Appendix:Finnish idioms

This is an (incomplete) list of idioms in the Finnish language. Proverbs and idioms with direct equivalents in the English language are typically excluded. A more complete list of idioms can be found at Category:Finnish idioms, which also includes idiomatic uses of single words.

The sections below do not cover the entire alphabet officially recognised in the Finnish language. The letters B, C, D, F, G, Q, W, X, Z and Å are omitted because they do not occur in native Finnish words.

A

Idiom	English literal translation	Meaning
aasinsilta	donkey's bridge; from Latin pons asinorum	A tenuous connection between an old discussion topic and a new one.
aataminaikainen	from the time of Adam	(Of an object) very old, old-fashioned
lähtee vetään	to start to pull (vetää, much like English set, has various unrelated meanings, e.g. to lead, to drink alcohol)	To leave immediately. Pull off.
Antaa/Ala heittää/vetää!	let/start to throw/pull	To ask someone to leave immediately, "Get out/off!/Buzz off! /Take a hike!".
auki	open	Without money, broke, to owe money
aukoa päätään	to keep opening one's head	To speak provocatively to someone.

E

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
ei hätä ole tämän näköinen	emergency does not look like this	Don't worry. We'll make through this (in a distress/stressful situation)
ei kauan nokka tuhissut	one's nose was not wheezing for long	Something happened or was over very quickly.
ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa	person does not have all the Moomins in the valley	Person is not too bright / has mental issues
ei ole kaikki intiaanit kanootissa	person does not have all the native Americans (lit. Indians) in the canoe	Person is not too bright / has mental issues
ei olla jäniksen selässä	not to be riding a hare	Not to be in an immediate hurry.
ei olla suu tuohesta	not to have a mouth of birch bark	Not to abstain from food or drink (always used with a negative).
ei sylkeä lasiin	not to spit into the glass	Not to abstain from alcohol (always used with a negative).
eilisen teeren poika	son of yesterday's grouse	Inexperienced, gullible (usually used with a negative, "nobody's fool", cf. "born yesterday")
ei nähdä metsää puilta	not to see the forest from the trees	To stick to details, failing to see from a wider perspective
elää kuin pellossa	like living in a field	To live without cleaning up after oneself, or bothering about what others think about one.
en minä voi siksi muuttua	I can't change into that	A statement that a desired object simply isn't available, no matter how much someone keeps asking for it. The word "siksi" (into that) is substituted with the object in question, in translative "-ksi".

H

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
heittämällä	by throwing	With little or no effort required.
heittää lusikka nurkkaan	to throw the spoon into the corner	To die or to give up.
heittää veivinsä	to throw one's crankshaft	To die.
heittää (jollakin) vesilintua	to throw something at waterfowl	To throw away. (As in throwing into a lake.)
hevoset karkaa	the horses are running away	A euphemism for "your fly is open".
homma hanskassa (hanskat hukassa)	to have the task or job in one's glove (the gloves are lost)	to have it under control or to be able to do the task at hand (to not have it under control or not being able to do the task at hand)
hoo moilasena	as H. Moilanen	Shocked, mouth agape, utterly unprepared, never heard
huitsin Nevadaan hevon kuuseen	to Nevada (for all I care) to the horse's sprucetree	Away, to an unknown place, never to be seen again. While the name Nevada is an obvious reference to the U.S. state, "huitsin" probably refers to Hiisi.
hymyillä kuin Hangon keksi	smile like a "a biscuit from Hanko" (a biscuit brand had an embossed "smiley" on the round biscuits. These biscuits were manufactured in Hanko from 1910 to 1940. The original name of the factory was Suomalais-Englantilainen Biscuittehdas, ‘Finnish–English Biscuit Factory’. Hangon Keksi was also one of the leading advertisers in Finland of its time, and the biscuits were marketed in an exemplary way. The smiling Hangon Keksi biscuit, appearing in constantly changing adverts, was in fact the man on the moon.)	To smile very broadly and happily.
hyppiä seinille	to jump onto walls	To act alarmedly; to panic.
(joko) hyvällä tai pahalla	With the good or the bad.	Willingly or by force.

I

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
ihmisten ilmoilla	where people are around (lit. in people's air/weather)	At a place popular or populated enough to earn one's respect. Can also be used more literally, to mean at a place where one can be rescued.
irtoaa kuin mummon hammas	comes loose like grandma's tooth	Goes very, very easily.
itsepintaisesti	by the ways of a self surface, selfsurfacely	insistently.

J

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
jo alkaa Lyyti kirjoittaa	now Lyyti begins to write	Something is finally succeeding and one can proceed.
joka kumartaa yhdelle, pyllistää toisille	who bows to one, will show his butt to the others	If you favour one, you'll discriminate the others.
joko teet tai itket ja teet	either you'll do it or you'll cry and do it	A direct order to do something, whether the addressed wants to do it or not. The word "teet" ('you do') can be substituted with whatever verb is necessary from context.
juopon napit	drunkard's buttons	When someone buttons up his/her shirt wrong.
Jumalan selän takana	behind God's back	Possibly a calque from the English phrase "a godforsaken place". Sometimes implies a disrespect of rural communities.
juosta pää kolmantena jalkana	To run with one's head as a third leg	To be in a great hurry
juosten kustu	(as if) urinated while running	Haphazardly implemented.
järki jäässä	(common sense) frozen	Being clueless about something or understanding the point slowly.

K

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
kaidalla polulla	on the narrow path	To live within the law (possible Biblical metaphor).
kaksipa päätä makkarassa	there are two ends to a sausage	Two sides of a thing, cf. "two sides of a coin"
kallella kypärin	with the helmet askew	Downhearted
kana kynittävänä	(has) a chicken to pluck	To have unresolved disputes, cf. English "bone to pick"
Kankkulan kaivoon	into the well of Kankkula	To go to waste.
kestää ikä ja terveys	to take the time of one's age and health	To take a far too long time, or be of far too much effort.
keskellä ei-mitään	in the middle of nowhere	Calque from English — natively korvessa Cf. English "In the middle of bumfuck Egypt"
kiertää kuin kissa kuumaa puuroa	to circle like a cat circles hot porridge	To constantly and obviously covet something without actually making a move to get it, or to try to approach a difficult topic of speech in a roundabout way.
kiven alla	under a stone	Difficult to obtain
koira haudattuna	a dog buried	An implication that there's something foul behind the scenes, the situation is not what it appears to be.
konstit on monet (, sanoi akka, kun kissalla pöytää pyyhki)	the ways are many (said the woman while wiping the table with a cat)	There's more than one way to do something. Often used when it becomes necessary to resort to unconventional methods. (cf. "there is more than one way to skin a cat.")
korjata luunsa	to pick up one's bones	To finally get around to leaving.
korvessa	in the backwoods; out in the sticks	A place that is somewhere in an area with no interesting things surrounding it, to be "out in the sticks".
kuin allit kalliolla (also misheard "nallit")	like ducks (exactly: a particular species (Long-tailed Duck) that leaves last in the autumn) on a cliff	Left by oneself, without outside support.
kuin Euroopan/maailman omistaja	like the owner of Europe/the world	Acting excessively posh and snobby. Usually an implication of misplacen superiority towards others.
kuin kaksi marjaa	like two berries	Two people or things that seem extremely alike; two peas in a pod.
kuin kala ilman polkupyörää	like a fish without a bicycle	Perfectly well in its own right; for example "a woman without a husband is like a fish without a bicycle".
kuin lasta löisi / helppoa kuin lapsen lyöminen/hakkaaminen	like beating a child / easy like hitting/beating a child	Very, very easy.
kuin perseeseen/perseelle ammuttu karhu	like a bear which has been shot in the ass	Being extremely cranky.
kuin seipään niellyt	as if swallowed a spear	Standing unnaturally or needlessly upright. To be turgid and bumptious. To be seemingly nervous.
kuin sitruunan niellyt	as if swallowed a lemon	Sulky or (easily) irritated
kuin tervan juontia	like drinking tar	Extremely slow, difficult, or arduous.
(kadota/hävitä) kuin tuhka tuuleen/pieru Saharaan	(to disappear) like ash in the wind/ a fart in Sahara	(To sink) without a trace.
kuin täi tervassa	like a louse in tar	Extremely slow
kuin viilipytty	like a pot of sour milk	Very calm.
Kuka kissan hännän nostaa ellei kissa itse?	Who would raise a cat's tail, but the cat himself?	To toot your own horn or boast about yourself.
kukkona tunkiolla	like a rooster on top of the garbage pile	Boasting of oneself with cheap merits, being "king of the hill" when said hill is for example a garbage pile. It is easy as no one else wants to be the king of a garbage hill.
kusta/kusee hunajaa	pissing honey	Extremely happy & satisfied
kylmä kuin ryssällä helvetissä	as cold as a Russian feels like in hell	Old Finnish swearing if it's really cold outside. Like in English: it's cold as hell!
kääntää kelkkansa	to turn one's sled	To do an about-face/turnabout.

L

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
laittaa hanskat/rukkaset naulaan	to hang up your gloves	give up
ei (tule) lasta eikä paskaa	won't result in either a baby or shit	An unsuccessful, futile or abortive effort.
lavealla tiellä	on the wide road	To live outside the law (possible Biblical metaphor).
(ja) lehmät lentää	(yeah, and) cows can fly	Expressing doubt, skepticism.
(jollain on) lepakoita tapulissa	(someone has) bats in the belfry	A slow-witted or mentally handicapped person
lukea kuin piru Raamattua	read like the Devil reads the Bible	To deliberately look for loopholes, in order to follow the letter without following the spirit. Note: Based on the Bible (Luke 4:1-13, Matthew 4:1-11 and Psalms 91:11-12). English equivalent: The devil can cite scripture for his purpose. (Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice act 1, scene 3)
lähteä kuin hollituvasta	to leave as if leaving an inn	To leave without cleaning up after oneself. (holli from Swedish hålla (“to keep”) + tupa).
lähteä kuin piru seuroista	to leave like the Devil leaves a revival	To leave extremely fast (also used when an inanimate object is quickly propelled to a great speed)
lähteä kuin telkkä pöntöstä	to leave like common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula, bird) from the birdhouse	To leave quickly
lähteä lapasesta	to slip away from the (woollen) glove	To go out of control.
puhua läpiä päähän(sä)	to speak holes into (one's) head	To make statements without requisite knowledge. Often used of one's own words Cf. English "I may be speaking out of my ass"

M

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
maalata pirua seinälle	to paint a devil on the wall	to expect a misfortune to happen by speaking about it and the chance of it happening.
maksaa hunajaa/maltaita/mansikoita	to cost honey/malts/strawberries	to cost very much, to be very expensive.
maksaa itsensä kipeäksi	to pay as much as to get sick/hurt oneself	to pay very much, leaving oneself with very little money left over.
Manu on työnsä tehnyt, Manu saa mennä	Manu has done his job, Manu is dismissed	An ironic expression, when faced with ingratitude after doing a favor. The name "manu" comes from the word for "master", like shoemaker-master. In old times these professionals used to tour the countryside practicing their profession.
(tuli kuin) Manulle illallinen	(it came like) like an evening meal to Manu	Gaining something good without any effort - just turning up and getting paid. The name "manu" comes from the word for "master", like shoemaker-master. In old times these professionals used to tour the countryside practicing their profession, and the pay was often a meal.
Matti kukkarossa	Death in a wallet	Broke (without money). The Persian for "dead" is "mat". In Finnish it is pronounced as "matti" as in "Shakki Matti" (Shah Mat). "Minulla on matti kukkarossa" could be translated "My moneypurse is dead". In a similar way "Olen täysin matti" means "I am dead tired".
menneen talven lumia	snows of winters past	Not relevant anymore, often used of past offenses or sorrows, similar in tone to English "let bygones be bygones".
mennä metsään (jossakin)	to go into the forest (in something)	To be misguided, to go wrong; usually used to describe unintended consequences of decisions or plans
mennä pipariksi	to go gingerbread	Something goes completely wrong. Could be translated as "Shatters as gingerbread".
mennä putkeen	go into the tube (or pipe)	To succeed, to work as planned.
mennä yli hilseen	to go over one's dandruff	To be too difficult for one to comprehend.
(istua ja) miettiä syntyjä syviä	(to sit and) contemplate the deep origins	To meditate on the mysteries of the world; used ironically, to do nothing (from Finnish mythology).
miettiä taivaan variksia	to think about the crows in the sky	To not pay attention to what's going on.
mopo alkaa keulia	one's moped starts doing wheelies	Ideas or other actions start to get out of control.
(olla) mustasukkainen	(to be) a person with black socks	to be (possessively) jealous of someone (a person)
(heittää) mäkeen	(throw) into the hillslope	(To throw) away.

N

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
kuin Naantalin aurinko	like the Sun over Naantali	Of a wide-smile face.
nalli kalliolla (originally "alli kalliolla")	long-tailed duck sitting on rock	This idiom has been misheard as "nalli kalliolla" (explosive primer on rock). The original idiom is "Jäi kuin alli kalliolle", meaning "Was left behind, like long-tailed duck". When migratory birds are leaving in autumn, the long-tailed ducks leaves later than other birds.
nenänvalkaisu	nose-bleaching	Sobering up, as in the sense of not drinking alcoholic beverages for a week or a month.
nousta väärällä jalalla	to rise/get up from the bed with the wrong foot	To be very grumpy first thing in the morning when everything seems to go wrong. Similar to English "get up on the wrong side of the bed".
näyttää miten heränneet veisaa	to show how the revivalists chant (a saying from Upper Savonia and Northern Ostrobothnia, where revivalist movements are strong)	To show someone how to properly do a thing they are attempting to do.
näyttää (jollekulle) närhen munat	to show (somebody) the eggs (or, in slang, testicles) of a jay	To show that one can do something better than the person the "eggs" are to be shown to, OR, to give somebody a good beating.

O

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
odottaa kun kuuta nousevaa	to wait as if waiting for the rising moon	To wait for something very anxiously, to the point of desperation.
oikaista koipensa	to straighten one's legs	To die.
ojasta allikkoon	from the ditch to the duck pond	out of the frying pan into the fire, from one bad situation to another
oksat pois	so the branches fall off (the tree)	used to describe almost anything (mostly anger) in excessive quantity. also used in conjunction with the subject of immediate action
olla hukassa	be in a 'loss'; also, hukka means "wolf"	Being lost, missing, in despair, perished.
olla lammas	to be a lamb	a person who is like a lamb does nothing alone. the person does everything that for example the clique he/she belongs to.
olla pää sitä varten, ettei selkäranka valu housuihin	to (only) have a head to prevent one's spine dropping to one's pants	To be helplessly stupid.
olis kirveellä töitä	there would be work for an axe	Something should be corrected, possibly with quite harsh means.
oma lehmä ojassa	with one's own cow in the ditch	Having a personal interest or investment in the matter.
oppia kantapään kautta	to learn by way of the heel	Learn a lesson the hard way
(maksaa) oppirahat	(pay the) learning costs	Learn a lesson the hard way
ottaa tilaisuudesta vaari	take a granpa out of situation/take care about a situation	To take a chance when an opportunity strikes.
otti ohraleipä / olkileipä	it took a barley bread / straw bread (slightly ungrammatical). After losing the rye harvest, one had to sow barley, an inferior crop, before the winter	To encounter severe problems.

P

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
panna tikkua ristiin	to cross sticks	To perform the most minimal effort. Cf. English "lift a finger". Nearly always used with a negative.
pata kattilaa soimaa	pot scolds a kettle	Used to claim that a person is guilty of the very thing of which they accuse another. Cf. English "pot calling kettle black".
persaukinen	open-arsed	Without money, broke.
(kiivetä) perse edellä puuhun	(to climb) arse first into a tree	To do something in a needlessly complicated way, failing to see an easier way
perse(et) olalla	arse(s) on a shoulder	very drunk
peukalo keskellä kämmentä	a thumb in the middle of a palm	Very bad at doing something, usually manual labour. Cf. English "all thumbs".
pieniin päin	towards small ones	Pregnant. Cf. English "with child"
(hävitä kuin) pieru Saharaan	(to disappear) like a fart in the Sahara	(to disappear) without a trace Cf. English "like a fart in the wind"
pihkassa	in resin	Having a crush on someone
pilvin pimein	with dark clouds	A huge (often excessive) amount of something.
(saada) pitkä nenä	(to get) a long nose	to get shamed because you’ve lost to someone or been proved wrong
asettua poikkiteloin	to set oneself crosswise	To start to object to something. Often used if that something has already been generally agreed on.
Porvoon mitalla	with Porvoo measure	More than asked for, generously. The Porvoo measure was a standardized measuring cup used by tax men to measure grain.
potkaista tyhjää	to kick empty space	To die. Cf. English "to kick the bucket"
pukki kaalimaan vartijana	a buck (male goat) as a guard of a cabbage patch	someone with a conflict of interest in a position of responsibility
pukukummitus	suit ghost	A person who insists on being sharply and formally dressed, but who appears to do little, if any, actual work. Almost always used of men, but sometimes of women too.
puurot ja vellit sekaisin	porridges and gruels mixed up	Confusing two unrelated things, either for each other, or as relating to each other. Cf. comparing apples and oranges.
päin seiniä / puuta / honkia / ...	against the walls / tree / pines / ...	Completely wrong.

R

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
rikkana rokassa	as a piece of trash in the broth	As the bad exception in an otherwise good company. More commonly used in a positive way, c.f. "every little bit helps".
ruista ranteessa	rye in one's wrist	Physically strong.
rysän päältä	from the top of a large fish trap	Caught straight from doing a no-good thing, such as stealing fish from your neighbour's trap. Cf. English "caught red-handed". E.g. the American TV program "Cheaters" is translated to "Rysän päältä" in Finnish.

S

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
sama vika Rahikaisella	Rahikainen has the same problem	Used as a reply when someone says they are or do something, meaning "so am I" or "so do I". "Rahikainen" refers to the speaker, regardless of what their actual surname is.
sataa kuin Esterin perseestä	raining as from Esteri's ass	Raining heavily. Raining cats and dogs.
(viedä) saunan taa(kse)	(take) behind the sauna	"To put off/execute". Due to fire hazard, saunas were built at a distance from the house, and what was or happened behind the sauna was out of sight, "behind the backyard". Normally, there was a "tunkio" or a garbage pile behind the sauna, and when e.g. a sick or injured horse or dog needed to be put down, it was taken behind the sauna for the job.
soittaa suutaan	to play one's mouth (as a musical instrument)	To boast, or to speak provocatively.
soitellen sotaan	soitellen, archaic for travel, related to Estonian sõita (not to be confuced with playing an instrument) sotaan, to war	To be unprepared, whether it is a task at hand or one is going somewhere without thinking what is needed to take along.
sokerina pohjalla	as the sugar on the bottom	As a final bonus, benefit or gift

T

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
takki auki	having one’s jacket open	Approaching a demanding task unprepared and with careless attitude
tulevana vuonna tuohikuussa	in a coming year, in the birch bark month	At an indeterminate point in the future, possibly never. "Tuohikuu" is a fictional month but sounds like the rural-oriented Finnish names for the 12 months.
tuohikuussa pukinpäivänä	in the birch bark month on the day of the goat	Same as above.
tuli tupenrapinat	knife-scabbards began to clatter	There is going to be a fight. Finnish fighting knife, "Helapääpuukko" (Puukko with bone-breaking ferrules) is carried in hardened leather scabbard, and the scabbard mouth has water-tight fit. Before knife-fight starts, fighters need to twist the knife handle to loosen it for quick-drawing. When knife is twisted within scabbard, the blade clatters against the hardened leather, and makes clattering sound.
tulla kuin havumajaan	to come as if coming into a hut made of tree needles	To enter uninvited.
tumput suorina	with one's mittens straight	Not doing anything, with an implication that one should be doing something.
tykätä kyttyrää	to like + some hump (the unusual grammar is hard to translate)	To dislike. Implies vindictiveness. Often juxtaposed with the antonym.
täynnä kuin Turusen pyssy	as full as Turunen's gun	Excessively full, nothing will fit in any more. Comes from the Great Northern War, where a Finnish soldier called Turunen had stuffed his gun so full of food he couldn't shoot it any more.

U

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
ulkona/pihalla kuin lumiukko	out like a snowman	Not to know anything about the a given thing and thus be stunned, or to say things that are not relevant to the thing.

V

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
vaiheessa	in a phase (back-formation from asking "in which phase?")	Not yet ready or finished, with an implication of not knowing when it will be. Originally army slang.
vaihtaa hiippakuntaa	to move to a different diocese	To die.
vaikka lampaat söisi	for even sheep to eat	A great number or amount, especially one that will stay great after partaken of.
(Ei) vara venettä kaada.	Some extra care won't flip a boat	There's no harm in having some extra resources or precautions
vastarannankiiski	lit. ruffe of the opposite shore, from kiiski (Gymnocephalus cernuus). A spiky fish that offers great resistance to the fishing line, in this case by anchoring it to the trees growing on the opposite shore of the lake.	Someone in constant opposition and immune to any reasoning
vetää herne nenään	pull a pea up one's nose	To be provoked.
vetää hirsiä	to pull cabers / to pull logs	To sleep.
vetää jojoon/ kaulakiikkuun	to put in a yo-yo/ throat-swing	To execute by hanging. Almost always used of suicide.
vetää turpaan	pull to the muzzle	To beat someone, especially punch in the face. The verb vetää is a verb with diverse, disparate meanings, used to indicate a sudden jerk or a single, quick movement.
vintti pimeni	the attic blacked out	Someone fainted
vuonna miekka/käpy/muusi ja kypärä/kivi/nakki	in the year of sword/cone/mashed potatoes and helmet/stone/wiener	Very long time ago.
vuonna yks ja kaks	in the year one and two	Very long time ago.
vääntää rautalangasta	to twist from wire (originally used to assemble plumbing)	To explain with very simple terms.

Y

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
yhdeksän hyvää ja kymmenen kaunista, yhdeksän hyvää ja kahdeksan kaunista	nine good things and ten beautiful things, nine good things and eight beautiful things	Lots of good-sounding promises, with an implication they are unlikely to be kept.
yritys hyvä kymmenen	ten (points) for the attempt (lit. attempt good ten)	Good, but failed, attempt.

Ä

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
äitinsä näköinen	looks like one's mother	Not looking good at all. Comes from an allegation of being the son of a whore.
äimän käkenä	Amazed as a Common cuckoo	To be confused about something.
ällikällä päähän lyöty	Beaten to one's head with a mind-blow/Beaten to one's head with a spiked mace	Also to be amazed of some mind-blowing knowledge/to be confused about something so you couldn't say anything out of your mouth.

Ö

Idiom	English translation	Meaning
(seisoa kuin) Ö aapisen laidalla	(to stand like) the letter Ö (the last letter of the Finnish alphabet) in the corner of the spelling book	Not having a clue, being useless.