Tuesday, August 16, 2011

He who has happiness, should hide it

Kell' onni on, se onnen kätkeköön.

Origin is a poem by Eino Leino.

Used to describe the finnish state of mind that one should not boast with what one has. This saying is also a sort of a belief. If you show off how happy you are, you will lose it.

Monday, August 15, 2011

A long joy ends in sorrow

Itku pitkästä ilosta.

Origins unknown.

Often used for example when children play too rough and end up getting hurt and start crying. Could be that it has originally ment "all good things come to end".

Friday, October 23, 2009

It got lost like a fart in to Sahara

Hävis ku pieru Saharaan.

Origins unknown.

Used when something gets lost suprisingly and cannot be found. You can also say this about a person.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Diss doesn't make a wound

Ei haukku haavaa tee.

Origins unknown.

Used when someone has told someone off. "Words can't hurt you".

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Many cakes are pretty from the outside

Moni kakku päältä kaunis.

This saying comes from the Finnish national epic Kalevala, where one of the main characters Lemminkäinen describes a piece of bread by saying “Many cakes are pretty from the outside…”.

He then continued by describing the insides of the bread as being like “silkko”. Silkko is a nasty bread that was eaten in Finland during the years of the famine (hunger years). It has no flour in it; it is made out of sour milk and parts of pine tree.


Today the saying is used mainly of people that seem nice but turn out not to be. It can also be used in describing a matter that turns out to be something completely different than thought.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A greedy person will have a shitty end

Ahneella on paskainen loppu.

Origins unknown.

The meaning is propably obvious. This is propably one of the sayings I personally use the most.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Forward said grandmother in snow

Eteenpäin, sano mummo lumessa.

Origins unknown.

Encouraging someone to leave unpleasant things behind them. Or cheering up someone when walking in bad weather.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Own country strawberry, other country blueberry

Oma maa mansikka, muu maa mustikka

OR

Own land strawberry, other land blueberry

Maa means both land and country in Finnish.
The original saying comes from farmers back in the day. They marked the land they owned by growing strawberries in the middle. If there where blueberries growing in the land it meant it wasn’t anybody’s in particular because blueberries grow in the wild.

Nowadays it is used as an expression when something is thought to be better in Finland than in other countries or when you say you’re happy to live right here.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Up, out and running

Ylös, ulos ja lenkille

The original saying continues with words “sano pyöveli hirtettävälle” that rhyme in Finnish. It means “said the hangman to the man who was about to get hanged”. Lenkille also means "to the becket" in Finnish language.

Nowadays the saying is used in the mornings to encourage someone to get out of bed.