REACTING TO WEIRD FINNISH SAYINGS & IDIOMS

[@davecad]

I guess this is getting recommended again 😅 Welcome everyone!

[@wilmaj3885]

Yeap

[@edecarabine]

The best one is "vettä tullee ku esterin perseestä"

[@teasdaye]

Personally the way I've heard "sillä sipuli" being used most often is more like "that's that", like when your mum's telling you that "you're going to bed right now and that's that", meaning the matter is finished and there's no arguing back.

[@harse4049]

^^^^

[@thescarfispurple5727]

Agreed

[@htchtc203]

Juurikin näin. That's right

[@SimonJification]

PERIOD!

[@eebi7373]

Me too Edit. Minä myös

[@mlgcheesebugga6129]

Helppo nakki = Piece of cake

[@onboard3]

Piece of cake = pala kakkua :) (I always just use that, don't think I've ever put 'helppo nakki' in a sentence, just in mouth) And yes, it's just straight translation of the English saying and not the true Finnish sausage.

[@Juhanikki.]

I would also translate the idiom to peace of cake.

[@timomastosalo]

@@onboard3 So you've just adopted the English phrase. If you haven't really heard 'helppo nakki', in the 'piece of cake' context, it just shows how quickly culture can change. I've heard it all my life, and some millennials even use it. Though they go more extreme in what we did, the way the English based TV programs and internet swing us. And we, the generation X, were already drinking the 'American dream' in our mother's milk. So the speed of americanization is just getting faster. Preparing us to be phone obeying consumers. The quick change is a warning also not to swallow everything from English :) Are we some 'wannabe Americans'? Well, I was heavily pulled to that direction as a teen, since my 20's I started to rethink it. We're making it all too easy for them to sell us what they want (not what we need), if we voluntarly make this country a 'Yankee colony'. It's not in our best interest. International, yes - but independent as well. Respect your roots. Nobody else will do it for you. Our choice. Or we'll be begging for acceptance from others forever - and that's not a beautiful sight. So what else is new? Each generation just invents new methods to shame their roots, and dream of the grass on the other side of the fence. Just, it doesn't have t be like that. English doesn't have the right answers, always.

[@pasiojala3227]

easy as pie

[@onboard3]

@@timomastosalo Hope not all of that wall of text was meant for me :D I prefer one English saying out of hundreds of Finnish ones, doesn't quite make me an American nor forgetting my roots :P Other than that good post.

[@rrrreidlin]

he wasn't IN a tub of fermented milk, he was the tub of fermented milk ;D

[@MR-ub6sq]

Exactly.

[@lassesipila6418]

My understanding is that the full version of that saying goes "Olla viileä kuin viilipytty", which is "To be as cool as a tub of fermented milk", so just "To be cool" and pick any weird cool object for emphasis and the message becomes the same: "To be particularly cool in regards to the situation".

[@lassehaggman]

@@lassesipila6418 I don't think coolness is a factor here. The point is that a tub of viili (specifically the surface) is very stable and smooth even when the liquids around spill and shake.

[@sirseigan]

@@lassesipila6418 "cool" like in "cold" or like in "calm", "collected", "undisturbed"? There is a similar saying in Swedish "Lugn som en filbunke" (calm like a bucket-of-sourmilk), that is why I am asking...

[@lassesipila6418]

@@sirseigan Rather in the latter way, though I don't know the point in the saying without the double-meaning.

[@kunziodyne]

Sopii kuin nyrkki silmään = Fits like a fist in the eye. It's basically just the same as "fits like a glove".

[@CultOfMU]

Sopii kuin isi äitiin

[@Urbaaniapina]

Or "kuin naula silmään" nail to the eye or "nappi silmään" a button for the eye.

[@suparauta8026]

Mun mummo käytti tota sanontaa. 🤣

[@Urbaaniapina]

@@aleks5405 No varmaan riippuu keltä kysyy... Ite oon aina tulkinnu sen nuken nappisilmäksi. Nappi otsaan on kyllä tuttu sanonta myös, mutta minusta ne ei oo samat, toki voin olla väärässä 😅

[@lpsfoxstar8454]

suomalaiset huomattavasti väkivaltaisempia kuin muu maailma huomaan XD

[@6891x]

Butterfingers would be mämmikoura in Finnish. :D

[@are4254]

Or "rähmänäppi".

[@suomixs3506]

purplefox *FURRY ALERT*

[@HeapOfBones]

mämmikoura and rähmäkäpälä are the ones I've heard a lot, and I guess saranasormi from volley ball jargon has adopted a similar meaning on occasion

[@Vieindra]

@Shadow Plays nakkisormia on viljelty täälläkin päin, rähmäkäpälää on käytetty jos onnistuu pilaamaan jonkin

[@KolliOde]

Tuhannen pillunpäreiks Ei tästä tuu lasta eikä paskaa! :D

[@Urbaaniapina]

Noi on kyl hyvät!

[@ndnddndndnnodemnnnddndndn]

fake ode

[@Benderkekekekekeke]

se on tuhannen pillunpäreiksi

[@KolliOde]

@@Benderkekekekekeke jep

[@matikkavideot]

Mutta tiedättekö, mikä se pillunpäre on?

[@Urbaaniapina]

I think that "lähteä lapasesta" saying was very badly translated. In Finnish its basically the same as "(things) got out of hand" and instead of hand we prefer saying glove/mitten.

[@Songfugel]

Yeah, most of the translation's for the idioms and sayings were quite off

[@GenetMJF]

But that translation is also an idiom

[@onboard3]

"Lähti mopo lapasesta" aka "lose control of moped" where moped can mean teenage moped, or bigger pikes or cars. Where (usually) young persons are showing off and fail. Is the usual, at least I've never used it in other than motorized vehicles. And it also fits, as you use mittens on winter driving your mopeds and it's easier to lose control when it's slippery :)

[@Tompala97]

@@onboard3 Was looking for this. I use this if someone goes over their capabilities and loses control over "the thing/activity". (losing the control of a moped usually leads to a crash. Yet because of you, and your urge to show off, the thing got out of control in the first place)

[@6891x]

@@onboard3 Never heard "lähti mopo lapasesta", I think "mopo karkasi käsistä" is more common.

[@KalloSkull]

I think "Ken kuuseen kurkottaa, se katajaan kapsahtaa" is basically like saying you'll get what's coming to you, but only in the negative sense. It's not really about selling yourself short or having no ambitions, but basically about people who reach for things for the *wrong* ambitions, and also think too highly of themselves to the point they think they're above other people.

[@latek4019]

This. I had to cringe a little bit at the idea the book gave 😬

[@tiltu5766]

Similar to "joka toiselle kuoppaa kaivaa, se itse siihen lankeaa" i think. Translates to 'who digs a hole for someone else falls in it themselves.'

[@KalloSkull]

@@latek4019 The author of the book picked pretty good idioms, but many of the translations were rather poor, I must say. I feel like they tried to translate too directly and thus lost the meaning in quite a few cases. Should've just translated in a more regular way. Such as "Helppo nakki" would've been much better if it was just translated as "Piece of cake" instead.

[@jounipoylio9905]

As I see it, it refers to an overambitious person getting disappointed by a minor obstacle to which he didn't pay attention.

[@johan.ohgren]

I thought this would be like the swedish "den som gapar efter mycket missar ofta hela stycket". Meaning that if you're trying to catch to much will cause you to often loose the entire catch.

[@TheLatokuivaaja]

vetää herne nenään - to pull a pea into the nose - to get annoyed about something kinda on purpose I generally like to use the exaggerated version vetää palkokasvi nenään - to pull a legume (plant) into the nose homma hanskassa - the job is in the glove - things are getting done no problem, the job is in hand and a continuation: hanskat hukassa - the gloves are missing ei mitään käryä - no smell of burning at all - no clue about something, not knowing anything about something ei harmainta aavistusta - not the greyest idea - not having even the vaguest idea about something tässä on koira haudattuna - there is a dog buried here - something fishy/suspicious is going on olla kana kynimättä - to have a chicken unplucked - to have beef with someone, to have something to talk about with someone olla oma lehmä ojassa - to have one's own cow in the ditch - to have an agenda, to have ulterior motives Finnish has a lot of agriculture/farming idioms because most Finns lived in the countryside until 1960s.They're a lot of fun tbh. And I really like your guesses, even though I had not heard of all of them before (the rabbit one was unfamiliar). Hope you like some of my above favourites xD

[@bluumberry]

These are way better than the majority of things that were in that book.

[@gradgeri8581]

These are the sayings and idioms he has to know since they are so popular

[@bluumberry]

To add to "ei mitään käryä" I've never heard of käryä being used so maybe it's regional, I've heard and used "hajua" all my life instead.

[@ilkkamiinalainen7116]

@@bluumberry well i mean at least it occurs a lot in vantaa so:P

[@sonjaimmonen6610]

I also like the variation "vetää hernarit nenään" hernari = hernekeitto = peasoup.

[@Urbaaniapina]

"Viilata linssiin" (file you in the lense) means well, someone is trying to deseave you. If you have glasses and someone files your lenses, you cant see too well. And refering lense as a thing you usually look through. Well, I think you get the idea now! 😅😅

[@Garbox80]

And there's also the more rude version "kusta silmään" (to pee one in the eye), but that's always a serious hoax or betrayal, while "viilata linssiin" is usually a lot lighter, friend pulling a joke or so.

[@Sir_Baddington]

also eyes have lenses too

[@TulilaSalome]

@@Sir_Baddington Yep, I do think in this it is just a jokey way to say 'eye'. Silmänkääntäjä, kusta silmään - other idioms refer to the eye but viilata silmään sounds a bit bloody and awful. Viilata linssiin has a a lot of i so it sounds fun too.

[@Jako1987]

@@Sir_Baddington Yes. "Somebody files your eye" is what comes to my mind when I heard that.

[@JDelwynn]

Deceive, not deseave.

[@karoliinalitzen6266]

Kulkee kuin mummo lumessa. Moves like granny in the snow.

[@user-ph4qs4vz6w]

Karoliina Litzén se on eteempäin sano mummo lumessa

[@oliverhytonen2966]

refference from the cold war

[@taikajorma7276]

Karoliina Litzén Ja lemböölön herran mukaan - - Sano mummo ku pikkasen liukastu NIH

[@WarriorCats30]

@@user-ph4qs4vz6w Kaks eri sanontaa.

[@obba3661]

@@taikajorma7276 Kahvia naamariin sanoi mummo kun sanoi mummo

[@JulesVonBasslake]

I feel that the translation provided for "Juosta pää kolmantena jalkana" is a bit... Off, let's say. The way i've always understood it is that you're in a hurry, you're running as fast as you can.

[@derpdiu]

And I've always understood it just the way Dave used it, to kind of do things in a hurry without really knowing what you're doing.

[@onboard3]

@@derpdiu Almost with you there, but for me it's: You are too busy (for the timeframe) to get get the things done you would normally be able to do. Like Christmas shopping on last minute "juosta pää kolmantena jalkana lahjojen perässä".

[@katrimarjaana82]

@@derpdiu But we have the exact saying for that, juosta kuin päätön kana.

[@Juhanikki.]

Pää kolmantena jalkana for me is when you have just barely too much to do, but you know you can make it in time if you hurry up.

[@tuikkur.5655]

For me it's just running as fast I can. I do that every morning to catch my bus. Juoksen bussiin pää kolmantena jalkana.

[@SatsuHan]

Finnish saying "Meni herne nenään" is one I used a lot while I was in school and one of my favourites is "Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa"

[@Ritaaw1]

SatsuHan eikä kaikki inkkarit kanootissa

[@SatsuHan]

@@Ritaaw1 Ihan totaallisesti unohtanut tuon sanonnan

[@maaretk1917]

Similar and my favorites "Aina ei mee nallekarkit tasan", and "Valot päällä, mutta ketään ei oo kotona"

[@onboard3]

Ei käy kaikilla pytyillä.

[@lassemanninen4750]

Hissi liikkuu mutta ei vintille asti.

[@rami4477]

Kauhistuksen kanahäkki - Chicken cage of terror

[@KarriPekkaKauppinen]

Tämä on kyl yksi mun all time lemppareista :D

[@popaso8282]

Lol

[@ellavirtanen6748]

En oo ees kuullu tommosta sanontaa ja meen kasille😅

[@pottipotti1295]

Samoin ella

[@ellavirtanen6748]

@Naukumaija Mau-mau niin no joo toi on totta

[@teppopierune5520]

It's so funny how it's so "normal" to say "love your videos", but saying "rakastan sinun videoitasi" feels and sounds way too strong and emotional... Btw love your videos Cave Dad.

[@elieli2893]

I think it's just that "rakastaa" is used to only describe very deep emotion. I mean, "tykkään sinun videoistasi" is quite normal? I guess it's just the Finnish norm to downplay expressing emotion? 😅

[@omenalaakso]

I have The same thing with I love you/rakastan sinua in general. The latter just feels More important

[@mattiviljanen8109]

"Love" is just one simple syllable, but "rakastaa" consists of three syllables (arguably more difficult, too). It's easier to slip out "love" than accidentally say "rakastaa" so it is always thoughtfully said. My 2c (:

[@georgedash8293]

"Vuonna nakki ja muussi" Translation: In the year of frankfurters and mashed potatoes. Meaning: A long while ago.

[@tommytuomaala9087]

in the beninging /jacob zuma

[@nellalindeman]

I think its "Vuonna miekka ja nakki"

[@Shalkka]

"Näyttää närhen munat" I think uses the secondary euphenistic meaning of "munat" referring to male private parts. That is to demonstrate a vulgar truth. Bonus imagination points for imagining for how the bird reacts when you flip it upside down. "repiä pelihousut" does have a "quit" meaning too, more like a ragequit the difference between getting angry and getting angry to the point of it interrupting the current activity ("Screw you guys I am going home")

[@derpdiu]

When you try to guess what the rest of the sayings mean, remember to be tarkkana kuin porkkana and maybe you'll get them all correct :)

[@petertapola8097]

sharp as a carrot!

[@FinnProp]

”Se joka kuuseen kurkottaa, se katajaan kapsahtaa.” That used to be my grandmothers saying and I think the meaning was to not reach beyond your means.

[@seikkukaita72]

Yap, trying to take a leap longer than you can, may result in falling off.

[@oonatukia]

helppoa kuin heinän teko = as easy as making hay (when something is a piece of cake) Olla liian monta rautaa tulessa = having too many irons in the fire (trying to manage too many things at the same time) nopeat syövät hitaat = the fast eat the slow (the early bird gets the worm) Tulla apteekin hyllyltä = to come from the farmacy shelf (to know something by heart) Maalata piruja seinille = to paint devils on the walls (to expect the worst) pahaa siinä missä mainitaan = bad where mentioned (speak of the devil)

[@blackheavyblans]

No. Paha siinä missä mainitaan (is like when you speak about somebody and he/She comes near you at the same time)

[@meri-tuuli]

My mom used to say "toi tuli ku kaupan kylmähyllystä" and it basically means the same thing as "apteekin hyllyltä"

[@wombat4191]

@@blackheavyblans That's what "speak of the devil" means. Seems like Oona Tukia didn't explain it outright but gave the idiom that means the same thing in english.

[@leeakorpijaakko6535]

Helppoa kuin heinän teko ei tarkoita että jokin olisi helppoa tehdä.

[@meri-tuuli]

@@leeakorpijaakko6535 itte kyllä ainaki käytän sitä sanontaa siihe että jotain olis helppo tehä

[@alsunpilsut]

Ei mennyt niinkuin Strömsössä = Didn't pan out like in Strömsö (the tv programme where everything turns out perfectly). A saying I use perhaps a bit too much 😅.

[@mattiviljanen8109]

I also use "meni kuin Strömsössä" when things just go perfectly!

[@SatumainenOlento]

@@mattiviljanen8109 I like that! I might use it myself in the future.

[@raatomieli4204]

8:14 olla viilipytty wasnt' "to be ON a tub..." it was "to BE A tub"

[@mattiviljanen8109]

I always think it means to be *like* a full tub tub of fermented milk, which doesn't slush around like a tub of water would. To be not easily stirred.

[@mhhuusko]

@@mattiviljanen8109 Would make a lot of sense. Fermented milk is also kept cool so a tub of fermented milk would be pretty stable and cool.

[@NuubiTuubi1000]

The way I have heard the "fermented milk" saying to be used is "olla viileä kuin viilipytty". I think it's the same as "to be cool as a cucumber" in English. And I've always understood "to run with head as a third leg" the way you described it (same as running around like a headless chicken).

[@hamstsorkxxor]

That exact idiom is exists in Swedish, "lugn som en filbunke" literally meaning "calm like a bucket of fermented milk" (eating fermented milk is a common in the nordic countries!).

[@youngmorgan6799]

Person: Hey how are you? Finnish Person: Whats here

[@MinimiMax]

Finnish person: Healthy, what belongs?

[@teppopierune5520]

Person: Hello Finnish: Day Person: How are you doing? Finnish: What's here, not really anything marvelous. Person: Okay, I'm doing fine. Finnish: mm Person: How is your family? Finnish: öö What's there

[@mattiviljanen8109]

Finnish person 1: What do you hear? Finnish person 2: Not shit in here!

[@pexi86]

Not shit here, when stay as pile.

[@Erkilmarl]

How are you doing? Like trying to burn ice.

[@matiasy7363]

For real, your finnish is good! I like your videos, Jatka samaan malliin!

[@Jappe132]

"Lähti vähän lapasesta"... Is what I said to my fiancee when I told her "I'm just gonna have one beer with friends" but eventually I got home around 7 am totally wasted.

[@11DNA11]

So. It's just a normal finnish evening :)

[@ellavirtanen6748]

Yup

[@fakeystevenson9381]

My all time favourite is: "Olla Hangon keksinä", word to word it's translated "To be as cookie of Hanko". It means smiling with a big smile, because the logo of old cookie factory in Hanko was big smile face.

[@raatomieli4204]

Helppo nakki (easy frankfurter) is basically the finnish version of piece of cake

[@kasvijuuli1086]

piece of cake = pala kakkua

[@thepuksu]

@@kasvijuuli1086 pala kakkua on kauhea anglismi

[@SatumainenOlento]

Niin on! Piece of cake = helppo nakki! Taydellinen kaannos. Perfect translation.

[@seikkukaita72]

Yes, piece of cake, "I can do that, it's an easy job". There's also a resemblance to "nakittaa", "assign a job to someone"

[@Jiepers]

And that is where the nakkisuoja comes from. Job was helppo nakki, but the other nakki will be bad and you then seek for the nakkisuoja.

[@anniegreen9427]

The lens thing refers to someone affecting your vision/view... so you don't see things the way they actually are.

[@mikaelpeltonen96]

That reaching for spruce saying is one of the most famous Finnish sayings. Rarely anyone uses it anymore but describes what the national attitude generally is or at least has been.

[@seikkukaita72]

I'd rather say, it is a reminder for evaluating your resources before taking a challenge (too big). Having read you 孫子.

[@lassehaggman]

It is one of those many depressing Finnish sayings that tell you not to think that you amount to anything - you don't.

[@MinimiMax]

Lähteä lapasesta (leave from the mitten) isn't quite like you described it at the end. It's not so much things generally being out of your control, it's more like a situation that has escalated too much. It sounds very general but it's much more specific than you'd think. In fact "get out of hand" would be a pretty good translation for it. Also, menee yli hilseen (goes over the dandruff) isn't quite the same as something going over your head. It's not like you miss the point of a joke or whatever, it's that you don't understand why something would happen or why someone would do something. "This makes no sense to me", kinda.

[@pexi86]

"Car leave from the mitten"

[@seikkukaita72]

@@pexi86 Yes, "Bemari lähti multa lapasesta mutkassa" - I lost control of my BMW in a bend"

[@JulesVonBasslake]

I don't have the book, so i don't know if these are in it, but here are some more sayings for you to guess: Juosten kustu (pissed while running) Pitäkää tunkkinne (keep your jack) porsaanreikä (a pigs hole) puskaradio (bushradio) ei mennyt niinkuin Strömsössä (didn't go like in Strömsö) Ei se ole hullu joka pyytää, vaan se joka maksaa (it's not he who asks who is mad, but he who pays) ennen virsta väärään kuin vaaksa vaaraan (rather a verst towards wrong than a span/hand to danger) haihtui kuin pieru saharaan (vanished like a fart into the Sahara) and katosi kuin tuhka tuuleen (vanshied like ashes in the wind) (these two mean the same thing) Hullu saa olla, muttei tyhmä (you can be crazy, but not stupid) konstit on monet, sano akka ku kissalla pöytää pyyhki (there's plenty of ways said the hag that wiped the table with a cat) and related vaihtelu virkistää sano kissa ku akalla pöytää pyyhki (variety freshens said the cat the cat while wiping the table with the hag)

[@pistool1]

That Strömsö phrase can be particularly hard to explain to foreigners or Finnish learners because it has some many things deeply related to the Finnish popular culture and contemporary neo-idioms. In addition, if you don't know the background or the Finnish culture, it is somewhat impossible to comprehend :)

[@makipri]

Also ”pitäkää tunkkinne” is almost always used in the wrong context. It comes from a joke about prejudice.

[@JulesVonBasslake]

@@makipri I read the original story and it hardly comes off as real prejudice and more as the guy becoming so annoyed by his hardships in reaching the house he became so delusionally angry as to assume the people there wouldn't even lend him the jack and when he did reach the house and knocked on the door, when the family answered he just shouted "pitäkää tunkkinne" or "keep your jack" and stormed off, much to the confusion of the family. So it's not prejudice really, it's a guy becoming so angry as to lose touch with reality and with it his common sense. And besides, at this point it's become a "lentävä lause", a phrase that has started to live outside of it's original context. It's now used in frustration, regardless of the original story.

[@makipri]

Jon Von Basslake That’s how it goes but I think you just put the same thing in another words. English isn’t my native language.

[@JulesVonBasslake]

@@makipri please look up the definition of prejudice as well as the word you actually meant, since it seems that you didn't actually mean prejudice. And English isn't my native tongue, Finnish is. But given how big of a nerd i am, English is almost like a second language to me...

[@Thergaron]

Oh yes, this is one of my favourote things, translating finnish sayings in english. I hope Chicken cage of Terror comes up on that book.

[@seikkukaita72]

I guess you refered to the "Kauhistuksen kanahäkki!", something to cry out loud when taken by surprise or dismay. Sounds like this could be one of the newer sayings, generated by the Finnish team for Aku Ankka.

[@mhhuusko]

There's also: "Laittaa lusikat jakoon" - To distribute the spoons - To end a relationship

[@dirtynumb]

Mate you're doing fine on the pronounciation, most are spot on. :D My favourite Finnish idiom has to be "syöttää pajunköyttä", to feed someone a rope made out of willow. It means just to lie about things. (i'm struggling with these as well at times, i'm trilingual lol more like TRYlingual ya feel me)

[@hannanelimarkka8332]

My absolute favourite - and one I probably use way too much - is saying that "mennä perse edellä puuhun" - to climb the tree ass first.

[@tommytuomaala9087]

typical project management issue. sales promises to much and management impementing unreasoneable scedules for othera to solve.

[@MR-ub6sq]

7:33 The phrase "To run your head on the third leg" rather refers to such a uncontrollable / reckless hurrying, which in practice may involve stumbling and often forgetting things, making the bystander's eye look comical or very pathetic to see. Such a person can stumble, scramble back and forth after forgetting something - maybe several times.

[@TheTono321]

"Sillä sipuli" is really common words and, it is like a metaphor for saying "this thing is over/completed, moving on", sense thing is not scattered anymore, like onion is not.

[@TheTono321]

"Lähteä lapasesta" is really common too, and that saying, means like this, for example, "you have a plan to buy 2 cars, but then, after those 2, you get too excited for those and then you buy 1000 more cars, then you realize that, you cannot control your lust for cars, with your intellectual brain, and your emotions have taken over, and you have just too much cars now" . So that "lapasesta" means, your hands (in book) = your intellect is not in control anymore.

[@TheTono321]

"Juosta pää kolmantena jalkana" = You move (from one place, to another, and so on) so fast, that your head fell off, and it becomes your third leg, for a moment (if there is not any vascular's etc, that keeps it as your third leg).

[@TheTono321]

Yeah, do part 2 ! this was funny and entertaining to watch :D

[@addax4lf]

I think the onion is there just for alliteration

[@Ihminen1apina]

"Sataa, kuin Esterin perseestä" is one of my favorite Finnish saying. You can try to translate it yourself but it means that it is raining heavily.

[@mattipaajanen4109]

It's raining as from arse of Esteri. Esteri is a first name for a female, while Ester used to be one of the firefighter's pump manufacturer. So, Ester would deliver a vast amounts of water (the pump I mean), and if the rain is heavy, it's like from the end (the back-end) of that pump.

[@stillhere4226]

Isn't there also the ship Ester which has also been credited for the saying?

[@Pineglade]

It's raining cats and dogs, that is.

[@iris8009]

Olla viilipytty doesn't mean that you are IN a tub of fermented milk, YOU ARE a tub of fermented milk. 😂

[@SicariiD]

Used in Swedish as well "lugn som en filbunke" 🙂

[@koira163]

One of my favorites are: "Nuolaista ennenkuin tipahtaa" - To lick before it drops Basically meaning getting too excited over something before the time comes. I hear it mostly used as a warning to not get too ahead of once self like "Älä nuolaise ennenkuin tipahtaa"(Don't lick before it drops) "Antaa Rukkaset" (trans. To give someone pair of leather mittens) basically means to reject someone "Ei ole koiraa karvoihin katsomine" dont really know how to translate that but it basically means the same as "Don't judge the book by its cover"

[@sirthanksalot97]

"To file a lense" can be thought of as someone filing the *lens of the eye* - the act will blur and scrape your view, thus fooling you through obfuscating the eye.

[@pianoblacksky]

"Olla viilipytty" has to be related to the Swedish "Lugn som en filbunke" which means "Calm as a bowl (or tub) of fermented milk" . "Vedellä hirsiä" also has an exact Swedish equivalent "Att dra timmerstockar". It's the exact same thing; To drag timber logs, meaning "To snore"

[@taijat]

Saunan takana on tilaa/Viedä joku saunan taakse = There is room behind sauna/Take someone behind sauna. Meaning= To kill or beat someone up

[@yargolocus4853]

That's a sequel to "Viedä saunan taakse" which again means, to kill someone (probably by shooting)

[@senjarantanen1992]

Both me and my mom often use the saying, "samaa paskaa eri purkissa" = "same shit in a different jar".

[@heyflan4334]

Hey Dave, great channel! I’ve been watching for about a year now and as someone with a Finnish partner this is always great to see. One thing I would love though is to see more of finland itself, day to day experiences outside of the house, I have a deep interest in moving there within the next year and the language videos have been great but I think some cultural videos of simply seeing day to day in Finland, particularly Helsinki would be quite exciting! Just a suggestion from a fan!From Ireland 🇮🇪

[@MR-ub6sq]

8:30 "Pytty" in Finnish means a small wooden container with a lid As "jar". In reality, a "viili" is a much more viscous liquid foodstuff than any of milk. If you poke the milk jar, the milk may spill over. On the other hand, the "fermented whole milk" (viili), stays "calm" in the jar and at most its surface may show slight movement when the jar is pushed. So the conspiracy is that the milk spills because of external influences and is restless - not a stable. But "viili", on the other hand, does not seem to react in any way to some poke - even a harder poke - and is therefore completely calm. A person who is as the jar including "viili" does not lose calm even in difficult situations when compared to the average person.

[@user-bj1dq7zh4o]

"Viilipytty" never has a lid.

[@Thunderhawk51]

Left like a janitor from an icy tin rooftop = Lähti kuin talonmies jäiseltä peltikatolta is one of my favorite version of a saying when someone leaves extremely quickly and unexpectedly. Another variations being: Left like a pike from the shore, or left like a telkkä from the birdhouse. But there are even more as you could probably imagine.

[@Thunderhawk51]

Another good ones: Polkee kuin tulpatonta mopoa = trying to start a moped without a sparkplug = the thing you are trying to so will never work because you are missing something crucial. Kuin perseelle ammuttu karhu = like a bear shot on the ass = pretty self-explanatory 😅 extremely angry, raging person. Levisi kuin Jokisen eväät = Spread like Jokinen's meal = something breaks or fails catastrophically, usually into thousand pieces. Pimeää kuin tontun perseessä = As dark as in gnomes ass = extremely dark, can't see a thing. Naama kuin petolinnun perse = Face like predatory birds ass = extremely ugly looking person. Surkoon hevonen, sillä on iso(mpi) pää = Let the horse worry, it has a big(ger) head = I actually hear this a lot from my father and he uses it when I worry too much or worry about something that's not really worth worrying about.

[@jorezaqqer3510]

I was just thinking.. man you talk Finnish well these days. Then you go and say "Anteeksi että teurastan näitä sanoja" =D

[@jennynoorakaroliina]

I use often saying that something is "parempi kuin sata jänistä", "better than hundred rabbits" if something is above perfection or fits perfectly😅👍

[@juhanipolvi4729]

There are also at least two other finnish sayings meaning "to die", namely "heittää lusikka nurkkaan" (="to throw spoon to a corner") and "oikaista koipensa" (="to straighten one's legs").

[@saakawithaG]

This is actually pretty helpful for me because I'm taking my yo kirjoitukset this September (a finnish equivalent to a-levels one could say) and they LOVE using english phrases and sayings which I as a finnish person quite often don't get but you've included some of them on here and also explained them :) thanks! 👍🏻

[@StaticVapour590]

-Sopii, kuin nenä päähän = Fits like nose on to the face -Toimii kuin junan vessa = Works like toilet in train -Niin kiero, että pitää ruuvata hautaan = so crooked that he needs to screwed to grave -Kiero kuin korkkiruuvi = crooked like corkscrew

[@tiarAnon27]

This was such quality fun for a Finn! You pronounce Finnish quite well, definitely not a butchery!

[@MR-ub6sq]

5:50 Underlying of this saying is the idea that the nest of a jay (and thus the eggs) is so hard to find that the one who finds it is a really tough guy! In real life, such a person can be going to give a really hard and unforgettable teaching to another person about what they tend to disagree with.

[@doreenmcrae7161]

That was fun -- I can't wait for part 2

[@snebi_ko]

I hadn't heard "olla viilipytty" before, I know it as "viileä kuin viilipytty" which could mean "cool as a cucumber". Except it's a tub of fermented milk (as if that's a thing) instead of a cucumber.

[@elderscrollsswimmer4833]

Tyyni kuin viilipytty. (liian helppo kun se tyyni on siinä...)

[@williamprather1811]

“Finnish Proverbs” translated by Inkeri Väänänen-Jensen doesn’t have much in Finnish (only the introductory saying for each section), but provides interesting insights into Finnish folk-wisdom. You might like it.

[@qwertyu600]

When someone asks me "mitä kuuluu?" I usually tend to answer "ei tässä kurjuutta kummempaa", which means I'm ok (translated "Well nothing more special than misery") :D

[@11DNA11]

We finns are always so positive :D

[@NoodleEnd]

This was actually a very fun video to watch!! Love those idioms so I find the translations hilarious 😀😀👍🏽👍🏽

[@veltsu8870]

I think that with the option "Juosta pää kolmantena jalkana" or "run with your head as your third" you got it right! Yes you move very fast, but it still concerns some just that "what i'm i doing" and sometimes ends up in injury... Usually common with kids that had too much candy and were just sugardrunk.

[@helenakoivisto4459]

Please, make a new video about Finnish sayings item!! Here's a common saying to encourage a friend in Finland: Chin to chest and toward new frustrations! ;D

[@Saareem]

More like disappointments. 😃

[@Juho.S.]

Leuka rintaan ja kohti uusia pettymyksiä.

[@timomastosalo]

Viilata linssiin, 'To file in the lens'. - The lens in your eye! So any trick involving cheating your vision, is the origin. Do you say 'piss in the eye', or something like that?

[@arttulyhykainen3193]

"Juosten kustu" Pissed while running = done in hurry and/or badly

[@benbaselet2026]

This is one of my favourites for sure :-)

[@tommytuomaala9087]

angry while running does not translate as well ass pissing while running.

[@MR-ub6sq]

11:37 In the past, the saying meant only snoring. Nowadays also sleeping - snoring or quiet. The sound of snoring resembles the sound produced when dragging a log over, for example, a surface of crushed stone, rock or asphalt.

[@sannah433]

This was fun! 😂 Looking forward for the rest of the book.

[@Qddly6415]

viilata linssiin is reference of lying straight to your face like when you look someone in the eyes and lie your balls off and the saying lähteä lapasesta is not that far fetched either since it refers to something that is out of your hands aka out of your control meaning you cant do anything

[@-CrippledNinja-]

Your finnish is getting very good, keep it up!

[@niuho2052]

"Sano muuta!" "Älä muuta sano!" "Say more!" "Say no more!" Same thing in two opposite sentences... :D

[@meamela9820]

The viilipytty saying exist in a similar way in Swedish: att vara lugn som en filbunke. Cat probably knows that one.

[@Lokki_Jay]

"Ken kuuseen kurkottaa, se katajaan kapsahtaa" Is more like a phrase about setting your goals too high for yourself to realistically achieve. Like, trying to carry too many things in your hands at once and that leading to dropping most or all of them.

[@viivi4937]

One of my favorite is tyhjästä on paha nyhjäistä. It means it's hard to make something if you have nothing.

[@jounipoylio9905]

There's an old one for that: ex nihilo nihil.

[@yargolocus4853]

Literally: "Hard to tug something out of nothing"

[@lontti77]

Greetings from Finland! You speak so well it is so fun to watch. I def wanna see part2 of this! :) This is not a saying but its just an old word. If someone is a "thief" finns usually speak of "varas" but old word for those which no one uses anymore is "pitkäkyntinen" which translates literally to "long nailed." Which means someone with long nails who can reach from long and steal stuff sneakily. And another word. Raccoon is called "pesukarhu" which literally translates to "washbear." Edit: You already have part2. Thanks man. Keep up the good work! :) Edit2: Damn part2 has this pitkäkyntinen thing. x)

[@CripperRoo]

Actually that "Vedellä hirsiä" would be something like sawing your logs, like dragging the saw against the log back and forth, kinda reminds you of the sound of it :)

[@meri-tuuli]

But it means to sleep.

[@TheSophiezation]

Never clicked on a video faster! I love language and especially accent videos in KZbin!

[@davecad]

Aw well I'm glad! :))

[@feyadanaia4483]

I think that spruce - juniper -saying descripe how finnish are (or at least used to be). You need to be humble so that was kind of warning not to try to go too high (or try to reach those stars). But unlike in your saying we don't encourage to try (so you could at least get that moon), but we are warning not to even try. It's kind of depressing. (Still, I have used that one at times myself..)

[@Kissamiess]

Note the rhyming and especially the alliteration on some of these. Finnish is big on starting the words on same syllables. That's how you get "sillä sipuli" or "kauhistuksen kanahäkki". They just sound right.

[@Mintshake_bunny]

More like Dave teaches us some idioms in English :D

[@tukevah]

"vedellä hirsiä" To drag a log comes from the sound it makes when you drag a log it is similar to snoring.

[@cguerrilla7315]

I think it's just a fennicized version of "sawing a log". "Sahaa hirsiä" would sound awkward (aa-ä) and not exactly funny. "Vetää hirsiä" fits better in finnish language and rhythm, because ää-ä. And it means pretty much the same, "vetää sahaa hirren päällä".

[@Juho.S.]

Kylmä kahvi kaunistaa: drinking cold coffee makes you more beautiful. Et ole sokerista tehty: you're not made of sugar. Means that while being outdoors, a little rain shouldn't bother you, since it doesn't melt you down. Sopii kuin nenä päähän: fits like a nose into face.

[@WindySilver]

11:20 You definitely got a moment of "repiä pelihousut" right there! XD A rather similar one is "polttaa päreensä", literally translated as "to burn one's shingles", but the proper translation I found for it was "to lose one's temper" and I suppose it's more extreme than just getting angry.

[@hannanelimarkka8332]

Some sayings are very regional, and in my experience, Finns also love to come up with new ones that can get passed on in families. My grandma often says "Vai on se papin koira, no antakaa sille nisua" (Oh it's the priest's dog is it, well give it a sweet roll) whenever she thinks someone has changed their tune just to fit in or be compliant. It stems from her being a little girl (nana is 89) and hearing a woman say that after she tried to shoo out a dog that had come into the house and someone hurried to tell her she shouldn't, because it wasn't just any old dog, but was owned by the new priest that had come to visit their house.

[@MR-ub6sq]

10:15 The conspiracy is that the discussion is joking, for fun and devoid of any deeper meaning. It's like "playing" with lips, because the ability to speak and the organs of speech production in humans is mainly because they can talk about the things they need. Then lips will be necessary in the future. But if the conversation is just for fun, it does almost the same thing, even if your lips disappear when you toss them. So you can play with them. Only tell some jokes.

[@flikkeringlightz7472]

My mother used to say to me "isäs ei ollu lasimestari" -> "your father wasnt a master glassmaker" meaning i wasnt fragile and could "clean up my room" Also "kalkkilaivan kapteeni" -> being the captain of a ship shipping quicklime, meaning being super white skinned (and being unable to get a tan because of burning your skin super easily)

[@tiinah1817]

"Your father wasn't a glassmaker" has always meant to me, that you are not seethrough, especially when you are standing in front of a tv when your mother is waching it.

[@ehlins]

lmfao ive never realised how weird they sound until translated 😂😂

[@seikkukaita72]

When I was a kid we playd with word-by-word "translations" between languages, that are not related. Smör mamma, julsex återvänder.

[@ensaleekerro]

Explanation for - Viilata linssiin - If you go ahead and file a lens, it's gonna be all scratched up, and you won't see through it. When someone lies to you, you can't see the truth

[@MsRoosmarii]

Yes, my guess is that it might also mean lying in a very screwed way. To show something and claim that it is smth that it is not.

[@jarimarttinen579]

"How did you get all of that from two words" That is all in a nutshell! We (Finns) don't speak much, but when we speak, few words may tell more than you could imagine ;)

[@erikakervinen1173]

You should definitely do part 2!

[@Ineedanameasap]

I got absolutely everything wrong except for one or two of them. Need more. Loved the video. More please!

[@Daagon123]

Dave, you buddy Ol' boy, you should make a similar quiz for Cat to guess what your English idioms would be in Finnish 😊

[@Garbox80]

"Lähti kuin talonmies jäiseltä peltikatolta" (left like a groundkeeper from an icy sheet metal roof) or "lähti kuin hauki rannasta" (left like a pike from the shore/bank). Both meaning that someone or something leaves very fast, can be said about a fast car etc. or jokingly about someone leaving in a hurry when they realise they're late and so on (I don't hear it like this often, but have heard, maybe even used).

[@Thunderhawk51]

Oho, täällä oli joku muukin kommentoinut täsmälleen samat jutut jo, vieläpä samalla hauki jutulla höystettynä 😅 Aika harvinainen sanonta kuitenkin tuo talonmies versio.

[@Garbox80]

@@Thunderhawk51 Tässä länsirannikolla kuuluu jonkin verran, mutta ei se kyllä yleisin tuon asian kuvaaja ole 😂

[@zessi80]

I laughed so much that all my mascara was suddenly on my cheeks 😂 Good pronunciation of Finnish btw!

[@dep.deity3605]

thank you for sharing these idioms! I've been trying to learn more of these.

[@zeitgeistzest797]

"Joukossa tyhmyys tiivistyy." "Siitä puhe mistä puute." 😂

[@petertapola8097]

Dumbness condenses in a crowd, talk about what you are lacking :)

[@ellavirtanen6748]

Juuri näin👍👏

[@MR-ub6sq]

8:52 Still, this saying normally has equivalent in reality eyeglasses lens but, also the connotation of the saying is directed to the human eye. Not using usually a magic trick show, but most commonly in the everyday life between of two or more people in a situation where one tries to tell a lie to another in speech or text. In this case, he files one or the others in the lens - figuratively in the eye. Sometimes, the subtle equivalent of this saying also in Finland is "piss in my (or his etc.) eye".

[@TheDerperado]

Kauhistuksen kanahäkki=chicken cage of terror (oh my god)

[@paivitee]

Ilmari Kamila paras

[@emineito1177]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@MoMsUuH]

I use the "lähteä lapasesta" very often when me and my friends are talking about something and the talking gets really out of hand and we just laugh. Also "homma lähti hanskasta" or "lähteä hanskasta" (hanska = glove) means the same thing.

[@lokharis1266]

I love when you pushing those ääs. Well done.

[@wenscael2166]

I could totally understand your pronunciation, great job! This was hilarious, keep it up!