Are you at that point in your language learning where you find everyday communication in Finnish a breeze but would like to make further progress? Once you have the basics down, a logical next step is to learn some advanced Finnish phrases for professional and formal contexts. Reaching the advanced level in Finnish can be a slow journey, but the effort is worth it, especially if you’re dreaming of pursuing studies or a career in Finland.

A common stumbling block on the way to fluency is a lack of confidence in being able to use the target language. This can be true even if you’re able to understand quite a lot of what you hear and read. Memorizing and making an effort to use a range of advanced Finnish words and phrases can help you get over that hurdle faster.

Read on to learn several advanced Finnish phrases to use in academic writing, cover letters, and business meetings. And be sure to stick around until the end to learn some fun and colorful idiomatic expressions.

It takes effort to reach the advanced level, but it’s worth it!

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Table of Contents

1. Useful Phrases for Academic Writing
2. Power Phrases for Your Cover Letter
3. Smart Phrases for Business Meetings
4. Advanced Idioms for Everyday Use
5. Lopuksi

1. Useful Phrases for Academic Writing

The aim of academic writing is to aid the reader’s understanding, so this style of writing should be clear, focused, and well-structured. Student or not, you can use the advanced Finnish words and phrases below to express your thoughts and ideas more clearly and confidently.

• Tarkoituksemme on (“Our purpose is”)
  • Tarkoituksemme on analysoida eri menetelmien tehokkuutta. (“Our purpose is to analyze the effectiveness of different methods.”)

• Vastatakseni tähän kysymykseen (“In order to answer this question”)
  • Vastatakseni tähän kysymykseen, selvennän aluksi käsitettä lyhyellä esimerkillä. (“In order to answer this question, I will start by clarifying the concept with a brief example.”)

• Verrattuna (“Compared to”)
  • Havaintomme olivat yllättäviä aiempiin tutkimustuloksiin verrattuna. (“Our observations were surprising compared to earlier research results.”)

• Päinvastoin kuin (“Contrary to”)
  • Päinvastoin kuin usein uskotaan, kahvin juonti ei aiheuta nestehukkaa. (“Contrary to popular belief, drinking coffee does not cause dehydration.”)

• Yleisesti ottaen (“Generally speaking”)
  • Yleisesti ottaen suomalaisten terveys on kohentunut uuden tutkimuksen mukaan. (“Generally speaking, the health of Finnish people has improved according to new research.”)

• Tilastojen mukaan (“According to statistics”)
  • Tilastojen mukaan noin puolet Suomen väestöstä harrastaa sienestystä. (“According to statistics, around half of the population of Finland enjoys mushroom picking as a hobby.”)

• On tunnettu tosiasia (“It’s a well-known fact”)
  • On tunnettu tosiasia, että unen laatu vaikuttaa hyvinvointiin monin tavoin. (“It’s a well-known fact that sleep quality affects well-being in many ways.”)

• On tärkeää painottaa (“It’s important to emphasize”)
  • On tärkeää painottaa, että korrelaatio ei todista syy-seuraussuhteen olemassaoloa. (“It’s important to emphasize that correlation does not prove the existence of causality.”)

• Tarkoitan tällä (“By this, I mean”)
  • Tarkoitan tällä, että lisätutkimukset ovat yhä tarpeen. (“By this, I mean that additional research is still needed.”)

• Vastustan vahvasti ajatusta (“I’m firmly opposed to the idea”)
  • Vastustan vahvasti ajatusta varotoimenpiteiden vähentämisestä. (“I am firmly opposed to the idea of reducing precautionary measures.”)

Dive deeper into the world of higher education by learning Finnish words and phrases related to academia and living on a school campus.

2. Power Phrases for Your Cover Letter

Are you hoping to find a job in Finland? Then you’ll want to make sure that your cover letter is on point and covers all the essential information about your strengths, experience, and interest in the position.

You can use the following advanced Finnish phrases as a starting point for crafting your very own cover letter.

• Hakea paikkaa (“To apply for a position”)
  • Olen kiinnostunut hakemaan vastaanottovirkailijan paikkaa yrityksessänne. (“I’m interested in applying for the position of a receptionist in your company.”)

• Viitata ilmoitukseen (“To refer to an advertisement”)
  • Viittaan Helsingin Sanomissa julkaistuun ilmoitukseenne, jossa etsitte kokenutta myyntiavustajaa. (“I’m referring to your advertisement in Helsingin Sanomat in which you’re looking for an experienced sales assistant.”)

• Olla erityisen kiinnostunut (“To be especially interested”)
  • Olen erityisen kiinnostunut tästä työstä, koska ympäristönsuojelu on lähellä sydäntäni. (“I’m especially interested in this job because conservation is close to my heart.”)

• Vahvuudet (“Strengths”)
  • Vahvuuksiani ovat projektien johtaminen ja kyky motivoida toisia. (“My strengths are leading projects and the ability to motivate others.”)

• Sopia hyvin tehtävään (“To be well suited for a position”)
  • Sopisin hyvin tähän tehtävään, koska olen tehokas ongelmien ratkaisija ja nautin haasteista. (“I would be well suited for this position because I’m an efficient problem solver and I enjoy challenges.”)

• Liitteenä oleva ansioluettelo (“Enclosed resume”)
  • Kuten liitteenä olevasta ansioluettelostani näkyy, tunnen muotialan kuin omat taskuni. (“As you can see from my enclosed resume, I know the fashion industry like the back of my hand.” / Literally: “As you can see from my enclosed resume, I know the fashion industry like my own pockets.”)

• 5 vuotta kokemusta (“5 years of experience”)
  • Minulla on yli 5 vuotta kokemusta työskentelystä terveydenhuoltoalalla. (“I have over 5 years of experience working in the field of healthcare.”)

• Olla tarjottavaa (“To have something to offer”)
  • Keskustelisin mielelläni enemmän tästä työpaikasta sekä siitä, mitä tarjottavaa minulla on yrityksellenne. (“I would love to talk more about this job and what I have to offer to your company.”)

• Olla valmis kertomaan lisää (“To be ready to tell more”)
  • Olen valmis kertomaan haastattelussa lisää siitä miksi sopisin erityisen hyvin juuri tähän tehtävään. (“I’m ready to tell in an interview more about why I would be suited to this position especially.”)

• Kiitos ajastanne ja harkinnastanne. (“Thank you for your time and consideration.”)

Do you want more help with job hunting in Finland? We recommend visiting our free vocabulary list Words and Phrases for Writing Your Resume and the audio lesson A Finnish Job Interview on FinnishPod101.com.

Make sure your cover letter stands out for the right reasons.

3. Smart Phrases for Business Meetings

Do you want to put your best foot forward in a business meeting? Then preparation is essential. In addition to learning in advance about Finnish business culture and etiquette, you’ll also want to memorize key phrases and learn appropriate ways to express your ideas confidently in a business setting. The following list of advanced Finnish words and phrases will help you get started.

• Ottaa asia esille (“Raise a point”)
  • Haluaisin ottaa esille seuraavan asian. (“I would like to raise the following point.”)

• Laatia strategia (“Devise a strategy”)
  • Haluamme laatia strategian, jonka kaikki osapuolet voivat hyväksyä. (“We want to devise a strategy that all parties can agree on.”)

• Esitys sisältää (“The submission contains”)
  • Esitykseni sisältää erittelyn projektin kustannuksista. (“My submission contains a breakdown of the project’s expenses.”)

• Olla huomautuksia (“To have objections”)
  • Onko kenelläkään tähän ehdotukseen liittyviä huomautuksia? (“Does anyone have any objections to this proposal?”)

• Ehdottaa (“To propose”)
  • Ehdotan kohdan 4 muuttamista. (“I propose an amendment to item 4.”)

• Kannattaa (“To second”)
  • Kannatan esitystä. (“I second the motion.”)

• Vastustaa (“To oppose”)
  • Vastustan esitystä. (“I oppose the motion.”)

• Siirtyä seuraavaan kohtaan (“To move on to the next item”)
  • Siirrymme seuraavaan päiväjärjestyksen kohtaan. (“We will move on to the next item on the agenda.”)

• Kerrata yhteenvedoksi (“To repeat” / “To sum up”)
  • Kertaan yhteenvedoksi tähän mennessä käsitellyt pääkohdat. (“To sum up, I will repeat the main points raised so far.”)

• Loppuun käsitelty (“Closed,” or literally: “handled to the end”)
  • Asia on loppuun käsitelty. (“The matter is closed.”)

For more help, visit our vocabulary list Phrases for Doing Business Successfully or listen to our lesson Preparing for a Finnish Business Meeting.

Master key phrases in advance to feel more confident in a business meeting.

4. Advanced Idioms for Everyday Use

Idioms can be particularly baffling for language learners since they tend not to make much sense when translated word for word. However, learning idioms is an amusing and rewarding undertaking for the very same reason. What’s more, mastering idioms gives you a unique insight into the culture of your target language and is a significant step on your journey to fluency. Below are several Finnish phrases for advanced learners who would like to sound more natural in everyday conversations and familiarize themselves with Finnish culture. 

• vetää herne nenään (literally: “to pull a pea up one’s nose” / meaning: “to get upset about something insignificant” / equivalent: “to get one’s knickers in a twist”)
  • Se oli vain vitsi! Älä vedä hernettä nenään. (“It was just a joke! Don’t get your knickers in a twist!”)

• vääntää rautalangasta (literally: “to wrench from iron wire” / meaning: “to explain in simple terms” / equivalent: “to spell out”)
  • Täytyykö minun vääntää joka ikinen asia rautalangasta? (“Do I have to spell out every single thing?”)

• sopia kuin nyrkki silmään (literally: “to fit like a fist to an eye” / meaning: “to fit or suit perfectly” / equivalent: “to fit like a glove”)
  • Punainen hiusväri sopii sinulle kuin nyrkki silmään. (“Red hair dye suits you perfectly.”)

• ymmärtää yskä (literally: “to understand the cough” / meaning: “to get the hint,” “to understand”)
  • Jouko ymmärsi heti yskän ja jätti meidät kahden. (“Jouko immediately got the hint and left us alone.”)

• ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa (literally: “to not have all the Moomins in the valley” / meaning: “crazy” / equivalent: “to have a screw loose”)
  • Olen alkanut epäillä ettei naapurillani ole kaikki muumit laaksossa. (“I’ve started to suspect that my neighbor has a screw loose.”)

• kaivaa verta nenästään (literally: “to dig blood out of one’s nose” / meaning: “to provoke” / equivalent: “to look for trouble”)
  • Taneli kaivoi verta nenästään kertomalla loukkaavia vitsejä. (“Taneli was looking for trouble by telling offensive jokes.”)

• puhaltaa yhteen hiileen (literally: “to blow into one coal” / meaning: “to work together”)
  • Saamme työn valmiiksi paljon nopeammin jos puhallamme yhteen hiileen. (“We will complete the work much faster if we work together.”)

• katsoa kuin halpaa makkaraa (literally: “to look at someone like they’re a cheap sausage” / meaning: “to look down on someone” / equivalent: “to look down one’s nose at”)
  • Anoppini katsoi minua kuin halpaa makkaraa kun tapasin hänet ensimmäistä kertaa. (“My mother-in-law looked at me down her nose when I met her for the first time.”)

• maksaa potut pottuina (literally: “to pay potatoes as potatoes” / meaning: “to get even”)
  • Mervi maksoi potut pottuina ja murskasi Karin uusintaottelussa. (“Mervi got even and crushed Kari in the rematch.”)

• menneen talven lumia (literally: “snows of a past winter” / meaning: “past events that are no longer important” / equivalent: “water under the bridge”)
  • Unohdetaan koko juttu; se on menneen talven lumia. (“Let’s forget the whole thing; it’s water under the bridge.”)

Do you want to learn more strange idioms? Find out what Matti kukkarossa (literally: “Matti in the purse”) means by listening to our audio lesson on common Finnish idioms or head over to our free vocabulary list Essential Idioms That Will Make You Sound Like a Native Speaker.

Onko sinulla kaikki muumit laaksossa? (“Do you have all the Moomins in the valley?”)

5. Lopuksi

In this guide, we have covered many advanced Finnish phrases that will help you express your thoughts confidently in academic essays, write winning cover letters, and participate fully in business meetings. Is there anything we didn’t touch on that you would like to see covered in the future? Do you know any great Finnish idioms we didn’t mention here? Drop a comment below to let us know!

We have plenty of resources at FinnishPod101.com for advanced learners, including our official curated Level 5 pathway and a massive library of free vocabulary lists with audio recordings. Our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, includes 1-on-1 coaching and a personalized lesson plan, which makes it ideal for anyone who is serious about becoming fluent in Finnish.

Happy learning on FinnishPod101.com!