Animal Compound Words

In this article, you can find some fun animal compound words. These words are more of the “nice to know” category. These are definitely not vital to learning to speak proper Finnish, but it’s kind of fun to know some animal themed compound words.

I found the basic list of words in the book Suomen kieli kuntoon 2, which I recommend if you’re looking into investing in a book to learn phrases around B1.1 level. I supplemented it with words I thought up myself, as well as some from this conversation I found online.

Finnish	English
aasinsilta	segue from topic to another; “donkey’s bridge”
baarikärpänen	person who hangs around in bars; “bar fly”
elohiiri	myokymia, spasm in muscle around eye; “life mouse”
etanaposti	conventional paper mail, post; “snail mail”
haukankatse	penetrating, scary, sharp look; “hawk’s gaze”
harakanvarpaat	unclear, messy writing, scrawl; “magpie’s toes”
harakkamylly	certain type of mill, smock mill; “magpie mill”
hevosvoima	unit of power of engine; “horsepower”
hevosenleikki	rough, raw, inappropriate play or joke; “horse’s play”
hiirenhiljaa	really quiet, quiet as a mouse; “mouse’s quiet”
hiirenkorvat	a new spring leaf about to unfold; “mouse’s ear”
hiirikäsi	repetitive strain injury in wrist; “mouse hand”
hiirimatto	under computer mouse, mousepad; “mouse carpet”
härkäpää	stubborn person, mule; “bull head”
härkäviikko	week with no public holidays; “bull week”
häränsilmä	center of target, bullseye; “bull’s eye”
häränsilmä	also: sunny-side up egg; “bull’s eye”
joulupukki	Santa Claus; “Christmas goat”
joutsenlaulu	artist’s final product, performance; “swan song”
katinkulta	mineral that looks like gold, fool’s gold “cat’s gold”
kirpputori	second hand store; “flea market”
kissanpäivät	carefree, pleasant, luxurious life; “cat’s days”
kissanristiäiset	trivial, unimportant party; “cat’s christening”
kissansilmä	round rear reflector on a bicycle; “cat’s eye”
koekaniini	living experimental subject, guinea pig; “test rabbit”
koiranelämä	miserable life, dog’s life; “dog’s life”
koiranilma	awful weather; “dog’s weather”
koirankorva	worn-out corner of page of book; “dog’s ear”
koiranleuka	person making mischievous jokes, joker; “dog’s jaw”
koiranuinti	way of swimming, dog paddle; “dog’s swimming”
koirauni	light of feigned sleep; “dog’s sleep”
koiranvirka	unpleasant post or position; “dog job”
korttihai	professional card game cheater; “card shark”
korvamato	tune that’s stuck in your head; “ear worm”
kukonaskel	short distance or interval; “cock’s step”
käkikello	type of wall clock; “cuckoo clock”
kännikala	drunk, drunkard; “drunk fish”
käärmekeitto	something that strengthens figuratively; “snake soup”
laiskamato	lazy person; “lazy worm”
lehmäkauppa	counter-trade barter; “cow trade”
lehmänkäännös	a large, clumsy turn of car at intersection; “cow turn”
leijonanosa	the majority of something, lion’s share; “lion’s part”
lepakkotuoli	steel tube fabric chair, butterfly chair; “bat chair”
linnuntie	straight line distance; “bird’s road”
lintukoto	place like paradise; “home of birds”
lintuperspektiivi	as seen from high above; “bird’s eye view”
lukutoukka	avid book reader, bookworm; “reading larva”
madonluku	worst possible result; “worm’s number”
mursunviikset	thick, bushy, droopy moustache; “walrus’ moustache”
myyräntyö	secret malicious undermining activity; “mole job”
nostokurki	crane to lift things; “lifting crane”
nälkäkurki	tall, skinny person; “hunger crane”
onnenmyyrä	lucky duck, happy camper; “happy/lucky mole”
oravanpyörä	rat race, treadmill; “squirrel wheel”
outolintu	weird person, nutcase; “strange bird”
pahanilmanlintu	bringer of bad news or bad luck; “bad weather bird”
pajunkissat	the furry catkins on a willow tree; “willow’s cat”
perhosuinti	style of swimming; “butterfly swimming”
poninhäntä	hairstyle; “ponytail”
poropeukalo	incompetent, ham-fisted person; “reindeer thumb”
porsaanreikä	loophole in document, agreement; “piglet’s hole”
possumunkki	Finnish donut with jam inside; “piglet donut”
pukinparta	goatee; “buck’s beard”
pyryharakka	young, mischievous girl; “snowfall magpie”
rantaleijona	guy who shows off at beach; “beach lion”
rauhankyyhky	symbol of peace; “peace dove”
sahapukki	frame for sawing firewood, sawhorse; “saw buck”
sammakkomies	diver in scuba gear; “frogman”
siansorkka	certain type of nautical knot, clove hitch; “pig’s hoof”
siilipuolustus	certain type of defence; “hedgehog defence”
siilitukka	hair that stands up, crew cut; “hedgehog hair”
simpukkapuhelin	type of phone, flip phone; “clamshell phone”
sudenkuoppa	potential problem or danger, pitfall; “wolf’s pit”
sudennälkä	ravenous hunger; “wolf’s hunger”
susipari	degrading term for unmarried couple; “wolf pair”
sähköjänis	mechanical hare in dog racing; “electric rabbit”
teerenpeli	eye game, flirting; “black grouse game”
teerenpilkku	freckle; “black grouse comma”
tiikerikakku	dry vanilla-chocolate cake, marble cake; “tiger cake”
tikkataulu	dartboard; “woodpecker board”
työmyyrä	hard worker, workhorse; “work mole”
uutisankka	false or misleading report or story, canard “news duck”
vilukissa	someone who easily feels cold; “cold cat”

That’s it for animal themed compound words! Are there other types of compound words you’d like to see an article on? Let me know in the comments!

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