Learn Finnish
Free, clear guides for everyone learning Finnish: where to start, how to sound natural, the grammar that matters and how to pass the YKI test. Written by the team behind Maija, your AI Finnish speaking teacher.
Start here
A plan from zero, honest answers and how to keep going.
How to learn Finnish: a step-by-step plan from zeroHow to learn Finnish from zero: sounds, first phrases, grammar in a sensible order, speaking every day, spoken Finnish and a simple weekly plan. 6 min readIs Finnish hard to learn? An honest answerIs Finnish hard to learn? An honest look at what is tough (cases, gradation, vocabulary) and what is surprisingly easy (spelling, no gender, no articles). 5 min readHow long does it take to learn Finnish?How long does it take to learn Finnish? Rough hours for each CEFR level from A1 to C1, what speeds you up, and how to turn the numbers into months. 5 min readLearn Finnish online for free: the best free and low-cost waysLearn Finnish online for free: easy-Finnish news from Yle, Finnish TV with subtitles, library books, language cafés, podcasts and free courses in Finland. 4 min readHow to practise speaking Finnish (even with nobody to talk to)How to practise speaking Finnish when you have nobody to talk to: shadowing, talking to yourself, an AI tutor, language exchange and phrases for real life. 4 min readFinnish CEFR levels explained: Pre-A1 to C2 and YKIFinnish CEFR levels from Pre-A1 to C2 explained: what you can do at each level, example sentences, and how the levels map to YKI test levels 1 to 6. 5 min readWhat language is spoken in Finland?What language is spoken in Finland? Finnish and Swedish are the national languages, plus Sámi and others. Learn where Finnish comes from and who speaks it. 5 min read
YKI and life in Finland
The YKI test, citizenship, courses and Finnish at work.
The YKI test: a complete guide for Finnish learnersWhat the YKI test is, its three levels and 1–6 scale, the four parts, how scoring and registration work, and how to prepare for the Finnish test. 6 min readYKI speaking test: tasks, assessment and model answersHow the YKI speaking test works at the intermediate level, what raters listen for, and sample prompts with model answers in Finnish and English. 6 min readFinnish citizenship language requirement: what you need in 2026Which YKI results and other certificates prove your Finnish for citizenship, how to plan your test, and what changes with the citizenship test in 2027. 5 min readFinnish courses in Finland: where to learn and how to startYour options for Finnish courses in Finland: integration training, adult education centres, open university, language cafés, libraries and self-study. 5 min readFinnish for work: words, phrases and small talkWhy Finnish matters for jobs in Finland, what level employers may expect, and the workplace words, phrases, small talk and emails you will actually use. 4 min read
Words and phrases
What to say in real situations, and how Finns really talk.
Finnish greetings: hello, goodbye, thank you and moreHow to say hello and goodbye in Finnish: hei, moi, terve, huomenta, näkemiin, plus how are you, thank you, sorry and when Finns use each one. 5 min read50 basic Finnish phrases for beginners50 essential basic Finnish phrases with English translations and simple pronunciation tips: introductions, politeness, questions, shopping and more. 5 min readFinnish numbers: from 0 to a millionLearn Finnish numbers from 0 to a million: 11–19, tens, hundreds and thousands, ordinals, prices, phone numbers and the short forms Finns use in speech. 4 min readDays, months and telling the time in FinnishFinnish days of the week, months, seasons and dates, how to tell the time (puoli kuusi, varttia yli) and how to say on Monday or in January. 5 min readFinnish phrases for everyday life in FinlandReal Finnish phrases for daily life: the supermarket, café, health centre, pharmacy, bus and train, small talk at work and offices like Kela. 5 min readSpoken Finnish vs written Finnish: puhekieli and kirjakieliSpoken Finnish vs written Finnish: mä and sä, me mennään, mä oon, ootsä, mun and sun, plus when Finns use each style and why learners need both. 6 min read
Pronunciation
Sounds, long letters and vowel harmony.
Finnish pronunciation: a clear guide for beginnersFinnish pronunciation made simple: how every letter sounds, long vs short sounds, ä ö y, the rolled r, stress and the mistakes English speakers make. 7 min readFinnish vowel harmony: why it’s talossa but metsässäFinnish vowel harmony made simple: back vowels a o u, front vowels ä ö y, neutral e and i, how endings change, -ko or -kö, and compound words. 6 min read
Grammar
Cases, verbs and the rules behind Finnish, explained simply.
Finnish cases explained: all 15 noun cases with examplesFinnish noun cases explained simply: all 15 cases with their endings, a real example of each, which ones to learn first and how the illative works. 6 min readThe Finnish partitive case: when to use it and how to form itThe Finnish partitive case explained: when to use it (numbers, amounts, negatives, unfinished actions, verbs like rakastaa) and its -a, -ta, -tta endings. 5 min readThe six Finnish verb types: how to recognise and conjugate themThe six Finnish verb types explained: how to recognise each from the infinitive, find the stem and conjugate it in the present tense, with common verbs. 5 min readFinnish consonant gradation explained, with a full tableFinnish consonant gradation made simple: strong and weak grades of k, p and t, when they change, reverse gradation, and many examples in nouns and verbs. 4 min readThe Finnish negative verb: en, et, ei in the present and pastHow negation works in Finnish: the negative verb en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät with the connegative, past negatives like en puhunut, and many examples. 4 min readHow to ask questions in Finnish: -ko/-kö and question wordsHow to ask questions in Finnish: yes/no questions with -ko/-kö, the question words mikä, kuka, missä, milloin, miksi, and how to answer yes or no. 4 min readFinnish word order: how Finnish sentences are builtFinnish word order made simple: the basic SVO pattern, moving words for emphasis, 'Pöydällä on kirja', 'minulla on' and where adverbs go. 6 min readThe Finnish past tense: imperfect, perfect and pluperfectHow to form the Finnish past tense: the -i- imperfect (puhui, söi, tuli, halusi), the perfect and pluperfect, and the negative past, with tables. 6 min readFinnish possessive suffixes: -ni, -si, -nsa, -mme, -nneHow Finnish possessive suffixes work: kirjani, talossani, minun kirjani or just kirjani, the -nsa/-nsä rule, and why spoken Finnish often drops them. 5 min readThe Finnish plural: -t, -i- and the partitive pluralHow the Finnish plural works: nominative -t (talot), the plural -i- in other cases (taloissa), the partitive plural (kissoja) and common patterns. 5 min readFinnish pronouns: minä, sinä, hän and how they changeFinnish pronouns made clear: minä, sinä, hän, me, te, he in the main cases, spoken mä, sä, se, ne, gender-neutral hän, and tämä, tuo, se. 5 min read
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