Finnish for busy people

School – Koulu – Finnish Vocabulary

School – koulu in Finnish – is a topic that is pretty important to many. You can find vocabulary for all grades of education in this article.

This page has a mix of both easier and harder words. If you’re a beginner student, it would be wise to first pick the words you will actually be using. You can always return later to expand your vocabulary!

Koulutyyppejä – Types of Schools

Finnish English
aikuiskoulutuskeskus adult education center
aikuislukio high school for adults
alkeiskurssi elementary, basic course
ammatillinen aikuiskoulutus professional adult education
ammattikorkeakoulu university of applied sciences
ammattikoulu trade/vocational school
erityisopetus special education
esikoulu (spoken: eskari) preschool (for 6 year olds)
jatkokurssi intermediate course
korkeakoulu university
koulu school
koulutus schooling, education
kurssi course
leikkikoulu playschool
lukio high school
oppilaitos academy
peruskoulu primary school
poliisiammattikorkeakoulu police academy
päiväkoti kindergarten (for kids below 6)
sisäoppilaitos boarding school
yhteiskoulu co-educational school
yksityiskoulu private school
yliopisto university

Ihmisiä Kouluissa – People in Schools

Finnish English
dekaani dean
dosentti docent
kasvattaja educator
koulunkäyntiavustaja school attendance assistant
koululainen schoolchild
kouluttaja instructor
lastentarhanopettaja kindergarten teacher
lehtori lecturer
liikunnanopettaja PE teacher
luennoitsija lecturer
luokanvalvoja homeroom teacher
luokkakaveri classmate
opettaja teacher
opiskelija student
oppilas pupil
rehtori principal
seiskaluokkalainen seventh-grader
sijainen substitute
ylioppilas secondary school graduate
yliopisto-opiskelija university student

Koulutarvikkeita – School Supplies

Finnish English
dokumenttikamera document camera
koulukirja study book
kynä pen
liitu chalk
lyijykynä pencil
laskin calculator
mustataulu, valkotaulu, taulu blackboard, whiteboard, board
oppimateriaalit learning materials
paperi paper
penaali pencil case
projektori, tykki projector
(pyyhe)kumi eraser
ruutupaperi squared paper
sanakirja dictionary
teroitin pencil-sharpener
värikynä colored pencil

Oppiaineita – Study Subjects

Finnish English
aine, oppiaine school subject
biologia biology
elämänkatsomustieto ethics
fysiikka physics (related vocab)
historia history
kemia chemistry (related vocab)
kotitalous domestic science
kuvataide visual arts (related vocab)
käsityö handicraft
liikunta physical education
maantieto geography (related vocab)
matematiikka mathematics (related vocab)
musiikki music
terveystieto health education
toinen kotimainen kieli other official language (Finnish/Swedish)
uskonto religion
vieraat kielet foreign languages
yhteiskuntaoppi social studies
äidinkieli mothertongue

Kouluun Liittyviä Verbejä – School-Related Verbs

Finnish English
harjoitella to practice
huijata to cheat
ilmoittautua kurssille to sign up for a course
kerrata to rehearse
kirjoittaa to write
kouluttaa to educate
kuunnella to listen
kääntää to translate
luennoida to lecture
luntata to copy someone’s answers
muistaa to remember
opettaa to teach
opiskella to study
oppia to learn
osallistua pääsykokeeseen to take an entrance exam
päntätä kokeeseen to cram for an exam
saada huonoja arvosanoja to get bad grades
saada hyviä arvosanoja to get good grades
selittää to explain
suorittaa tutkinto to finish a degree
tarkistaa to check
tehdä läksyt, kotitehtävät to do the homework
toistaa to repeat
tutkia to examine
täydentää aukot to fill in the gaps
unohtaa to forget
valmistua + translative to graduate as a…
valmistua + mistä to graduate from…

Yliopistosanastoa – University Vocabulary

Finnish English
essee essay
fuksi first year student (spoken)
jatkotutkinto graduate degree
kandi bachelor thesis
kandidaatin tutkinto bachelor’s degree
kirjatentti book-based exam
lisensiaatti licentiate degree
luennoitsija lecturer
luento lecture
luentosali lecture hall
lääketieteellinen laitos medical faculty
maisterin tutkinto master’s degree
opintolaina student loan
opiskelija-asunto student apartment
opiskelija-asuntola student housing
opiskelijakortti student card
pakollinen kurssi obligatory course
pro gradu master’s thesis
pääaine major
pääsykoe entrance exam
seminaari seminar
sivuaine minor
tentti exam
tenttikirja exam book
tiedekunta faculty
tutkielma term paper
tutkinto degree
tuutori tutor
yliopistotutkinto university degree
vaihto-opiskelija exchange student
vaihtovuosi exchange year
valinnainen kurssi optional course
väitellä to defend your thesis
väitöskirja dissertation

Muita Sanoja – Other Words

Finnish English
akateeminen academic
arvosana grade, mark (e.g. 4/5)
harjoitus exercise
hyväksytty / hylätty pass / no pass
jälki-istunto detention
kevätlukukausi spring term
koe, testi, tentti test, exam
koulukiusaaminen school bullying
kouluruoka school lunch
leirikoulu school camp
lukukausi semester
lukuvuosi academic year
luokka classroom
läksyt, kotitehtävä homework
oppivelvollisuus compulsory education
syyslukukausi autumn term
tukiopetus tutoring
varhaiskasvatus early childhood education
välitunti recess
ekalla luokalla in the first year of primary school
tokalla luokalla in the second year of primary school

That’s it for school – koulu – vocabulary! You might also be interested in the article containing phrases which will allow you to talk about your education in Finnish.

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Finnish speakers usually translate esikoulu as preschool, because that’s its literal translation, and päiväkoti as kindergarten, but I think this is incorrect; at least, in terms of the US school system.

In the US, children younger than age 5 might go to preschool (for which the English word daycare is a synonym). This corresponds more or less directly to the ages for children who attend päiväkoti.

Kindergarten is the year that introduces children to actual school (around age 5), which is the same purpose as esikoulu / eskari (age 6 or so)

I think this can actually lead to real confusion, and I’d like us all to actively correct this. For instance, there is a daycare in Lahti called “Lahti English Kindergarten” that’s for children younger than 5, who then go on to preschool at age 6.

Last edited 3 years ago by Rendall
Inge (admin)

Oh really? I didn’t know that! I thought the English world referred to preschool and kindergarten in the same same way Finland does. I’m sure many people aren’t aware of this, thanks for bringing it up!

Ole Kirkeby

Same in Denmark. The Danish word for ‘Kindergarten’ is ‘Börnehave’, and children attend that (if they want to) a year or two before they start in primary school.

Ole Kirkeby

Typo: ‘earier‘ should be ‘earlier‘.