When you visit Finland, you are bound to notice that there are a ton of different Finnish greetings! What do they all mean? And how do Finns use them?
Allow me to tackle these questions for you head-on. These are the perfect go-to greetings because they are short and super easy to say!
Once you’re confident in simply saying “hello” in Finnish, the next step is to strengthen your conversation skills.
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Table of Contents
Common Finnish Greetings
(In Finnish: Yleisiä suomalaisia tervehdyksiä)
- Hei
- Heips
- Heippa
- Moi
- Moikka
- Moro
- Terve
All words above mean “Hi”.
Finns usually greet each other in an informal way, so you can use these conversational greetings in 99% of all situations.
Hei, Moi and Moikka are the most popular ones.
Moi and Moikka are particularly common among younger people and family members. Moro was first used only in Tampere region but now you can hear it all over Finland.
Psst… Come say “moi” to me on Instagram and add more Finland to your life instantly!
More Formal Finnish Greetings
(In Finnish: Virallisempia suomalaisia tervehdyksiä)
- Tervehdys (Greetings)
- Hyvää huomenta (Good morning)
- Hyvää päivää (Good day)
- Hyvää iltaa (Good evening)
Tervehdys is mostly used in writing and public speaking. For example, a teacher could write a letter for the pupils’ parents with the title Syystervehdys koululta! (Autumn greetings from the school) or a speech could start with the words Tervehdys ystävät (Greetings friends).
Hyvää huomenta is used in both formal and casual settings. It’s a very popular phrase and you’ll most likely hear it a lot in Finland. The short version of this greetings is just Huomenta!
Hyvää päivää and Hyvää iltaa are very formal. A TV news reporter opens up with those phrases. If I ever met the president, I would use one of these three expressions.
Finnish Expressions when You Are Leaving
(In Finnish: Suomalaisia ilmauksia kun olet lähdössä)
- Heihei (Goodbye)
- Moimoi (Bye-bye)
- Moikka (Bye-bye)
- Hyvää päivänjatkoa (Have a nice day, formal)
- Hyvää illanjatkoa (Have a nice evening, formal)
- Kivaa päivää! (Have a nice day, casual)
- Kivaa iltaa! (Have a nice evening, casual)
Heihei is a neutral way of saying goodbye in Finnish. Moimoi and Moikka are more casual.
It is interesting to know that Hyvää päivänjatkoa and Hyvää illanjatkoa are used a bit differently in Finnish than in many other languages.
If I translate them word to word, they would be Good continuation of day and Good continuation of evening in English. That sounds quite silly when translated!
Anyway, these phrases are used particularly in service situations in Finland. After a dinner, your waiter often nods and wishes you Hyvää illanjatkoa. In a shop, the salesperson might say Hyvää päivänjatkoa when you are leaving.
I wouldn’t use these phrases with a friend, colleague or family member because it sounds quite formal. I’d rather say: Kivaa päivää! or Kivaa iltaa!
Hello in Finnish
(In Finnish: Hello suomeksi)
So what is the most versatile greeting word in Finnish?
In my opinion, the best Finnish greeting word is Hei. Say it once when you arrive to any situation and say it twice when you are leaving. Unbelievably simple!
The pronunciation is easy to remember because of it’s said exactly like the word hay in English.
Hei and heihei suit all ages and are neutral in any formal or informal setting. You really can’t go wrong with Hei!
“Hello, How Are You” in Finnish
(In Finnish: “Hello, how are you” suomeksi)
The quickly said sentence “Hello, how are you!” is a common greeting phrase, especially in the US. Say it in Finland and most Finns will be confused.
That’s because, in Finland, “How are you?” is a proper question demanding an answer. Thus, we Finns start thinking about our wellbeing, how we have been and what we should answer. Only the most internationally-savvy Finns will have the prompt answer “Great, how are you!”
So, for a Finn, asking ‘How are you?’ is already a conversation topic, mostly used among friends and family. If you love knowing this sort of cultural differences, be sure to read my post 50 Cultural Things that Help You Understand a Finn. My list is full of funny observations like this one!
Other Finnish Greeting Habits
(In Finnish: Suomalaisia tervehdystapoja)
Besides the words, there’s also non-verbal things to consider. Nodding your head or shaking hands are both appropriate ways to greet in Finland.
I always offer my hand for a shake to avoid awkward situations when I say Hei. In Finland, pretty much only friends and family hug each other. Kissing is for sweethearts.
In business life, say your preferred greeting word, name and shake hands when meeting new people. It doesn’t matter who is the initiator of this procedure, it’s always a good move.
Finally, don’t worry if there’s no smooth transition into small talk after shaking hands. Being silent together is normal in the Finnish culture, also in the business world. If you want to learn more about Finnish small talk, check out my funny and helpful post here.
The Tutorial Video for Pronouncing Finnish Greetings
How to pronounce the most popular 15 Finnish greeting words? Practice with my quick pronunciation video!
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Do you have any questions about Finnish greetings? What’s your favorite greeting word in Finnish? Comment below and let me know!
Looking for more information about the Finnish language and culture? Check out some of my other posts:
- Best Free and Paid Finnish Language Learning Resources for Beginners!
- Quick Guide to Finnish Language Basics
- 50 Cultural Facts on Finland that Help You Understand Finns
- Famous Finnish Sayings about Life that Will Inspire You
- 20 Cute Finnish Nicknames for Your Loved One
Warm wishes from Finland,
Varpu
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Hello there!
I’m Varpu. One blonde,
travel-loving,
Finnish engineer driving this site.
My neighbor in the United States is from Finland. Great guy who speaks great English. His dad comes to visit from Finland once a year but speaks no English. I asked Karo how to great him. He told me just say “morreyence” sort of rolling the r’s. I’m sure this isn’t spelled correctly and I’m probably not saying it correctly. seeing moro is a common Finnish greeting, that is probably part of what I am saying. What is he telling me to say, how do you spell it and what does it mean?
Hei Terry! Yes, I’d be happy to help you. HE was most likely saying “Morjens”, I think your way of writing the sound looks very accurate! Morjens also means hello!, like moro. It’s a very relaxed friendly way of greeting, mostly used by guys. 🙂
My husband(deceased) used to shake the grandkids hands and say Hyvaa hyvaa , then what sounded like goingas, huomenta. What would that middle word be?
Hei Kathy! Thank you so much for your question. Goingas sounds like “kuinkas” to me. That means “how” in a really nice, relaxed way in spoken Finnish. You could say, for example, How are you? = Kuinkas voit? or How is it going? = Kuinkas menee? 🙂
I want a visit to Finland
Hei Varpu, Thanks for another great post. One suggestion that may be helpful to those wanting to learn Finnish culture is by joining Facebook groups such as “Finns Are Awesome”. The Finish Problems Hangout” and “I love Finland.” I know the Finns don’t care much for the Swedes, but I am considering taking a cruise to Stockholm from Helsinki. The only issue I have with this is deciding what to do there for only 8 hours. Same with taking the ferry to Estonia. My only source I have been able to find is on TripAdvisor. Thanks Again, “Sunny Jackson? :))
Hei Laura! I’m so happy you liked this post. I also went ahead and added myself into the FB groups you mentioned. I belong to many but these were totally new to me. Thank you for sharing! <3 Stockholm and Tallinn are hugely popular destinations for Finns. You can easily spend 8 hours in both. In Tallinn, I love the old town and boho Telliskivi area. Stockholm is gorgeous. Visit the old town there as well and just wandering in the city center is lovely. My blogging goal is to have a city guide for Tallinn, Stockholm and St. Petersburg in the future. They are wonderful and a natural fit to a Finland visit.
Amazing! Its really amazing post, I have got much clear idea on the topic of from this piece of writing.
Thank you, kiitos! I’m so happy to hear that!
hei Varpu saaks kysyy ootko ollut lapssenakin näin kaunis ja nätti?
Ooh, voi kiitos kommentista. <3 Musta oon aina ollut tavallinen hymyilevä tyttö 🙂
kiitos!
Ole hyvä! 🙂
I am excited to get to know more Finnish. I have basic pronunciation down, since My Finnish grandparents came to the US as children. We never were taught the language, only certain words (mostly food and greetings) I do speak Swedish, also, since my best friend is from Sweden and insisted that I attend her beginning and intermediate Swedish classes.
Kathy, that’s so great to hear!! Food and greetings are the best topics, right?! Awesome that you speak Swedish, too.
There’s one more thing about Finnish greetings that is sometimes confusing to foreigners: In Finland you should only greet each person once. So for example at work, never say “Good morning” to your colleague if you have already seen and greeted him/her earlier that morning. And Finns actually perfectly naturally keep track of all the people they’ve greeted on that day! It’s not that natural to some foreigners, and when they slip out a second “Good morning” to a Finnish colleague, he might give them a funny look and say “You already said that”.
Hei Andy! Wow, this is such a wonderful piece of advice! I haven’t realized that we go about like this but you are completely right! 😀 I’d never say “Good Morning!” twice to anybody. Thank you so much!
Hei,
I do speak Finnish. How about putting this on YouTube so I can listen while working? Kiitos ja moimoi.
Moi Eva! I’m so happy you liked this post. The video is already on Youtube for you to listen. <3