The Compass – Etelä Pohjoinen Itä Länsi
February 13, 2019
June 1, 2021
When traveling or hiking, the compass is a useful tool to find your way. In addition, there are plenty of things you could say using the words “pohjoinen” and “etelä”. For example, you could want to say you’re from the South of England.
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| kompassi | compass |
| ilmansuunnat | points of the compass |
| pohjoinen | North |
| etelä | South |
| itä | East |
| länsi | West |
| koillinen | Northeast |
| kaakko | Southeast |
| lounas | Southwest |
| luode | Northwest |
| Pohjois-Suomi | the North of Finland |
| Etelä-Suomi | the South of Finland |
| Itä-Suomi | the East of Finland |
| Länsi-Suomi | the West of Finland |
| pohjoisessa | in the North |
| etelässä | in the South |
| idässä | in the East |
| lännessä | in the West |
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| pohjoissuomalainen | a Finn from the North of Finland |
| länsimaailma | the Western world |
| lännen nopein | the fastest in the West |
| Itämeri | the Baltic Sea |
| idän pikajuna | the Orient Express |
| Lähi-itä | the Middle East |
| Aurinko nousee idästä. | The sun rises in the East. |
| pohjoistuuli | Northern wind |
| pohjoisnapa | North Pole |
| pohjoinen pallonpuolisko | the Northern Hemisphere |
| pohjoismaa | Northern country |
| lännenelokuva | a Western (film) |
| villi länsi | the wild West |
| länsirintama | the Western Front (World War I) |
| läntinen pallonpuolisko | the Western Hemiphere |
| Linnut lentävät etelään. | The birds fly to the South. |
| etelänmatka | vacation trip to the South |
| Etelämanner | Antarctica |
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| Olen kotoisin Pohjois-Espanjasta. | I come from the North of Spain. |
| Olen kotoisin Etelä-Kiinasta. | I come from the South of China. |
| Asuin minun kotimaassani Etelä-Englannissa. | I lived in the South of England in my home country. |
| Olen syntynyt Itä-Venäjällä. | I was born in the East of Russia. |
| Minun kotikaupunki sijaitsee Länsi-Ranskassa. | My home city is situated in the West of France |
| Olen asunut monta vuotta Etelä-Amerikassa. | I’ve lived in South-America for many years. |
| Somalia sijaitsee Itä-Afrikassa. | Somalia is located in the East of Africa. |
| Minun kotimaani on etelässä. | My home country is in the South. |
| Etelä-Italiassa kannattaa käydä lomalla. | The South of Italy is a good place to go on vacation. |
Hmm, there is no Northern, Southern, Western, etc in Finnish?
Funnily enough, my English isn’t really good enough to be able to answer that question! I don’t know when you would use “Northern” rather than “North” in English. There are some specific examples in this article though: Northern wind, Western hemisphere.
In any case, Finnish doesn’t have a separate word for North and Northern. Both can be either pohjoinen (as an adjective) or pohjois- (in compound words).
This may help.
North is a primarily a noun which, as well as being a compass point, refers to a location (used to specify a place or area, the north of), e.g. north Finland, or even north Helsinki, but it is sometimes also used as an adjective (on the north shore) or an adverb (to travel north).
Northern is only an adjective, and is more vague or general, e.g. the northern lights (anywhere in the north) or the northern climate (likewise, less specific).
Northerly is also an adjective, but it relates to movement, e.g. northerly winds (from the north).
Example: In Finland, Rovaniemi is a northern town (adj), located in the north (noun) of Finland, and to travel there you would (usually) drive north (adv), in a northerly (adj) direction.
It seems almost as complicated as Finnish. 🙂
I think it is also interesting that Austria is called in Finnish Itävalta (“eastern power/state”), which is just like German Österreich or Swedisch Österrike.