Finnish sayings are the backbone of the Finnish culture. These ten famous Finnish proverbs on life help people to have a better understanding towards others and act right in surprising or unpleasant situations.
As every language is full of old meaningful sayings and they are full of ancient words and sentence structures, I have used some artistic liberty in the translation. My goal has been to honor these favorites with my translation.
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Ten Famous Finnish sayings
#1 The morning is wiser than the evening.
In Finnish: Aamu on iltaa viisaampi. Meaning: If you’re unsure, feeling stressed or discouraged, sleep on it. The morning shows things in the right perspective.
#2 Who asks for the road doesn’t get lost.
In Finnish: Ei kysyvä tieltä eksy. Meaning: If you’re unsure you should ask.
#3 Work teaches the worker.
In Finnish: Työ tekijäänsä neuvoo. Meaning: It’s okay to be slow when you start something new. You will get better and faster after a while.
#4 The brave eats the soup.
In Finnish: Rohkea rokan syö. Meaning: Fortune favors the brave.
#5 Emergency finds the way.
In Finnish: Hätä keinot keksii. Meaning: Things always get solved, when it’s last minute or a critical situation.
#6 The forest returns your yell.
In Finnish: Niin metsä vastaa, kuin sinne huudetaan. When you want to highlight the fact that people treat you how you treat them.
#7 What comes as a song, leaves as a whistle.
In Finnish: Mikä laulaen tulee, se viheltäen menee. Describes that you have to work hard in life. The things that come easy, are easily gone, according to Finns.
#8 If you have been given a spoonful, you cannot demand a bucketful.
In Finnish: Jos on lusikalla annettu, ei voi kauhalla vaatia. This saying describes that you cannot expect that all people understand everything. There’s always somebody (foolish or stupid) who is not understanding a wise decision or rational way of things.
#9 The pot blames the kettle, yet both have a black side.
In Finnish: Pata kattilaa soimaa, musta kylki kummallakin. Used in situations in which both parties are equally responsible but one is trying their best to be innocent. Often said by an adult to children.
#10 What?
In Finnish: Mitä? Used by a Finnish woman. You have been given the one and only chance to improve your last-spoken sentence. Do it wisely.
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Hello there!
I’m Varpu. One blonde,
travel-loving,
Finnish engineer driving this site.
I think mita (what?). Could be hah? It’s ingrained in this Finnish American.
For sure! I also feel that that is a great translation for Mitä?! 😀
Do you know of a Finnish saying that translates as “Happiness does not come from searching for it, but by living.”? It was quoted in a recent article about ice swimming. I couldn’t find it anywhere else besides reposts of that article, so I’m wondering if it was recently made up to promote ice swimming. Kiitos.
Hei Carl! You have such a wonderful question! Yes, there’s such a saying! In Finnish it goes: Onni ei tule etsien, vaan eläen. Another version is: Onnie ei tule etsien, se saapuu eläen. <3 It's very much a straight translation. 🙂
Fascinating website it is!I’ll visit again and again.
Hei, thank you so much! I’m so happy you found my blog!
My mother’s äiti used say “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” When I was a kid and wish for a toy or a bike that’s I heard. I knew she didn’t have much raha.
Hi Ken, thanks for adding that saying! To me, that proverb is somehow poetically beautiful. Kiitos!
Kyllä, kyllä tästä selvitään, Hisun kisun keino keksitää!
My spelling may be wrong, but I sing this often to come to a creative solution.
Hi Rachel! Your spelling is great! I love how you are using this phrase, awesome 😀
JOS ei viina, terva ja sauna auta, niin tauti on kuolemaksi. I like this one.
If booze, tar or sauna won’t cure it, then the disease is fatal.
Finns are nothing if not direct at times.
Hhahahhahha, I agree. That saying is awesome and often used, too. Usually said by men here in Finland 😉
I find this very interesting as I am a Canadian born Finn. Both my parents came from Finland and we spoke Finnish but I have lost most of it because I have no one to speak it with. My sister and I visited Finland in 1982. We stayed with an aunt in Vantaa and loved it. I found then that our Finnish was different in many ways from that spoken there. We did manage to speak with our relatives. Also they used some English words such as normaali for one. I think I would have used tavallinen. Is that correct?
Hi Viola! You have a fascinating point and I think it’s very true that the language has evolved in Finland. There are many words borrowed from English. Tavallinen and normaali are both correct Finnish! And both are used! 🙂
My grandparents and great grandparents came from Finland as well. My aunt visited Finland a few years ago and found the same thing. Most of the Finnish spoken in Canada at this time is approaching or more than 100 years old as far as new words and expressions go. The speakers have mostly learned from their parents and grandparents and until recently have been linguistically isolated from the constantly evolving language in Finland.
It is no different than English, which has new words, words no longer used, etc. than the language of 100 or even 500 years ago.
Yes, exactly so David! I find the evolving and isolated languages fascinating!
There’s a song we do called TÄVÄLLINEN TYÖTTA. “Ordinary girl”. Our band is Kilpelä and Friends Finnish Polka Band. We are from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Been together almost 21 years.
Wow, that sounds really awesome! I love your name also, it’s very Finnish with the polka 😀
Hei Varpu,
What a wonderful section this is!
Thank you for putting it together. I love your site in general (very professional, slick and I feel full of good energy) but your last point/phrase had me laughing out loud! .. It really did! .. “What?” / “Mitä?” ..
I know a Finnish girl and boy oh boy, do I know this to be true!
Keep up the excellent work and thank you again,
Jay 😀
Hei Jay! Oh you’re so sweet. Thank you so much! 😀 I know, ‘Mitä’ is such a multipurpose tool in Finnish, mastered by us ladies :DD
Very nice post! Thanks and keep up🙌
Awwww, thank you Maria! So happy you liked the post!
Have you ever heard a Finnish expression that would translate to something like, “Every mother’s own, even froggie’s polliwog”? My mother, a first gen Finn American learned it from her mother, the immigrant from Ostrobothnia around 1902. I’ve not been able to find it online nor does anyone I’ve spoken with know of it.
Hei Joan! What a great question! Yes, we have that saying in Finnish. It’s quite rare nowadays but it exists. It goes “Omansa kunkin hyvä, sammakonkin nuijapää” in Finnish. It’s such a funny way of saying that “for a mum, her child is always perfect/beautiful/good.” Now that I’m a fresh mum, I have to agree 😀
Hei Varpu, Kiitos paljon.
Joan, kiitos sinulle! <3 Ihanaa että pidit tästä kirjoituksesta!
My mother used to say, “well, why is the pot calling the kettle “black!”
Dear Judith, that is a perfect way of saying it! Thank you! I have heard this saying so many times as child too… 😀
spoon/bucket not accurate. Literally: What you’ve been given by spoonful, you cannot demand by bucketful.
Dear LMS, thank you for this good word-to-word version of this saying! Great collaboration!
You have translated all these totally wrong.. these do not mean anything.
Thank you for commenting! I love how much discussion Finnish sayings are inspiring.
Oh, can you please put in the original Finnish? Kiitos!
Hi Peter, thank you for the suggestion! I added the originals in this post. 🙂
Thanks! A big help to us trying to learn Finnish!
Wow, I am so impressed that you want to learn Finnish!