NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Finnish profanity

Many Finns frequently use profanity in everyday speech. While not all Finns swear, frequent swearing is a mark of youth culture. However, it is commonly considered impolite to swear excessively, in public and official occasions and particularly in front of children. KUSI-TV (Channel 51) is an independent television station based in San Diego, California. ... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Language(s) Finnish, Swedish Languages related to Finnish include Estonian, Karelian, Vepsian, VÃµro and to a lesser extent, all Finno-Ugric Languages. ... In cartoons, profanity is often depicted by substituting symbols for words, as a form of non-specific censorship. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

Finnish swearwords can be used as adjectives or adverbs with proper conjugation, just as the English swear words "fuck" or "shit" can become the descriptives "fucking" or "shitty."

The words often have old origins, and some have Pagan roots, that after Christian influence were turned from names of deities and spirits to profanity and used as such. Nowadays few Finns know of the origins and intended original use of the words. Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998) Pagans Mind, is... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ...

The people in the neighbouring countries to Finland often consider Finnish swear words harsher than their own, and even use heavily mis-pronounced versions of them, most notably perkele. Native Finns tend to consider the harshness exaggerated, while others use it to their advantage. Perkele originally referred to the Finnish thunder god, which was also sometimes referred as Ukko (=The old man). With Christianity the Swedish priests co-opted him for one of the titles of Satan. ...

The words

The following explains the meanings of certain well-known curse words.

Helvetti

Helvetti translates as hell and has roughly the same meaning as in the English language. From Swedish Helvete, with the same meaning. Often used example-phrase is "What the hell?" in Finnish "Mitä helvettiä?" Some words used to replace it, depending on dialect, include helkutti, helvata, hemmetti, hemskutti, himputti and himskatti.

Hitto, Hiisi

Hitto, probably from pagan origin, is a relatively mild swear word, but still considered an expletive. Also used in a diminutive form "hittolainen". Both words are references to sacred grove or burial site or a mythical creature ( possibly also Hittavainen). It can nowadays be translated as "a devil" or some other little hellish being. The word is in same category with other "mild" swear words like "helkkari" or "himskatti". Hiisi means either Hell itself or somekind of hellish being, specially as a wish (painu hiiteen, literally "go to hiisi" but means "go to hell". Hiisi vieköön, "shall the hiisi take (it)".) Hitto is usually translated Damn (it). Funniest form of using hitto word could be hitto soikoon, "shall the hitto chimes"

Jumalauta

This is a combination of two words jumala meaning god and auta meaning help (verb, imperative 2nd person). It is used in a similar fashion to Oh God except in Finnish it tends to have a slightly aggressive emphasis, usually used as a way of expressing one's frustration. Another translation for Oh God is Voi luoja (luoja = the creator, a synonym for God). An ad campaign for Evangelian Church aid for third world countries used JumalAuta as an eyecatcher. This raised discussion for being too profane. Perhaps the most accurate English counterpart for "jumalauta" is "goddamn it", although in English one asks God to damn the person or reason for the problem, whereas in Finnish one simply asks God for some kind of help. Often used replacement words for it are jumankauta, jumaliste or jumaleissön (pronounced like "jumalation").

Kulli

A word for "penis", usually literally, considered somewhat profane.

Kusi

Kusi, pronounced /kusi/ or like "coosy" in English, means "urine" with a similar connotation as "piss". By itself it refers to actual urine and is considered only mildly offensive in colloquial language. It's used of people in compound words, such as such as "kusipää" (pisshead, common translation of "asshole"), as very offensive insults. Inoffensive synonyms are the clinical term virtsa ("urine") and the childish pissa ("pee"). The word pissa has drifted so far into everyday usage that in combined form pissapoika (pissing boy) it refers specifically to the squirter on the windshield of cars. Foreign visitors have been amused by the product "Superpiss" for windshield wiper fluid.

Kyrpä

Literally "cock" in the sense of "penis"; often considered highly offensive. The word nearly always refers to an actual penis and may be used, for example, to express frustration: Voi kyrpä! "Oh fuck!". The widespread verb vituttaa "to feel angry and depressed" originates from its meaning "to want pussy". Therefore, classically, women should not use vituttaa, but kyrpiä, e.g. kyrpii "this makes me feel bad".

Mulkku

Has the literal meaning "penis", but may refer, like English "prick", to an unpleasant man, both as a noun and as an adjective.

Molo

Usually used only literally for "penis", somewhat profane. Has a derivation molopää, corresponding to English "asshole".

Muna

Literally means "egg" and may refer to a literal penis, but is not considered an insult or particularly profane. For example, there is a gay cruise named Munaristeily, which is publicly marketed as such. Means also testicle, usually said in plural form munat "testicles"

Paska

Paska translates as "shit" or "crap" and has has approximately the same context in English and Finnish. It has the same connonations of "shoddy" or "broken," which may even surpass the word's use in the original sense in frequency.^[1] Inoffensive synonyms are kakka ("poo"), especially with children, and the clinical uloste ("excrement"). Uloste appears to have been introduced as a high-class replacement in the 1800s, while paska is believed to have been in continuous use since at least the Proto-Finnic of 3000 BC.^[2] Doubt and disbelief are expressed with hevonpaska ("horse's shit", compare "bullshit") and paskan marjat ("shit's berries.") It can be combined with vittu as in "Vittu tätä paskaa" ("fuck this shit.") A Finnish rock musician goes by the name, and Paskahousu is a card game, a relative of Shithead, that's popular with children and teenagers.

Perkele

Perkele was originally imported from the Baltic, supposely transformed from god of thunder Perkūnas, as an alternate name for the thunder god of Finnish paganism, Ukko, and co-opted by the Christian church as a synonym for "devil." [1]. The "r" can be rolled and lengthened, which can be transcribed by repeating it. The word is very common in the country and likely the best known expletive abroad, and enjoys a kind of emblematic status; for instance, the Finnish black metal band Impaled Nazarene named its 1994 patriotic album Suomi Finland Perkele (using the word as a reference to Finnishness, not to the devil) and the more conventional M. A. Numminen released a 1971 album known as Perkele! Lauluja Suomesta ("Perkele! Songs from Finland.") When used for expressing one's miscontent or frustration, perkele often suggests that the sayer is determined to solve the problem, even if it will be difficult. It is associated with sisu, which in turn is an iconic Finnish trait.^[3] Professor Kulonen has described perkele as being ingrained in the older generations, as opposed to kyrpä and vittu for the younger ones.^[4] A common and milder replacement word is perhana, and less popular variations include perkules, perskuta, perskuta rallaa and perkeleissön (pronounced like "perkelation"). The word has lent itself to a Swedish expression for Finnish business management practices, Management by perkele.

Perse

Perse ("ass") can be used either literally or as a semi-strong swear word. The similarities with the Latin phrase "per se", the Hungarian "persze" (which means "of course", comes from the aforementioned Latin and is pronounced mostly the same way), the hero Perseus and the ancient city of Persepolis are purely coincidental, although the wide use of "persze" in spoken Hungarian could sound somewhat embarrassing to Finnish visitors.

Pillu

Pillu translates to "cunt" and is not a strong swear word, but not something to say to one's mother-in-law, either. Non-profane synonyms for the literal meaning include römpsä, tavara (literally "stuff"), toosa (actually an oldish dialectical name by Swedish origin for little box, container), pimppi, pimpsa, tuhero, tussu (which also means female pubic hairs)

Piru

Piru, meaning devil is not always considered a swearword but sometimes used in a similar fashion to the word damn: "Damn it all" - "Piru vieköön" - "shall (the) Devil take (it)" A more proper word for devil is paholainen.

Reva

Reva is another reference to the female genitalia, akin to vittu. Its English representative would be "quim" or "cunt". It is primarily used as a strong sexual expression, not as an actual swearword. The former chairman of Finnish Parliament, Mrs. Riitta Uosukainen used the word in her controversial autobiography Liehuva liekinvarsi, where she described herself in the sexual encounters between her and Mr. Topi Uosukainen as rintaa, reittä ja revää (alternatively spelled "revaa") ("[I was utterly]...breasts, thighs and quim.") Reva is also used occasionally in reference to buttocks, especially female buttocks and can therefore also be translated as "ass". A loose translation for Täyden kympin reva is "Top class ass".

Runkkari

Runkkari or runkku is an extremely offensive word and rarely used, but when used it usually has other swear words said with it such as "Saatanan runkkari!". In English it means wanker and derives from verb runkata, "to wank".

Ryökäle

A curse word specific to the older generation, now considered non-offensive.

Saatana

Saatana means quite literally Satan, but used in a similar fashion to helvetti. Often used replacement words for it are saamari and samperi. Along with "perkele" and "vittu", this is one of the most classic and most used swearing words in Finnish. Often used together with helvetti as saatanan helvetti.

Vittu

Vittu is an ancient word for the female genitalia but now has the literal meaning of "cunt." Linguistically, it is used similar to how 'fuck' is used in English to add force to a statement or express frustration. Often considered extremely profane, its usage is nowadays not only limited to teenager slang, but is often used as an emphasis in a forceful or frustrated utterance or expression, as in mitä vittua "what the fuck". Other common phrases with vittu include voi vittu ("Fuck this" or "Oh fuck"), ja vitut! ("The fuck you say!" / "Bullshit!"); haista vittu "fuck you!", literally "go smell a cunt"; painu (hevon) vittuun, "go to (horse's) cunt"; olla naama norsun vitulla, "to have one's face like the elephant's cunt", meaning to be sour and unfriendly. Occasionally, one hears more colorful constructions, such as Vittujen kevät ja kyrpien takatalvi! (paraphrased, "Oh fucking shit!" or literally "The spring of cunts and the late winter of dicks!"). Notably, vittu is also used as an adjective intensifier, as in "vitun iso" ("fucking big") or in "vitun kusipää" ("fucking pisshead"). Similar-sounding euphemistic replacements include hitto (see above), vitsi or hitsi. Several verbs and adjective have also been derived from vittu: vituttaa originally "to want pussy and not able to get it", currently "to feel angry and depressed", vittuuntua "to get angry and insulted", vittumainen an adjective for "unpleasant and annoying".

This article is about the theological or philosophical afterlife. ... Hiisi (root: hiite-) are a kind of tutelary spirits in mythologies of the Baltic Sea area, especially in Finland. ... Pagan and heathen redirect here. ... SACRED SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... This article is about the urine of animals generally. ... Look up piss, pissed, take the piss in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... windscreen wiper on a parked car. ... The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ... Look up Prick in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ... Look up testes in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Baltic-Finnic languages, also known as Finnic languages, are a subgroup of the Finno-Ugric languages, and are spoken around the Baltic Sea by about 7 million people. ... Horseshit redirects here. ... Paskahousu is a Finnish card game. ... Sir Thomas Shithead (1875-1944) was a classicist and physicist, who spent the vast majority of his work and home life entirely incognito. ... Perkele originally referred to the Finnish thunder god, which was also sometimes referred as Ukko (=The old man). With Christianity the Swedish priests co-opted him for one of the titles of Satan. ... Population density in the wider Baltic region. ... Lithuanian PerkÅ«nas, Latvian PÄ“rkons, Prussian Percuns was the common Baltic god of thunder, one of the most important deities in the Baltic pantheon. ... The elk is a common image in many Finnish petroglyphs Finnish paganism was the indigenous pagan religion in present-day Finland and Karelia prior to Christianization. ... Simplified drawing of a stone carving type found in Karelia, which is believed to have characteristics of both snake and thunder In Finnish mythology, Ukko (Estonian spelling Uku) is a god of sky, weather, crops (harvest) and other natural things. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... Impaled Nazarene is a Finnish black metal band that incorporates elements from thrash metal, hardcore punk and grindcore. ... Suomi Finland Perkele is a third full-length album by Finnish extreme metal band Impaled Nazarene. ... Mauri Antero Numminen (born 12 March 1940, Somero) is one of the best-known Finnish artists, who has worked in several different fields of music and culture. ... For other uses, see Sisu (disambiguation). ... Management by perkele is originally a Swedish expression for Finnish Army-style authoritarian leadership which leaves no leeway for dissidence or deviant opinions, and requires blind obedience. ... Bottom commonly refers to the human buttocks but also has other uses. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Antonio Canova, completed 1801 (Vatican Museums) Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas (Greek: Î ÎµÏÏƒÎµÏÏ‚, Î ÎµÏÏƒÎÏ‰Ï‚, Î ÎµÏÏƒÎÎ±Ï‚), the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths... This article is about the ancient city. ... Cunt is an English language vulgarism most commonly used in reference to vulva or vagina and, more generally, the pubis, from the mons veneris to the perineum. ... Broadly speaking, a dialectic (Greek: διαλεκτική) is an exchange of propositions (theses) and counter-propositions (antitheses) resulting in a disagreement. ... This article is about the receptacle or vessel called a box. ... Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region. ... The human females reproductive system. ... The Eduskunta (in Finnish), or the Riksdag (in Swedish), is the Parliament of Finland. ... Riitta Maria Uosukainen (nÃ©e Vainikka) was born 18 June 1942 in Finland. ... Look up wanker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the concept of Satan. ... A euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener; or in the case of doublespeak, to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ...

The words

See also

References

The words GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

See also

References

The words