Introducing yourself in Finnish

Meeting someone for the first time is one of the first conversations you can have in Finnish. The phrases below cover the basics: your name, where you come from, where you live, what you do and which languages you speak. Once you can say these, you can keep a short conversation going with almost anyone.

Greeting and giving your name

Olen Anna is the shortest and most natural way to give your name. Minun nimeni on (my name is) is more formal and is easy to remember as a full sentence.

Where you are from

Country names change their ending after olen and kotoisin. Sweden becomes Ruotsista and Finland becomes Suomesta. This is the elative case, which means "from". You will meet it again in the local cases guide.

Where you live

Asun means "I live", and the place takes the same kind of ending as the examples above. Helsingissä means "in Helsinki", while Tampereella means "in Tampere". Finnish place names do not all follow one pattern, so learn each one as you go.

What you do

Teen töitä literally means "I do work", and it is the usual way to say "I work". For a job title, olen with the job name is enough.

Languages you speak

Languages take the partitive ending (suomea, englantia), which is the form you use for "some" of something. Use it whenever you talk about speaking or studying a language.

Formal or informal?

Finns use sinä (you) with most people, including people they have just met. Te is the polite form. Use it when you are speaking to an older person or in a formal setting, such as a business meeting. If you are unsure, sinä is usually fine.

Practice

Pick the phrase you would use in each situation.

Next, learn how to ask for directions so you can find your way around after you have introduced yourself.