Finnish Compound Words - Yhdyssanat

In this article, I want to discuss the structure of Finnish compound words and compare them with how English compound words work.

Table of Contents

What are compound words?
The famous examples
English and Finnish compound words sometimes match up
Different combinations inside compound words in English and Finnish
English has a lot of opaque compounds
List of 100 Finnish compound words

1. What are compound words?

An yhdyssana (compound word) is a word that consists of two (or more) words glued to one another. In Finnish, compound words are often consistently written as one word. In contrast, English has open (e.g. father figure), closed (e.g. grandfather), or hyphenated compound words (e.g. father-in-law). Some terms can have all three of these options as valid alternatives: for instance, lifestyle, life–style, and life style. For some other words, the spelling is different for British and American English.

The structure of Finnish compound words is as follows: the first word (grammatically this part is usually called the “modifier” – määriteosa) specifies or limits the meaning of the second part. This latter word is referred to in grammatical sources as the “head” – edusosa).

Finnish compound words do have an unpredictable factor: they can have an -n- in the middle of the word. There are some guidelines for when to use this genitive -n.

2. The famous examples

If you’re going to be reading up on Finnish compound words from an English source, you’re guaranteed to come across some of the following examples. These are examples of compounds where the ingenuity of Finnish compounds is admired greatly by non-Finnish speakers: “Computers are literally knowledge machines, wow!”

Finnish	English	English
tietokone	computer	tieto “knowledge” + kone “machine”
jääkaappi	fridge	jää “ice” + kaappi “cupboard”
lentokone	airplane	lento “flight” + kone “machine”
sukkahousut	tights	sukka “sock” + housut “pants”

3. English and Finnish compound words sometimes match up

While directly translating anything from English to Finnish is strongly advised against, sometimes the two languages do match up – at least as far as compound words go. The following table contains words that have a similar construction in both languages

Finnish	English	English
kengännauha	shoelace	kenkä “shoe” (gen) + nauha “lace”
liikennevalot	traffic lights	liikenne “traffic” + valot “lights”
lumihiutale	snowflake	lumi “snow” + hiutale “flake”
kävelykeppi	walking stick	kävely “walking” + keppi “stick”
hiekkalinna	sandcastle	hiekka “sand” + linna “castle”
kirjanmerkki	bookmark	kirja “book” (gen) + merkki “mark”
sivunumero	page number	sivu “page” + numero “number”
vieraslista	guest list	vieras “guest” + lista “list”
tuulimylly	windmill	tuuli “wind” + mylly “mill”
kultakaivos	goldmine	kulta “gold” + kaivos “mine”
hätäjarru	emergency brake	hätä “emergency” + jarru “brake”
neliömetri	square meter	neliö “square” + metri “meter”
purjevene	sailboat	purje “sail” + vene “boat”
aikapommi	time bomb	aika “time” + pommi “bomb”
nyrkkitappelu	fistfight	nyrkki “fist” + tappelu “fight”
verenpaine	blood pressure	veri “blood” (gen) + paine “pressure”
nettiyhteys	internet connection	netti “internet” + yhteys “connection”
kynsilakka	nail varnish	kynsi “nail” + lakka “varnish”
viikonloppu	weekend	viikko “week” (gen) + loppu “end”
auringonnousu	sunrise	aurinko “sun” (gen) + nousu “rise”
syntymäpäivä	birthday	syntymä “birth” + päivä “day”
pyörätuoli	wheelchair	pyörä “wheel” + tuoli “chair”
taideteos	artwork	taide “art” + teos “work”
korkkiruuvi	corkscrew	korkki “cork” + ruuvi “screw”

4. Different combinations inside compound words in English and Finnish

English and Finnish sometimes both utilize a compound word to name something, but the compound consists of different elements. I find this extremely interesting. For examples, “health insurance” in Finnish is literally “sickness insurance”. Here’s some examples explained, followed by a table which contains some more compounds with a similar shift in focus.

Chairman: I’ll take a guess that the English word probably dates back to the days when important people were carried around in chairs. In Finnish, we focus on what the chairman does: they’re a puheenjohtaja “speech leader”.
Blackboard: English focuses on the color of the board. Finnish focuses on what you use to write on it: you need liitu “chalk” to write on a liitutaulu “chalk board”.
Lipstick: English focuses on the form of the thing you put at your lips. Finnish focuses on the color: huulipuna is literally “lip red”.
Skyscraper: the English compound combines “sky” and the more rough verb “to scrape” as a basis for this word, while the Finnish pilvenpiirtäjä combines pilvi “cloud” and the more artistic verb piirtää “to draw”.

Finnish	English	English
sairausvakuutus	health insurance	sairaus “sickness” + vakuutus “insurance”
puheenjohtaja	chairman	puhe “speech” (gen) + johtaja “leader”
liitutaulu	blackboard	liitu “chalk” + taulu “board”
huulipuna	lipstick	huuli “lip” + puna “red”
taskulamppu	flashlight	tasku “pocket” + lamppu “lamp”
kermavaahto	whipped cream	kerma “cream” + vaahto “foam”
täytekakku	layer cake	täyte “filling” + kakku “cake”
kulmakarva	eyebrow	kulma “corner” + karva “hair”
olohuone	living room	olo “being” + huone “room”
pilvenpiirtäjä	skyscraper	pilvi “cloud” (gen) + piirtäjä “drawer”
hehkulamppu	light bulb	hehku “glow” + lamppu “lamp”
talouspaperi	paper towel	talous “housekeeping” + paperi “paper”
syömäpuikot	chopsticks	syömä “eating” + puikot “sticks”

5. English has a lot of opaque compounds

Especially with more advanced vocabulary, a learner of English has to take extra effort to learn a lot of vocabulary that at first glance isn’t totally transparent. It’s one reason why the latter stages of learning Finnish are easier than the same phase for English learners. For example, when coming across the English word “pedestrian” for the first time, a non-native speaker might be stumped by the meaning of the word. A sufficiently advanced Finnish learner can come across the Finnish equivalent jalankulkija and pick up that the word literally means “leg traveler”. Similarly, a volcano is a “fire mountain” (tulivuori), a globe is a “map ball” (karttapallo) and treason is “country betrayal” (maanpetos).

English can be picked apart if you have some knowledge of Latin and ancient Greek. We can trace the word “geography” back to a combination of ancient Greek words amounting to “earth writing”. Geography is a much more opaque word than the Finnish combination of maa “land, country” and tiede “science”: maantiede means geography. The Latin-based word “carnivorous” can be traced back to meaning “flesh-eating“, which is much more clearly ascertainable from the word lihansyöjä (liha “mean” + syöjä “eater).

6. List of 100 Finnish compound words

The following list contains Finnish compound words that are not compound words in English. I’ve roughly organized them, so the easier words are near the top of the list and the harder ones further below. The abbreviation “gen” between brackets indicates that the first part of the compound word is inflected in the genitive case (e.g. maantiede contains the genitive case form of maa).

#	Finnish	English	English
1	sanakirja	dictionary	sana “word” + kirja “book”
2	tietosanakirja	encyclopedia	tieto “knowledge” + sana “word” + kirja “book”
3	kaulakoru	necklace	kaula “neck” + koru “jewellery”
4	allekirjoitus	signature	alle “under” + kirjoitus “writing”
5	lautasliina	napkin, serviette	lautas-, lautanen “plate” + liina “cloth”
6	jälkiruoka	dessert	jälki- “after” + ruoka “food”
7	kirjekuori	envelope	kirje “letter” + kuori “shell”
8	tulivuori	volcano	tuli “fire” + vuori “mountain”
9	kasvissyöjä	vegetarian	kasvis “vegetable” + syöjä “eater”
10	ripsiväri	mascara	ripsi “eyelash” + väri“color “
11	työnantaja	employer	työ “work” (gen) + antaja “giver”
12	vuokranantaja	landlord	vuokra “rent” (gen) + antaja “giver”
13	savupiippu	chimney	savu “smoke” + piippu “pipe”
14	hammaslääkäri	dentist	hammas “tooth” + lääkäri “doctor”
15	hajuvesi	perfume	haju “smell” + vesi “water”
16	lyijykynä	pencil	lyijy “lead (metal)” + kynä “pen”
17	päiväkirja	diary	päivä “day” + kirja “book”
18	sianliha	pork	sika “pig” (gen) + liha “meat”
19	jäävuori	iceberg	jää “ice” + vuori “mountain”
20	tuoremehu	fruit juice	tuore “fresh” + mehu “juice”
21	palapeli	puzzle	pala “piece” + peli “game”
22	karttapallo	globe	kartta “map” + pallo “ball”
23	vetoketju	zipper	veto “pulling” + ketju “chain”
24	avioero	divorce	avio “marital” + ero “separation, parting”
25	lämpömittari	thermometer	lämpö “heat” + mittari “meter, gauge”
26	aikamuoto	tense	aika “time” + muoto “form”
27	suihkulähde	fountain	suihku “shower” + lähde “source”
28	jalankulkija	pedestrian	jalka “leg” (gen) + kulkija “traveler”
29	kuorma-auto	truck	kuorma “load, burden” + auto “car”
30	lastenlääkäri	pediatrician	lapsi “child” (plural gen) + lääkäri “doctor”
31	viivakoodi	barcode	viiva “line” + koodi “code”
32	hammasraudat	braces	hammas “tooth” + raudat “irons”
33	hymykuoppa	dimple	hymy “smile” + kuoppa “pit”
34	parisuhde	relationship	pari “pair” + suhde “relation”
35	polttoaine	fuel	poltto “combustion” + aine “substance”
36	asiantuntija	expert	asia “thing, issue” (gen) + tuntija “connoisseur”
37	poissaolo	absence	poissa “away” + olo “being”
38	vuosisata	century	vuosi “year” + sata “hundred”
39	ristiriita	contradiction	risti “cross + riita “argument”
40	sukellusvene	submarine	sukellus “diving” + vene “boat”
41	avaruusolento	alien	avaruus “space” + olento “being”
42	pyörremyrsky	tornado	pyörre “vortex” + myrsky “storm”
43	suorakaide	rectangle	suora “straight” + kaide “railing”
44	anteeksipyyntö	apology	anteeksi “sorry” + pyyntö “request”
45	maantiede	geography	maa “land, ground” (gen) + tiede “science”
46	vuorovesi	tide	vuoro “turn, shift” + vesi “water”
47	painovoima	gravity	paino “weight” + voima “force”
48	huutokauppa	auction	huuto “call, yell” + kauppa “commerce”
49	mielipuoli	lunatic	mieli “mind” + puoli “half”
50	oikeinkirjoitus	spelling	oikein “correct” + kirjoitus “writing”
51	tietokirjallisuus	nonfiction	tieto “knowledge” + kirjallisuus “literature”
52	asuntolaina	mortgage	asunto “residence” + laina “loan”
53	yhteiskunta	society	yhteis– “common” + kunta “community”
54	esi-isä	ancestor	esi– “pre” + isä “father”
55	asiakirja	document	asia “issue, matter” + kirja “book”
56	elinympäristö	habitat	elin– “living” + ympäristö “environment”
57	kulkuneuvo	vehicle	kulku “journey” + neuvo “means”
58	yhteenveto	summary	yhteen “together” + veto “pull”
59	vuosipäivä	anniversary	vuosi “year” + päivä “day”
60	ennakkoluulo	prejudice, bias	ennakko “in advance” + luulo “assumption”
61	palkkasotilas	mercenary	palkka “wage, salary” + sotilas “soldier”
62	tietokilpailu	quiz	tieto “knowledge” + kilpailu “competition”
63	vaihtoehto	alternative	vaihto “exchange” + ehto “condition”
64	poikamies	bachelor	poika “boy” + mies “man”
65	välimerkit	punctuation	väli “gap” + merkit “marks”
66	maatalous	agriculture	maa “land, ground” + talous “economy”
67	sivuääni	murmur	sivu “side” + ääni “sound”
68	taikausko	superstition	taika “magic” + usko “belief”
69	parannuskeino	remedy	parannus “cure” + keino “method”
70	muistokirjoitus	obituary	muisto “memory” + kirjoitus “writing”
71	ensihoitaja	paramedic	ensi “first” + hoitaja “caretaker”
72	maanpetos	treason	maa “country, land” (gen) + petos “betrayal”
73	maahanmuutto	immigration	maahan “into country” + muutto “move”
74	häämatka	honeymoon	hää- “wedding” + matka “journey, trip”
75	aivotärähdys	concussion	aivo(t) “brain” + tärähdys “jolt, shock”
76	päivänvarjo	parasol	päivä “day” + varjo “shade”
77	edelläkävijä	pioneer	edellä “in front” + kävijä “walker, attender”
78	salakuljetus	smuggling	sala “secret” + kuljetus “transport”
79	käsikirjoitus	script	käsi “hand” + kirjoitus “writing”
80	vuorovaikutus	interaction	vuoro “turn” + vaikutus “influence, effect”
81	norsunluu	ivory	norsu “elephant” (gen)+ luu “bone”
82	siirtomaa	colony	siirto “move” + maa “country, land”
83	vallankumous	revolution	valta “power” + kumous “undoing, revert”
84	ruoansulatus	digestion	ruoka “food” (gen) + sulatus “melting”
85	oireyhtymä	syndrome	oire “symptom” + yhtymä “junction, combine”
86	henkilökunta	staff, personnel	henkilö “person” + kunta “community”
87	sisällissota	civil war	sisällis- “internal” + sota “war”
88	opetussuunnitelma	curriculum	opetus “teaching” + suunnitelma “plan”
89	väitöskirja	dissertation	väitös “assertion, claim” + kirja “book”
90	nälänhätä	famine	nälkä “hunger” (gen) + hätä “emergency”
91	kauppasaarto	embargo	kauppa “commerce” + saarto “blockade”
92	metalliseos	alloy	metalli “metal” + seos “mixture”
93	mittakaava	scale	mitta “measure” + kaava “layout”
94	ilkivalta	vandalism	ilki- “bad, troublesome” + valta “power”
95	salaliitto	conspiracy	sala- “secret” + liitto “alliance”
96	ihmisarvo	dignity	ihmis- “human” + arvo “worth, value”
97	kiertorata	orbit	kierto “rotation” + rata “trajectory, course”
98	salamurha	assassination	sala- “secret” + murha “murder”
99	kaksintaistelu	duel	kaksin “dual” + taistelu “battle”
100	alkusointu	alliteration	alku “beginning” + sointu “chord (music)”