Finland is consistently ranked as the world’s happiest country, thanks to factors including a great work-life balance and internationally renowned healthcare.
But Americans moving to Finland might experience a culture shock when it comes to the Finnish language — the country has its own vernacular and phrases, and the direct translations might confuse non-Finnish people.
Here are 10 Finnish slang phrases you’ve probably never heard of.
“Juosta pää kolmantena jalkana” has a similar meaning to “running like a chicken with its head cut off.”
When Finnish people say they’re in a rush to get somewhere, they use the phrase “Juosta pää kolmantena jalkana,” which translates to “run using their head as a third leg,” according to Edunation.
The phrase “Olla kaikki muumit laaksossa” references the Finnish “Moomin” children’s book series.
The phrase literally translates to “be like all the Moomins in the valley.”
The Moomins are a group of animal-like characters in a series of children’s books by Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson.
According to Edunation, the phrase is used to describe someone who’s silly, or “not all there,” in the same way you’d wonder if someone has all their marbles.
“Olla kuin puusta pudonnut” literally means to seem or be like falling out of tree. In other words, it means to seem out of sorts.
This is a popular phrase in Finland to describe someone who seems confused, almost like they’ve just fallen out of a tree and don’t know where they are, according to the blog Her Finland.
A “pullahiiri” is a “bun mouse,” or someone who has a sweet tooth.
If someone you know can’t get enough of sweets, you might describe them using this word.
A popular dessert in Finland is cinnamon and butter buns, which are similar to American cinnamon buns.
To “heittää lusikka nurkkaan,” or “throw the spoon in the corner,” means to die.
It has a similar meaning to the British phrase “kick the bucket.”
Instead of saying “cheese” when Finns take a photo together, they say “muikku,” a type of fish.
The next time you’re visiting Finland and want to take a picture, shout, “Sano muikku!”
Fried vendace, or muikku, is a popular type of street food in Finland, though the origins of this saying aren’t widely known.
Liars hold “ketunhäntä kainalossa,” or the fox’s tail in their armpits.
Foxes are traditionally known as sly or sneaky creatures, which plays into this famous idiom.
“Rohkea rokan syö” has the same meaning as “fortune favors the bold.”
However, according to Her Finland, it has the more comical literal translation of “the brave eats the soup.”
The full phrase is darker: “The brave eat the soup, but the timid die of hunger.”
“Vahinko ei tule kello kaulassa” roughly translates to “accidents don’t come with a bell around their necks.”
In other words, you don’t get any warning before something bad happens, so you should always be prepared for things to happen out of the blue.
“Konstit on monet, sanoi mummo kun kissalla pöytää pyyhki” translates to “There are many tricks, said grandma while wiping the table with the cat.”
According to Her Finland, this silly-sounding phrase has the same meaning as the British proverb “There’s more than one way to skin a cat” — or there’s more than one way to achieve your goal.
