Have you ever stopped to think just how often we ask questions on a daily basis? Questions are incredibly helpful in our everyday lives—and doubly so when we’re speaking a foreign language! Learning Finnish conversational questions and answers will not only help you navigate practical situations (like finding a bank) while you’re in Finland, but it’ll also allow you to converse more naturally with Finns in social situations.
This guide will introduce you to the basics of forming questions in Finnish. After that, we’ll cover the ten most useful questions in Finnish for beginners. And of course, we’ll go over a number of ways to answer each question, so that you can always be ready with a reply!
Table of Contents
Asking and answering questions keeps a conversation going!
1. How to Ask Questions in Finnish
Before you learn the ten most common Finnish language questions, we’ll take a brief look at the two main ways to form questions in Finnish.
A – Creating closed questions
Closed questions—questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”—are very easy to form in Finnish! All you need to do is take a statement, place the verb at the beginning, and add -ko or -kö to the end of the verb.
The correct ending is determined by vowel harmony. The rule of thumb is: if the word contains back vowels (a, o, u), choose -ko; if the word contains front vowels (ä, ö, y) or only neutral vowels (i, e), choose -kö.
Here are a few examples:
- Se on totta. (“It is true.”)
Now, begin the question with the verb (on) and add the correct ending (-ko) to the verb.
- Onko se totta? (“Is it true?”)
Another example:
- Sinä pidät kahvista. (“You like coffee.”)
- Pidätkö sinä kahvista? (“Do you like coffee?”)
Let’s see how you can answer this important question!
i- Affirmative Answers
When the answer is “yes,” you can simply use the word kyllä (“yes”), or the colloquial joo. It’s also common to simply repeat the verb and drop the word kyllä altogether—just remember to conjugate the verb correctly!
- Pidätkö sinä kahvista? (“Do you like coffee?”)
► Kyllä. (“Yes.”)
►Pidän. (“Yes.” Literally: “I like.”)
ii- Negative Answers
When the answer is ei (“no”), things get a little bit trickier. It’s important to remember that the negative verb in Finnish is conjugated in the six personal forms, like this: en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät. We’ll take a look at three different ways to say that you don’t like coffee.
1. Use ei (“no”), the conjugated form of the negative verb, and the main verb:
- ► Ei, en pidä kahvista. (“No, I don’t like coffee.”)
2. Use the conjugated form of the negative verb and the main verb:
- ► En pidä. (“No.” Literally: “I don’t like.”)
3. Use just the conjugated form of the negative verb:
- ► En. (“No.” Literally: “I don’t.”)
Ei, en pidä kahvista. (“No, I don’t like coffee.”)
B – Finnish Question Words
Finnish question words (we’re sorry to say) are not as straightforward as the English ones. One reason for this is that some of the Finnish question words are inflected and have multiple cases. For a beginner, it’s best to focus on the most common question words first. You can dive into the deep end after you’ve mastered the basics!
1. Kuka? / Ketkä? (“Who?” Singular / Plural)
- Kuka on Suomen pääministeri? (“Who is Finland’s prime minister?”)
► Sanna Marin. (“Sanna Marin.”)
- Ketkä ovat tulossa mukaan? (“Who is coming along?”)
► Sini ja Pekka. (“Sini and Pekka.”)
2. Mikä? / Mitä? (“What?”)
- Mikä se on? (“What is it?”)
► Se on kissanpentu. (“It’s a kitten.”)
- Mitä sinä sanoit? (“What did you say?”)
► Sanoin, että haluan mennä ulos. (“I said that I want to go out.”)
(Note that mikä usually refers to defined, concrete things, while mitä usually refers to uncountable, abstract things.)
3. Missä? (“Where?”)
- Missä sinä asut? (“Where do you live?”)
► Asun Oulussa. (“I live in Kallio.”)
4. Miksi? (“Why?”)
- Miksi et soittanut minulle? (“Why didn’t you call me?”)
► Koska unohdin, että lupasin soittaa. (“Because I forgot that I promised to call.”)
5. Milloin? (“When?”)
- Milloin lentokone laskeutuu? (“When does the airplane land?”)
► Puolen tunnin päästä. (“In half an hour.”)
6. Kuinka? / Miten? (“How?”)
- Miten voin auttaa? (“How can I help?”)
► Voit auttaa viemällä roskat ulos. (“You can help by taking the trash out.”)
- Kuinka kuumaa saunassa on? (“How hot is it in the sauna?”)
► Saunassa on 80 astetta. (“It’s 80 degrees in the sauna.”)
Note that in most cases, kuinka and miten are interchangeable with no difference in meaning. So pick your favorite!
Mitä sinä sanoit? (“What did you say?”)
2. The 10 Most Common Questions in Finnish
With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to form endless closed Finnish language questions. In addition, learning the most important question words by heart will be of great help in all of your Finnish interactions. Pretty neat, huh?
Now we’ll focus on the ten most common Finnish conversational questions and answers that you’re bound to use sooner or later.
1 – What’s your name?
You’ve met a Finnish person—wonderful! Let’s get to know them. This is how you ask “What’s your name?” in Finnish, and how you can answer the same question.
- Mikä sinun nimesi on? (“What’s your name?”) – Casual
- Mikä teidän nimenne on? (“What’s your name?”) – Formal
To answer this Finnish question, you could simply state your name. But to give a full answer, say: Minun nimeni on… (“My name is…”). You can also drop the word minun because the possessive suffix in nimeni already communicates whose name you’re talking about.
- ► Minun nimeni on Anna. (“My name is Anna.”)
- ► Nimeni on Anna. (“[My] name is Anna.”)
On our website, you can find more handy Finnish phrases to use when introducing yourself.
2 – Where are you from?
Finns will be curious about where you’re from—and perhaps you’re curious about which city your Finnish friend comes from. This question covers both situations:
- Mistä sinä olet kotoisin? (“Where are you from?”) – Casual
- Mistä te olette kotoisin? (“Where are you from?”) – Formal
Note: In Finnish language questions, the pronouns are sometimes left out, as the verb already gives information about the pronoun. For example, “Where are you from?” can simply be expressed as Mistä olet kotoisin? or Mistä olette kotoisin?
You can also be more specific:
- Mistä maasta (sinä) olet kotoisin? (“Which country are you from?”)
- Mistä päin Suomea sinä olet kotoisin? (“Which part of Finland are you from?”)
- Mistä kaupungista sinä olet kotoisin? (“Which city are you from?”)
Answers to the previous questions start with Olen kotoisin… (“I’m from…”). The place (country, region, or city) will usually be in the elative case (-sta/-stä), although the names of some towns may be in the adessive case instead (-lta/-ltä).
- ► Olen kotoisin Saksasta. (“I’m from Germany.”)
► Olen kotoisin Pohjois-Karjalasta. (“I’m from North Karelia.”)
► Olen kotoisin Tampereelta. (“I’m from Tampere.”)
Mistä maasta sinä olet kotoisin? (“Which country are you from?”)
What about India and Argentina? Learn the Finnish names of some other countries on FinnishPod101.com.
3 – Do you speak Finnish?
Here’s another question you may find yourself asking and answering a lot when meeting new people:
- Puhutko sinä suomea? (“Do you speak Finnish?”) – Casual
- Puhutteko te suomea? (“Do you speak Finnish?”) – Formal
- Puhutko sinä englantia? (“Do you speak English?”)
Remember those tips we covered about answering closed questions? Now’s a good time to review them! Simple answers look like this:
- ► Kyllä, puhun suomea. (“Yes, I speak Finnish.”)
- ► Ei, en puhu englantia. (“No, I don’t speak English.”)
These answers indicate how well you speak the language in question:
- ► Kyllä, mutta vain vähän. (“Yes, but only a little.”)
- ► Kyllä, jonkin verran. (“Yes, some.”)
- ► Kyllä, puhun suomea sujuvasti. (“Yes, I speak Finnish fluently.”)
- ► Kyllä, englanti on äidinkieleni. (“Yes, English is my mother tongue.”)
Look up the Finnish names of thirty-eight different languages with our free vocabulary list!
4 – How are you?
Vaihdetaan kuulumisia! (“Let’s exchange news!”)
When we ask someone how they are in Finnish, we use the verb kuulua (“to be heard”).
- Mitä sinulle kuuluu? (“How are you?”) – Casual
- Mitä teille kuuluu? (“How are you?”) – Formal
- Mitä kuuluu? (“How are you?”)
The typical answer that suits most situations is simply composed of kiitos (“thank you”) and Minulle kuuluu hyvää (“I’m good”). With close friends and family, you can go into more detail!
- ► Kiitos, minulle kuuluu hyvää. (“I’m good, thank you.”)
- ► Kiitos ihan hyvää. Entä sinulle? (“Pretty good, thank you. What about you?”)
Here’s an alternative way to ask the question:
- Miten menee? (“How’s it going?”)
► Hyvin, kiitos. (“I’m well, thank you.”)
► Ei hassummin. Entä sinulla? (“Not bad. How about you?”)
Learn more relevant Finnish phrases, and listen to this audio lesson to learn how to give a vague answer when you don’t feel like sharing!
5 – What do you do for a living?
When talking with someone, work will often come up as a topic. Here are a few different ways you can ask someone about their work or profession:
- Mikä sinun ammattisi on? (“What’s your profession?”) – Casual
- Mikä teidän ammattinne on? (“What’s your profession?”) – Formal
Answering this one is easy! Just put together Olen (“I am”) and your profession. For example:
- ► Olen valokuvaaja. (“I’m a photographer.”)
- ► Olen myyntiapulainen. (“I’m a sales assistant.”)
- Mitä (sinä) teet työksesi? (“What do you do for a living?”) – Casual
- Mitä (te) teette työksenne? (“What do you do for a living?”) – Formal
The answer to this one is also pretty straightforward. Note that the subject in these answers is in the partitive case.
- ► Opetan ruotsia. (“I teach Swedish.”)
► Kävelytän koiria. (“I walk dogs.”)
- Millä alalla (sinä) olet töissä? (“What field do you work in?”) – Casual
- Millä alalla (te) olette töissä? (“What field do you work in?”) – Formal
Begin your answer with Olen töissä (“I work [in]”) followed by your ala (“field”) in the adessive case.
- ► Olen töissä muotialalla. (“I work in fashion.”)
► Olen töissä IT-alalla. (“I work in IT.”)
Olen valokuvaaja. (“I’m a photographer.”)
Learn even more Finnish words for different occupations on our website!
6 – What are your hobbies?
Meet the verb harrastaa. It refers to doing something you’re interested in on a regular basis, usually in your free time. All of that packed into one little word! Think of it as “enjoy something (as a hobby).” (By the way, the word for “a hobby” is harrastus.)
- Mitä sinä harrastat? (“What do you enjoy as a hobby?”) – Casual
- Mitä te harrastatte? (“What do you enjoy as a hobby?”) – Formal
- Mitä harrastuksia sinulla on? (“What hobbies do you have?”) – Casual
- Mitä harrastuksia teillä on? (“What hobbies do you have?”) – Formal
- Mitä (sinä) teet vapaa-ajallasi? (“What do you do in your free time?”) – Casual
- Mitä (te) teette vapaa-ajallanne? (“What do you do in your free time?”) – Formal
To answer any of the above questions, you can use the verb harrastan (“I enjoy as a hobby”) or another verb like pelaan (“I play”), followed by the activity in the partitive case. For example:
- ► Harrastan kansantanssia ja maalausta. (“I enjoy folk dancing and painting.”)
► Pelaan jääkiekkoa. (“I play ice hockey.”)
Pelaan jääkiekkoa. (“I play ice-hockey.”)
Learn more Finnish words for different hobbies, and ace your pronunciation with the help of the audio recordings.
7 – What time is it?
Imagine that you’ve just landed at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport after a long flight and want to double-check the local time. Or maybe someone just asks you what the time is! No problem. If that happens, you’ll already have learned how to ask and answer questions about time in Finnish.
Note that when talking about the time, Finns say kello (“clock”) instead of aika (“time”).
These three questions are interchangeable:
- Mitä kello on? (“What time is it?”)
- Kuinka paljon kello on? (“What time is it?”)
- Paljonko kello on? (“What time is it?”)
You can begin with Kello on (“The time is”) or Se on (“It is”), but it’s also fine to simply state the time!
- ► Kello on kymmenen aamulla/illalla. (“It’s ten a.m./p.m.”)
- ► Kello on tasan kaksitoista. (“It’s exactly twelve o’clock.”)
- ► Se on puoli neljä. (“It’s half past three.” Literally: “It’s half four.”)
- ► Se on varttia vaille kuusi. (“It’s a quarter to six.”)
- ► Viisi minuuttia yli yhdeksän. (“Five minutes past nine.”)
Pay close attention to puoli (“half”) here. While in English, 3:30 is “half past three,” in Finnish it’s puoli neljä (“half four”)!
Here’s more useful Finnish vocabulary related to time, and here’s another list for numbers in Finnish.
Kello on tasan 12 (kaksitoista). (“It’s exactly twelve o’clock.”)
8 – What are you doing?
Here’s how you can ask somebody what they’re doing in Finnish, and how to answer the question yourself.
- Mitä sinä teet? (“What are you doing?”) – Casual
- Mitä te teette? (“What are you doing?”) – Formal or plural
You could answer this with just one word, for example Juoksen (“I’m running”), but your answer will often consist of a verb and an object in the partitive case.
- ► Opiskelen suomea. (“I’m studying Finnish.”)
- ► Katson televisiota. (“I’m watching TV.”)
- ► Syömme aamupalaa. (“We’re eating breakfast.”)
► Suunnittelemme huomista retkeä. (“We’re planning tomorrow’s trip.”)
Syömme aamupalaa. (“We’re having breakfast.”)
9 – How do you say this in Finnish?
Can’t remember a word in Finnish? Want to learn a new expression? Here’s how you can ask your Finnish friends to teach you specific words and phrases!
- Mitä tämä on suomeksi? (“What is this in Finnish?”)
- Mitä on “parliament” suomeksi? (“What is ‘parliament’ in Finnish?”)
- Miten sanotaan “it’s complicated” in Finnish? (“How do you say ‘it’s complicated’ in Finnish?”)
The key words to remember here are on suomeksi (“is in Finnish”). Not complicated at all!
- ► “Parliament” on suomeksi eduskunta. (“‘Parliament’ is ‘eduskunta’ in Finnish.”)
- ► “It’s complicated” on suomeksi “se on monimutkaista.” (“‘It’s complicated’ is ‘se on monimutkaista’ in Finnish.”)
10 – How much is it?
If you’re spending any amount of time in Finland, you’ll most likely need to buy (ostaa) something, so it’ll be useful to know how to ask for prices!
Confusingly, the verb we’re using this time, maksaa, means both “to cost” and “to pay”! To ask “how much,” you can use the words kuinka paljon or mitä or paljonko.
- Kuinka paljon se maksaa? (“How much does it cost?”)
- Anteeksi, mitä tämä maksaa? (“Excuse me, what does this cost?”)
- Paljonko maksaa kuppi kahvia? (“How much does a cup of coffee cost?”)
The phrase you’ll want to memorize is Se maksaa… (“It costs…”). However, it’ll be useful to be aware of a few alternatives too:
- ► Se maksaa 5 (viisi) euroa. (“It costs 5€.”)
► Se tekee yhteensä 10 (kymmenen) euroa. (“It’s 10€ altogether.”)
► Hinta on 12 (kaksitoista) euroa/päivä. (“The price is 12€/day.”)
Watch this short video on FinnishPod101.com to learn more about the Finnish currency (euro) and how to talk about prices.
Kuinka paljon se maksaa? (“How much is it?”)
3. Conclusion
In this guide, we’ve covered a simple way to turn a statement into a question, the basic Finnish question words, and the ten most common questions you’ll want to memorize before your next Finnish conversation.
To practice, try writing a Finnish question and answer from this article in the comments section. We look forward to seeing how you do!
We hope you’re feeling more confident asking and answering questions and that you’re just buzzing to go out there and use your skills in real life. Keep practicing—we’ll see you back at FinnishPod101.com soon for another Finnish lesson!
