General conversation

Here are some common Finnish phrases for general conversation with people you already know.

Asking how someone is

Mitä kuuluu?How are you?
Miten menee?How's it going?

In reply to mitä kuuluu?, you can say:

Hyvää, kiitosI'm fine, thanks
Ihan hyvää, kiitosAlright, thanks
Ei kovin hyvääNot so well
Entä sinulle?How about you?

However, if someone asks you miten menee?, you can use one of the following replies:

Hyvin, kiitosI'm fine, thanks
Eipä hullummin, kiitosNot too bad, thanks
Ihan hyvin, kiitosAlright, thanks
Ei kovin hyvinNot so well
Entä sinulla?How about you?
Entä itselläsi?And yourself?

Asking what someone is or has been doing

Mitä puuhailet?What are you up to?
Mitä olet puuhaillut?What have you been up to?
Tehnyt paljon töitäWorking a lot
Opiskellut paljonStudying a lot
Olen ollut todella kiireinenI've been very busy
Samaa vanhaaSame as usual
Eipä erikoisempaaNot much
Olen juuri tullut takaisin …I've just come back from …
PortugalistaPortugal

Asking where someone is

Missä olet?Where are you?
Olen …I'm …
kotonaat home
töissäat work
kaupungillain town
maallain the countryside
kaupoillaat the shops
junassaon a train
Matin luonaat Matti's place

Asking about someone's plans

Onko sinulla suunnitelmia kesäksi?Do you have any plans for the summer?
Mitä teet …?What are you doing for …?
pääsiäisenäEaster
vappunaVappu
juhannuksenaMidsummer
joulunaChristmas
uutenavuotenaNew Year
sound

Sound is available for all the Finnish phrases on this page — simply click on any phrase to hear it.

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