Finnish Comma Rules - PART 2: Phrases and Lists

This article is all about the usage of the comma in Finnish in phrases and lists. It should be read alongside part 1. Both parts deal with the Finnish rules for using commas.

Part 1 (link)deals with commas in sentences, where they are used to divide sentences into clauses
Part 2 deals with commas in lists and phrases, that is to say smaller elements than sentences.

Table of Contents

Commas in lists
A comma can change the meaning
Commas with different types of numbers
Commas with locations
Commas when getting someone’s attention
Commas when addressing someone
Commas with introductory interjections and discourse markers
Commas when providing non-essential information
Commas when providing examples
Commas with tag questions
No comma with adverbs and phrases of attitude
No comma with adverbs of cohesion
No comma after introductory phrases in Finnish

1. Commas in lists

Each item of a list will be followed by a comma. You can make lists of nouns (#1), adjectives (#2), adverbial phrases (#3) and verbs (#4).
There will be no comma in front of ja (and), vai/tai (or) or eikä (nor).
Finnish doesn’t have an oxford comma like English has.

#	Finnish	English
1	Ostin leipää, voita ja maitoa.	I bought bread, butter and milk.
1	Osaan puhua suomea, englantia ja kiinaa.	I can speak Finnish, English and Chinese.
1	Juotko maitoa, piimää vai jogurttia?	Are you drinking milk, buttermilk or yogurt?
1	Haluan ostaa Volvon, Audin tai Toyotan.	I want to buy a Volvo, an Audi or a Toyota.
2	Juoksen nopeasti, tasaisesti ja pitkään.	I run fast, steadily and for a long time.
2	Tiistaina, torstaina ja lauantaina satoi vettä.	It rained on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
2	Sataako eniten keväällä, syksyllä vai talvella?	Does it rain the most in spring, autumn or winter?
3	Sari on nuori, kaunis, kiltti ja älykäs.	Sari is young, beautiful, kind, and intelligent.
3	Asuntoni on tilava, valoisa ja tyylikäs.	My apartment is spacious, bright and stylish.
3	Onko Ari lyhyt, keskipituinen vai pitkä?	Is Ari short, medium height or tall?
4	Ari juoksi pakoon, kaatui, huusi ja pyörtyi.	Ari ran away, fell, screamed and fainted.
4	Ari halusi laulaa, tanssia ja huutaa ilosta.	Ari wanted to sing, dance and scream with joy.
4	Ari ei halua siivota, lakaista eikä imuroida.	Ari doesn’t want to clean, sweep or vacuum.

2. A comma can change the meaning

In sentences where two or more adjectives are placed in a row, adding a comma can change the meaning of the sentence. This is something to pay attention to with the adjectives toinen, ensimmäinen, seuraava, entinen and ainoa.

1. I told another good joke.

Without a comma: Kerroin toisenkin hyvän vitsin.
Implication: Both jokes were good.
With a comma: Kerroin toisenkin, hyvän vitsin.
Implication: The first joke was bad, so I told another one that was good.

2. Ari’s first working invention was registered as a trademark.

Without a comma: Arin ensimmäinen toimiva keksintö rekisteröitiin tavaramerkiksi.
Implication: He has invented other things that work as well, but this first one is now being trademarked.
With a comma: Arin ensimmäinen, toimiva keksintö rekisteröitiin tavaramerkiksi.
Implication: He has invented at least one other thing, but this is the first one that works.

3. Ari’s next book about history will be published soon.

Without a comma: Arin seuraava historiasta kertova kirja julkaistaan pian.
Implication: Both the previous book and this new one are all about history.
With a comma: Arin seuraava, historiasta kertova kirja julkaistaan pian.
Implication: Ari’s previous book was about something other than history.

4. Ari’s Italian ex-wife filed for divorce shortly after the wedding.

Without a comma: Arin entinen italialainen vaimo haki avioeroa pian häiden jälkeen.
Implication: This hasn’t been Ari’s only Italian wife, but this specific Italian wife filed for divorce shortly after the wedding.
With a comma: Arin entinen, italialainen vaimo haki avioeroa pian häiden jälkeen.
Implication: Ari has been married more than once, but the previous wife was the only one that was Italian.

This is not an issue with regular descriptive adjectives! You don’t need to add a comma in the sentence “Ostin kauniin mustan mekon” for example. Adding it won’t cause confusion, but it’s unnecessary. When someone adds an additional comma to these, they strive to draw more attention to the second adjective, making it stand out more.

3. Commas with different types of numbers

The rules are different from English in nearly every way!

You won’t use commas anywhere in dates in Finnish. This includes the space between the day of the week and the date, as well as between the date and the year (#1).
The comma marks the decimal point in a number in Finnish. The translation for “decimal point” is actually desimaalipilkku, ie. “decimal comma” (#2).
For bigger numbers, thousands are often marked with a space for clarity’s sake, but never with a comma (#3).

#	Finnish	English
1	Olen syntynyt sunnuntaina 12. elokuuta 1988.	I was born on Sunday, August 12, 1988.
1	Mummoni syntyi 13. maaliskuuta 1929.	My grandma was born on the 13th of March, 1929.
2	Sillan leveys oli 14,5 metriä.	The width of the bridge was 14.5 meters.
2	Ajomatkan tarkka pituus oli 12 357,3 km.	The exact length of the drive was 12,357.3 km.
2	Tämä kakku maksaa 4,99 euroa.	This cake costs 4.99 euros.
3	Autoni maksoi hulppeat 140 000 euroa.	My car cost a whopping 140,000 euros.

4. Commas with locations

No comma is needed in Finnish when you want to mention both a location and the wider area it is located in. This is another case where English has different rules. Finnish doesn’t have a comma between, for example, the street and the city if they’re placed next to one another. It is possible to add a comma if you want to especially stress the larger area, but it is usually left out.

Finnish	English
Kotini oli Beckenhamissa Suur-Lontoossa.	My home was in Beckhenham, Greater London.
Matkustimme sen jälkeen Gentiin Belgiaan.	We then traveled to Ghent, Belgium.
Asuin Parktownissa Johannesburgissa.	I lived in Parktown, Johannesburg.

If the second part just describes the first part, the addition is seen as non-essential information. Thus, you will use a comma. You will use two commas if the addition is located in the middle of the sentence. See section 8 for more examples of non-essential information.

Finnish	English
Matkustin Brysseliin, Belgian suurimpaan kaupunkiin.	I traveled to Brussels, the largest city in Belgium.
Odotin Hämeenkadulla, Tampereen pääkadulla.	I waited on Hämeenkatu, Tampere’s main street.
Belgravia, Lontoon rikkain kaupunginosa, on ihana.	Belgravia, the richest district in London, is lovely.

5. Commas when getting someone’s attention

In order to get someone’s attention, we can use their name. The name can be placed either at the beginning, or at the end of the sentence. You will add a comma to separate this interjection from the rest of the sentence (#1).

In radio shows where an interview happens (#2), it’s common for the host to start their question with the name of the interviewee and their function or title. This allows the audience to stay on track of who is being interviewed. When written down, you will add a comma after the introductory phrase.

It’s also common in spoken Finnish to add the name in the middle of a sentence (#3). This is useful in situations where there are multiple people present, when you want to address a question to one specific person. For this, no comma will be used in Finnish. Sometimes the word sinä can be added in front of the name (#4). In this situation as well, no comma is needed.

#	Finnish	English
1	Ari, tule tänne!	Ari, come here!
1	Tule tänne, Ari!	Come here, Ari!
1	Kiitos Ari, olet ihme mies! (more)	Thank you, Ari, you are an amazing man!
1	Isä, voisitko auttaa minua?	Dad, could you help me?
1	Ammu heitä, senkin idiootti!	Shoot at them, you idiot!
2	Tutkija Kari Kaski, miksi feminismi on tärkeää?	Researcher Kari Kaski, why is feminism important?
2	Rehtori Ari Leino, miten oppilaat pärjäävät?	Principal Ari Leino, how are the students managing?
3	Tule Ari tänne!	Come here, Ari!
3	Voitko isä auttaa minua?	Can you help me, Dad?
3	Tule rakas tänne!	Come here, Dear!
4	Oletko sinä Ari samaa mieltä?	Do you, Ari, agree?
4	Onko sinulla Ari tähän jotain lisättävää?	Do you, Ari, have anything to add to this?

6. Commas when addressing someone in writing

At the beginning of an message, commas can be used between the greeting (e.g. hei, moi, hyvää huomenta) and the name, or behind the greeting as a whole (#1).

When addressing someone without a greeting word, you will always use a comma. If this address is nestled inside the main sentence, you will add a comma on both sides (#2).

In newspaper, adding the age of a person between commas is commonplace (#3).

#	Finnish	English
1	Hei Ari, mitä sinulle kuuluu?	Hello Ari, how are you?
1	Hei, Ari! Mitä sinulle kuuluu?	Hello Ari! How are you?
2	Arvoisa asiakkaamme, kiitämme tilauksestanne.	Dear customer, we thank you for your order.
2	Ja näin, rakas lukija, päättyy tämäkin tarina.	And thus, dear reader, this story ends.
2	Pyydämme teitä, arvoisa ministeri, osallistumaan.	We ask you, Honorable Minister, to participate.
3	Ari Leino, 52, pääsi Cambridgeen yliopistoon.	Ari Leino, 52, got accepted into Cambridge University.

7. Commas with introductory interjections and discourse markers

The following list contains words that help manage the flow of conversation. They express attitudes, or structure interactions, rather than contribute to the core propositional meaning of a sentence. “No”, “wait”, “listen”, and “excuse me” are all used to signal something about the speaker’s intention, engage the listener, or manage the tone in a conversation.

Finnish	English
Ei, en tiedä milloin Ari tulee.	No, I don’t know when Ari is coming.
Kyllä, se sopii minulle hyvin.	Yes, that suits me fine.
Joo, olen samaa mieltä.	Yeah, I agree.
Ymmärrän kyllä ongelmasi.	I do understand your problem.
Tässä kuitti, ole hyvä!	Here’s the receipt, please!
Kaksi kahvia, kiitos.	Two coffees, please.
Ei kiitos, en halua syödä mitään.	No thanks, I don’t want to eat anything.
Voi kiitos! Voi, kiitos! (both used)	Oh, thank you!
Voi ei, pudotin lasini!	Oh no, I dropped my glass!
Anteeksi, voisitko auttaa minua?	Excuse me, could you help me?
Oho, mitä täällä on tapahtunut?	Oh, what happened here?
Odota, avaan sinulle oven.	Wait, I’ll open the door for you.
Kuule, tarvitsisin apuasi yhdessä jutussa.	Listen, I need your help with something.
Ei kuule kannata edes yrittää.	You shouldn’t even try, you hear me?

8. Commas when providing non-essential information

We can place a statement or comment that’s non-essential in the middle of a sentence. These additions provide more information but aren’t necessary for the sentence to be a complete, full statement. You need a comma on both sides of the addition.

Word order matters in these. By changing the word order, the addition no longer counts as non-essential information to the phrase, as you can see from the last two examples.

Finnish	English
Intia, Kiinan naapurimaa, ei pidä päätöksestä.	India, China’s neighbor, does not like the decision.
Tiramisu, italialainen jälkiruoka, sisältää kahvia.	Tiramisu, an Italian dessert, contains coffee.
Sari, Arin vaimo, työskentelee opettajana.	Sari, Ari’s wife, works as a teacher.
Sari, kuuluisa opettaja, on Arin vaimo.	Sari, the famous teacher, is Ari’s wife.
Soma, koiramme, pelkää uusia ihmisiä.	Soma, our dog, is afraid of new people.
Koiramme Soma pelkää uusia ihmisiä.	Our dog Soma is afraid of new people.
Sauli Niinistö, Suomen presidentti, vieraili Virossa.	Sauli Niinistö, the President of Finland, visited Estonia.
Suomen presidentti Sauli Niinistö vieraili Virossa.	The Finnish President Sauli Niinistö visited Estonia.

English has its own rules for naming people as essential or non-essential information. It depends on the context: if mentioning the name is essential to the meaning of a sentence, you don’t use a comma. If the name is just extra information, you can use a comma. Finnish fortunately doesn’t bother with this: no comma when you use this word order!

Ystäväni Ari tietää kaiken tästä. — No comma
- English: My friend Ari knows all about this. — essential information
- English: My friend, Ari, knows all about this. — non-essential information
Naapurini Sari on kolmen lasten äiti. — No comma
- English: My neighbor Sari is the mother of three children. — essential information
- English: My neighbor, Sari, is the mother of three children. — non-essential information

9. Commas when providing examples

Examples are seen as additional non-essential information, so you will use a comma to separate them from the main sentence. If the examples are located in the middle of the sentence, you will place a comma on both sides of the phrase. In the table below, you can find examples with the word esimerkiksi “for example” and with kuten “such as”.

Note that this comma rule applies specifically to kuten when it’s used as a synonym for esimerkiksi. The word kuten can also be used to mean “just like” (e.g. Ari oli myöhässä kuten aina. “Ari was late, as always”), where you normally won’t use a comma.

Finnish	English
Pidän monista urheilulajeista, esimerkiksi golfista ja judosta.	I like many sports, for example golf and judo.
Jotkut urheilulajit, esimerkiksi golf, ovat kalliita.	Some sports, for example golf, are expensive.
Opiskelen monia kieliä, esimerkiksi hindiä ja thaita.	I study many languages, for example Hindu and Thai.
Pidän makeista herkuista, kuten suklaasta ja jäätelöstä.	I like sweet treats, such as chocolate and ice cream.
Monet herkut, kuten suklaa ja jäätelö, ovat makeita.	Many treats, such as chocolate and ice cream, are sweet.
Sari, kuten monet muutkin naiset, inhoaa siivousta.	Sari, like many other women, hates cleaning.

10. Commas with tag questions

A tag question (liitekysymys) is added to a sentence to turn a statement into a question (e.g. “It’s your job, isn’t it?”). Finnish and English both add a comma to separate the tag question from the statement.

Finnish	English
Ari opetti sinulle matematiikkaa, eikö niin?	Ari taught you math, didn’t he?
Te olette kaikki maahanmuuttajia, eikö totta?	You are all immigrants, right?
Sehän on poliisin tehtävä, vai mitä?	That’s the police’s job, right?
Ethän unohda sitä, ethän?	You won’t forget that, will you?
Tuo on ihana kuva, eikö olekin?	That’s a lovely picture, isn’t it?
Onhan meillä vielä aikaa, vai kuinka?	We still have time, right?

11. No comma with adverbs and phrases of attitude

Finnish guidelines tell you not to use a comma after introductory adverbs that express attitudes towards the rest of the phrase (e.g. unfortunately, luckily). The phrase “ihme kyllä” seems to be an exception, for which it’s said that you can use a comma if you consider it to be especially emphatic. Note that MS Word’s spell-check will recommend to remove the comma.

Finnish	English
Valitettavasti en voi tulla juhliisi.	Unfortunately, I can’t come to your party.
Ikävä kyllä en voi tulla juhliisi.	Unfortunately, I can’t come to your party.
En voi ikävä kyllä tulla juhliisi.	I unfortunately can’t come to your party.
Onneksi kukaan ei loukkaantunut.	Luckily, nobody was hurt.
Olen itse asiassa muuttanut mieleni.	I have, in fact, changed my mind.
Sitä paitsi se on niin tärkeä testi.	Besides, it’s such an important test.
Kysymyksesi on kuitenkin tärkeä.	Your question, however, is important.
Sateesta huolimatta jatkoimme leikkimistä.	Despite the rain, we continued playing.
Rehellisesti sanottuna en pitänyt elokuvasta.	To be honest, I didn’t like the movie.
Ihme kyllä, tällaista ei ole ennen tapahtunut.	Amazingly, this has never happened before.

12. No comma with adverbs of cohesion

English often includes a comma with introductory phrases that connect statements or ideas within a text with the purpose of adding cohesion. Finnish does not use a comma there. The Finnish rule is more lenient with ensiksi and toiseksi, where we can add a comma as a style choice, though MS Word will once again recommend removing it.

Finnish	English
Ensiksi(,) meidän täytyy selvittää, mitä on tapahtunut.	First, we need to find out what happened.
Toiseksi(,) jokainen miettii ratkaisuja ongelmaan.	Secondly, everyone thinks of solutions to the problem.
Toiseksi haluaisin keskustella budjetista.	I would, secondly, like to discuss the budget.
Lisäksi meidän pitäisi keskustella jatkotoimista.	Additionally, we should talk about the next steps.
Tämän seurauksena kokous lykättiin.	As a result, the meeting was postponed.
Siitä huolimatta pystyimme löytämään ratkaisun.	Nevertheless, we were able to find a solution.
Järjestelmä kaatui ja sen seurauksena menetin kaiken.	The system failed and, as a result, I lost everything.
Mielestäni suomi on vaikea kieli.	In my opinion Finnish is a difficult language.

13. No comma after introductory phrases

You will not add a comma when you start a sentence with an introductory phrase. Introductory phrases can add information, for example, about when or where something happened. In English, it’s pretty common to use a comma in these situations, though it depends on the length of the phrase (the longer the phrase is, the more likely you will see a comma).

First, we can place an expression of time as an adverbial phrase at the front of a sentence.

Finnish	English
Kevään alussa luonto herää eloon.	At the beginning of spring, nature comes to life.
Perjantaisin syömme yleensä pitsaa.	On Fridays we usually eat pizza.
Pitkän kokouksen jälkeen menimme drinkeille.	After the long meeting, we went for drinks.
Viisisataa vuotta sitten ei ollut kielioppikirjoja.	Five hundred years ago, there were no grammar books.
Kokouksen aikana keskustelimme ongelmasta.	During the meeting, we discussed the problem.
Lontoon vilkkailla kaduilla pariskunta riiteli.	On the busy streets of London, a couple argued.
Tien päässä näimme vanhan talon.	At the end of the road, we saw the old house.
Avatusta ikkunasta näin täysikuun.	From the opened window, I could see a full moon.