This article contains useful vocabulary and phrases related to visiting people in Finland. This article is timed badly because COVID-19 is limiting our social life. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t learn some useful vocabulary well in advance!

1. Basic Words

When visiting people, you have to take in account your relationship with them and their personality. The phrases I’m including in this article are mostly focused on meeting adult friends and in-laws. Visiting young people can give you a different, less formal experience. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to read these tips for visiting a Finn’s house so none of the unspoken rules will come as a surprise.

2. Inviting Someone Over in Finnish

Common phrases include tulla kahville “to come for coffee”, tulla kylään “to come visit” and tulla meille “to come to our place”. The latter is used when you invite someone over to your family’s home.

The phrases above are usually used when addressing one person. In the table below, you can find the singular and plural phrases side by side.

3. Agreeing on the Time

It’s not very common in Finland to just “stop by” a friend’s or relative’s house. This of course depends on your relationship with the person. In general, you should make sure to agree in advance before visiting people. It’s very common to set up an exact time for your visit in advance. Usually this is in the early afternoon.

4. Explaining that you’re Late in Finnish

Finns are usually pretty punctual, so try to arrive on time. If you’re late, letting them know with a text message can be a polite thing to do. Not everyone does this, but it’ll leave a good impression! You can also apologize for being late when you arrive.

5. Introducing People in Finnish

In Finland, an invitation generally only applies to yourself. It’s not common to bring your spouse or children with you unless they’ve specifically been invited. If you’re bringing someone new, you should introduce the person. If you’re the new person yourself, you could also introduce yourself.

6. Inviting People in

Inviting people into your home can simply be done with “tule sisään“, but some other phrases are also common. They’re listed in the table below.

Take off your shoes when you enter someone’s house! Finns don’t keep their shoes on inside of the house. You will generally not hear your hosts tell you to take them off, unless they’re unsure that you know of this custom.

Bringing your hosts a gift (tuliainen) is fairly common in Finland when visiting people. It’s a nice gesture, but not mandatory. Bringing something is especially common when you’re visiting because of a special occasion, such as a birthday or a housewarming party. Even if there’s no special occasion, you could bring your hosts, for example, a packet of coffee. Other typical presents are chocolates, cookies, flowers or wine. If you visit someone regularly, it would be strange to bring them something every time.

If you get an invitation to nyyttikestit or nyyttärit, you should bring some type of food with you. Often it’s a good idea to specify in advance what type of food you will be bringing.

7. Admiring the Host’s Home

It’s likely that your hosts will apologize about the state of their home once you arrive. If they’ve just moved, it’s possible that they’ll give you a full tour of the house. If they don’t, it’s not polite to start exploring the house yourself.

Smoking is not allowed inside in Finland. If you’re a smoker, you could ask if you can smoke on the balcony. Many apartment buildings forbid smoking on the balcony as well, so you might need to go outside to smoke. Make sure you don’t stand right in front of the door, so you don’t let the smoke in when you enter again!

8. Coffee or Tea Phrases

A visit will generally include coffee and some kind of pulla. You shouldn’t expect a warm meal, though sometimes your hosts can also invite you to stay for dinner. This isn’t the norm but isn’t unheard of either.

Finns say “thank you” when they finish a meal (or coffee). Often, this is not aimed at any person in particular; it’s just something you say out loud. If your hosts remove your plate once you’re done, it’s a good idea to say “kiitos“.

9. Small Talk Questions

Finns are not known for their small talk. It’s totally normal for there to be lulls in a conversation. Finns are okay with silences that can last well over a minute. It’s of course nice if you can think of something to say, but don’t stress out. Most Finns will be perfectly content with some silences.

Some easy conversation starters are remarks about special features in the host’s home, or questions about their everyday life and family.

10. Leaving, Ending a Visit

There are some phrases that are very common when a visitor is about the leave. The following table contains phrases used to announce that you’re leaving as well as some phrases said when you’re saying goodbye.

Check out these other sources

I hope these phrases will prove useful when you’re visiting people in Finland.

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