Guess this one goes right to our friends in Suomi
Met a nice girl from Finnland, going to visit her in late may
Time to learn at least some words in finnish - anyone up to help me ?
FH2 Finland meet tiem?
Here goes. Do remember that Finnish is pronounced "literally" and intonation is only present in stage play. Book Finnish ("kirjakieli") is used in formal speeches, semi-formal Finnish ("yleiskieli") omitting some words and suffixes when trying to sound professional, and spoken Finnish ("puhekieli") in almost any other situation. Difference between spoken and book Finnish is much greater than in English. Pronouns and most common verbs sound completely different in Western and Eastern dialects, and in the Helsinki region people use them interchangeably... (Be grateful that nobody speaks the old Helsinki dialect, "Stadin slangi", anymore - it was a pidgin language of Finnish, Swedish, Russian, Estonian, German, Dutch, English, and Yiddish.)
olut = (a) beer
kalja, bisse, keppana, gepardi, keskiketterä = informal names for beer (specifically the <=4,7% variant that you can get from grocery stores)
tuoppi = a pint (going to a bar, you can just say "tuoppi" so you will get a pint of whatever is the cheapest 4,7% lager on tap)
mäyräkoira, mäyris = a 12-pack of beer (mäyräkoira = dachshund, you can guess why it's so named)
siideri, sidukka = cider (formal/informal)
lonkero = literal translation would be "tentacle" but refers to a long drink, specifically the local gin/grapefruit lemonade alcopop, or any alcopop (beware, due to Czarist-era legislation the grocery stores are allowed to sell only fermented, not distilled drinks, so their variety of lonkero is just as awful as you might imagine).
brändylonkero = another local alcopop variant, this time mixing brandy with apple/grape lemonade. It was literally so good-tasting that the nanny state banned it for decades.
viina = liquor (often understood as vodka, though)
jaloviina = literally: "noble liquor", ready-bottled local mix of the cheapest possible vodka and the cheapest possible brandy (every star in the rating equals to 25% brandy, so three-star is 75% brandy, 25% vodka)
kossu = Koskenkorva vodka
kossumäyräkoira, kossumäyris = 12x0,5 litre pack of vodka (not necessarily Koskenkorva)
salmari = (from official Salmiakki Koskenkorva) any vodka mixed with salted licorice, can be bought readily bottled
Virtanen = a shot of vodka mixed to energy drink (Virtanen is the most common surname in Finnish, but "virta" means a stream (as in river) or electric current, and since the first local energy drink brand was called Battery...)
punaviini, valkoviini = red wine, white wine
kuohuviini, kuohari = sparkling wine (formal, informal)
hanapakkaus = wine carton with a tap
kyllä = yes
kyllä kulta = yes, darling (you
may will need this a lot)
ei = no
kiitos (formal), kiitti (informal) = thank you, thanks
kyllä kiitos, ei kiitos = yes please, no thank you (we only have one word for thanks, no positive/negative split)
anteeksi (formal), sori (sic, informal) = sorry (heh)
ole hyvä = here you are
(hyvää) huomenta = good morning (by including the "hyvää" it becomes more formal)
(hyvää) päivää = good day (quite formal)
(hyvää) iltaa = good evening (quite formal)
hyvää yötä = good night (Finns never say this to strange people so is not formal even though it sounds like the above more formal expressions)
näkemiin = goodbye
hei / moi = hello or bye, depending on context
And since you're meeting a nice Finnish girl, here's some useful phrases:
Minä pidän sinusta = I like you
Minä rakastan sinua = I love you
Since Finnish is all about 15 cases for nouns expressed with suffixes, here's a nice subtly different pair of phrases:
Minä haluan sinut = I want you (as my own)
Minä haluan sinua = I want (to have sex with) you
Of course, you probably already know from the countless memes that "vittu" can be used to replace nearly any swearword (it literally translates to "cunt" but is most often used as "fuck" is used in English), and to express nearly every emotion possible, and is used as both an interjection and punctuation mark by the teenagers and white trash.
Anyone under 50 understands English more or less, and a sizable percentage of the older people too, but may not speak it very well, so you may need to ask when in strange company:
Puhutko englantia? = Do you speak English? (informal; if s/he is under 50)
Puhutteko englantia? = Do you speak English? (formal; if they're elderly; the old people still appreciate T/V distinction present here)
PUHUTSÄ VITTU ENGLANTIA? = ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER, DO YOU SPEAK IT? (if s/he is still in school)