you English?
The te is added to make the sentence formal. Otherwise, without the added "-te", it is informal. It is also added when talking to more than one person. The transition from second-person singular to second-person plural (teitittely) is a politeness pattern, advised by many "good manners guides".