For language learners, having a telephone conversation in Finnish is always going to be more challenging than having a face-to-face chat. When you’re talking on the phone, you can’t pick up clues from your conversation partner’s facial expressions or body language. And if the connection is terrible, trying to make out what the other person is saying can be extra-frustrating.

However, if you find yourself afraid of making phone calls, there are ways to build your confidence and make phone conversations in Finnish easier. The first thing you should do is pick up some Finnish phone call phrases and expressions; then, you’ll need to get some real-life practice in (sorry!). 

We’ll leave the practice part up to you, but we can teach you some of the most common Finnish phone call expressions for both formal and informal contexts. 

• How’s your smartphone vocabulary? Visit FinnishPod101.com to learn the most useful mobile phone-related Finnish words and phrases.

• One more thing: Did you know that mobile phone throwing is an actual sport? It was invented in Finland nearly two decades ago.

Talk on the phone with confidence!

Table of Contents

1. Picking up the Phone
2. Saying Who You Are
3. Stating the Reason for Your Call
4. Asking to Speak to Someone
5. Asking Someone to Wait
6. Leaving a Message
7. Asking for Clarification
8. Ending a Phone Call
9. Sample Phone Conversations
10. Lopuksi

1. Picking up the Phone

Let’s start with the absolute basics: How to answer the phone in Finnish! What should you say when you pick up the phone?

When you don’t know who’s calling you (or if you don’t know the caller well), it’s common to state your name when picking up. You can use your first name, your last name, or your full name. 

• Minna
• Miettinen
• Minna Miettinen

Alternatively, you can answer with haloo (“hello”). Note that this is a “hello” that’s only used on the phone:

• Haloo (“Hello”)

When a friend or a family member is calling, you can answer by using a variation of “hi,” such as:

• Hei
• Moi
• Terve

To refresh your memory, here are more common ways to say hello in Finnish.

When answering a phone call at work, it’s customary to state the name of your workplace. You can also add your own name, a greeting, or a question.

• Keskuskirjasto Oodi, Minna Miettinen. (“Central Library Oodi, Minna Miettinen.”)
• Keskuskirjasto Oodi, hyvää päivää. (“Central Library Oodi, good day.”)
• Keskuskirjasto Oodi, kuinka voin auttaa? (“Central Library Oodi, how can I help?”)

Kuinka voin auttaa? (“How can I help?”)

2. Saying Who You Are

When you’re calling someone, it’s natural to start by introducing yourself. Note that tässä and täällä both mean “here.”

• Terhi tässä. (“Terhi here.”)
• Terhi Salonen täällä hei. (“Terhi Salonen here, hi.”)

When answering the phone in Finnish, remember that some people like to place their last name in the genitive case in front of their first name:

• Salosen Terhi täällä, terve. (“Terhi Salonen here, hi.” Or literally: “Salonen’s Terhi here, hi.” ) 

When introducing yourself in a professional capacity on the phone, you would typically state the name of your workplace as well:

• Terhi Salonen Kallion Apteekista, päivää. (“Terhi Salonen from Kallio Pharmacy, good day.”)

If you didn’t catch the other person’s name, you can ask who they are using this phrase:

•  Anteeksi, kenen kanssa puhun? (“I’m sorry, who am I talking to?”)

3. Stating the Reason for Your Call

After the greetings and introductions, the next step is to state your reason for calling. You can use these example sentences as you practice constructing your own:

• Soittelin sellaista asiaa, että lähtisitkö kanssani elokuviin perjantaina. (“I was calling to see if you’d go to the movies with me on Friday.”)
• Soitin kysyäkseni onko teillä yhtään avoimia työpaikkoja tällä hetkellä. (“I called to ask if you have any job openings at the moment.”)
• Haluaisin tietää onko myymälänne jouluaattona auki. (“I’d like to know if your store is open on Christmas Eve.”)
• Minulla olisi muutama kysymys pääsykokeesta. (“I have a couple of questions about the entrance exam.”)
• Asiani koskee eilistä palaveria. (“I’m calling about yesterday’s meeting.”)
• Tästä numerosta soitettiin minulle. (“I got a missed call from this number.”)
• Yritittekö soittaa minulle aiemmin? (“Did you try to call me earlier?”)
• Haluaisin varata ajan lääkärille. (“I’d like to book an appointment to see a doctor.”)
• Haluan tehdä tilauksen. (“I want to make an order.”)

Visit FinnishPod101.com to listen to a sample phone call to a doctor’s office.

Haluan tehdä tilauksen. (“I want to make an order.”)

4. Asking to Speak to Someone

Are you trying to get hold of a specific person? Use one of these phrases to explain who you want to talk to:

• Voisinko puhua Eemelin kanssa? (“Could I speak to Eemeli?”)
• Haluaisin puhua Tuijan kanssa. (“I’d like to speak to Tuija.”)
• Minulla on asiaa Jaakolle. (“I need to speak to Jaakko.”)
• Onko Virtanen paikalla? (“Is Virtanen there?”)
• Onko Pertti Virtanen tavattavissa? (“Is Pertti Virtanen available?”)

Learn how to say “Sorry, wrong number,” in Finnish by visiting our vocabulary list Useful Phrases for a Phone Call.

5. Asking Someone to Wait

Sometimes you need a moment while on the phone, perhaps to look something up. Use these phrases to ask the other person to wait:

• Odottakaa hetki, olkaa hyvä. (“Please wait a moment.”)
• Hetkinen, tarkistan asian. (“Just a moment, I’ll check.”)
• Katsotaanpa, pikku hetki. (“Let’s see, just a moment.”)
• Yhdistän puhelun, pysykää linjalla. (“I’ll connect the call, stay on the line.”)

6. Leaving a Message

If you didn’t manage to reach the person you wanted to talk to, you can ask the other person to leave a message or a call request for you:

• Kertoisitko hänelle, että soitin? (“Could you tell him/her that I called?”)
• Voisinko jättää soittopyynnön? (“Could I leave a call request?”)
• Voitko pyytää häntä soittamaan minulle takaisin? (“Can you ask him/her to call me back?”)
• Voinko jättää viestin? (“Can I leave a message?”)

Voinko jättää viestin? (“Can I leave a message?”)

7. Asking for Clarification

As a non-native speaker making a call in Finnish, you might fail to understand some of what the other person is saying. In addition, a poor connection or similar issue sometimes makes it hard to communicate on the phone. Here are phrases to use when you’re struggling:

• Haloo, kuuluuko? (“Hello, can you hear me?”)
• En kuule sinua selvästi. Yhteys on huono. (“I can’t hear you clearly. The connection is bad.”)
• En ymmärrä sinua. Voisitko puhua hitaammin? (“I don’t understand you. Could you speak more slowly?”)
• Anteeksi, voisitko toistaa? (“Sorry, could you repeat?”)

8. Ending a Phone Call

There are lots of different ways to end a phone call in Finnish. For example: 

• Asia tuli selväksi, kiitos. (“Everything’s clear, thank you.”)
• Kiitos paljon, kuulemiin! (“Thanks a lot, goodbye.”)
• Mukavaa päivänjatkoa. (“Have a nice day.”)
• Minun pitää mennä. Puhutaan lisää myöhemmin. (“I have to go. Let’s talk more later.”)
• Kiva kun soitit. Hei hei! (“It was nice that you called. Bye bye!”)
• Oli hauska jutella. (“It was nice to chat.”) 
• Hei hei. Kerro terveisiä Sarille! (“Bye bye. Send my love to Sari.”)
• Moi moi, soitellaan! (“Bye bye, let’s talk again!”)

Note that just like haloo (“hello”), kuulemiin (“goodbye”) is only really used on the phone; this is because it refers specifically to hearing. In contrast, näkemiin (“goodbye”) refers to seeing.

• You can learn even more useful Finnish expressions on our Most Common Ways to Say Goodbye vocabulary list.

9. Sample Phone Conversations

In this last section, you’ll see some of the Finnish phone phrases that you’ve learned in action.

In this first casual Finnish phone conversation, two friends—Sanni and Tuukka—make a plan for the weekend.

• Sanni. (“Sanni.”)
• Tuukka tässä, moi! (“Tuukka here, hi!”)
• Hei Tuukka! Mitä kuuluu? (“Hi Tuukka! How are you?”)
• Ihan hyvää, kiitos. Soittelin vaan sellaista, että oletko vapaa tänä viikonloppuna? (“I’m good, thanks. I was calling to see if you’re free this weekend?”)
• Olen vapaa lauantaina. Miksi? (“I’m free on Saturday. Why?”)
• Hienoa. Tavataanko brunssin merkeissä? (“Great. Shall we meet up for brunch?”)
• No mikä ettei, tavataan vain. Onko sinulla jo paikka mielessä? (“Sure, why not, let’s meet up. Do you already have a place in mind?”)
• Joo, Mikko suositteli minulle Korjaamoa Töölössä. Sopiiko sinulle kello yksitoista? (“Yes, Mikko recommended Korjaamo in Töölö to me. Does 11 o’clock suit you?”)
• Kello yksitoista käy minulle hyvin. (“11 o’clock is good for me.”)
• Loistavaa, teen meille varauksen. Nähdään lauantaina, hei hei! (“Awesome, I’ll book for us. I’ll see you on Saturday, bye bye!”)
• Hei hei! (“Bye bye!”)

 In this second, more formal conversation, Tuukka reserves a table at a restaurant.

• Korjaamolla, hyvää päivää. (“At Korjaamo, good day.”)
• Tuukka Varonen täällä, hei. Haluaisin varata pöydän tälle lauantaille. (“Tuukka Varonen here, hi. I’d like to book a table for this Saturday.”)
• Kuinka monelle henkilölle? (“For how many people?”)
• Kahdelle henkilölle, kiitos. (“For two people, please.”)
• Ja mihin aikaan? (“And for what time?”)
• Kello yksitoista sopisi hyvin. (“11 o’clock would be good.”)
• Eli pöytä kahdelle tänä lauantaina kello yksitoista. Nimellä Tuukka Varonen? (“So, a table for two this Saturday at 11 o’clock. Under the name Tuukka Varonen?”)
• Täsmälleen. Kiitos paljon! (“Exactly. Thank you very much!”)
• Kiitos varauksesta, hyvää päivänjatkoa! (“Thank you for the reservation, have a nice day!”)

Kuinka monelle henkilölle? (“For how many people?”)

• Listen to Finnish dialogue and learn more survival phrases in our lesson Reserving a Table at a Finnish Restaurant. 
• Or if you’d rather practice the basics first, our beginner lesson Making a Phone Call in Finland walks you through a simple telephone conversation in Finnish.

Lopuksi

In this guide, you’ve learned lots of formal and casual Finnish phone call expressions. We’ve covered how to answer a call, introduce yourself, state your reason for calling, end a phone conversation, and more. We hope that the idea of having a telephone conversation in Finnish feels a lot less daunting to you now!

Are there any other phrases that you think should have been covered here? Have you ever made a call in Finnish? Tell us all about it in the comments!

FinnishPod101 has a lot of free resources for learners, so be sure to stop by and explore everything we have to offer. Our Finnish vocabulary lists cover a vast range of topics and are especially helpful for practicing your pronunciation thanks to the audio recordings.

Happy learning!