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"Monument to the Finnish sisu" on a fell in Lapland

Sisu is a Finnish term that could be roughly translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. The equivalent in English is "to have guts", and indeed, the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However, sisu has a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain the same. To anthropologists, it is an appropriate invention for a cold northern land, dotted by thousands of lakes, and long under threat of being overwhelmed, militarily, linguistically and otherwise, by more powerful neighbours. Similar concepts exist among other cold-weather peoples, such as the Inuit and Chukchi. Look up Sisu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 2. ... The Ylläs fell in Finland Fell (from the Old Norse fjall, mountain) is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in parts of England and Scandinavia. ... Lappi, or the Province of Lapland is one of the Provinces of Finland, and a part of the larger geographical area of Lapland, which spans over four countries. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Anthropology (from Greek: ἀνθρωπος, anthropos, human being; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study of humanity. ... For other uses, see Inuit (disambiguation). ... Chukchi, or Chukchee (Russian: чукчи (plural), chukcha, чукча (singular)) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Russian Far East on the shores of the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea. ...

Due to its cultural significance, Sisu is a common element of brand names in Finland. For example, there are Sisu brand cars (and Sisu armored vehicles), icebreaker MS Sisu, a brand of strong-tasting candy manufactured by Leaf, and a Finnish nationalist organisation Suomen Sisu. Mount Sisu is the name of a mountain first ascended by mountain climber Veikka Gustafsson in the Antarctic. This article is about brands in marketing. ... Finnish truck company. ... The Sisu Pasi is a six-wheeled fully amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) originally designed for Finnish Defence Forces. ... Icebreaker Polarstern Track of research vessel Polarstern while breaking ice in the Southern Ocean An icebreaker is a special purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. ... Suomen Sisu is a small Finnish nationalistic organization. ... Mount Sisu is a mountain in the Antarctic. ... Veikka Gustafsson(b. ...

The term is commonly used in everyday speech to describe stoic toughness. It is widely understood in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is home to a large concentration of Finnish-Americans. For instance: Even after cutting his hand open and getting 12 stitches, he didn't shed a tear. Wow! He's got sisu! This has extended to include a popular bumper sticker saying simply "Sisu". By analogy, the term has picked up new meanings. Depending on context, "sisu" can refer to spunk, attitude, self-confidence, and so on. However, sisu is not bravery, nor strength, and needs to be distinguished from courage, especially when talking about the military. In contrast, sisu is an ability to finish the task and get things done, as defined by Roman Schatz in his book From Finland with Love (2005) and decisiveness. Usually sisu means the will and decisiveness to get things done against impossible odds, or to succeed when given the chinaman's chance. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Largest metro area Metro Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ... Bravery can mean: Courage, the human condition to confront pain and fear The Bravery, a rock band from the US The Bravery (album), the bands self-titled debut album This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Bravery and Fortitude redirect here. ... Roman Schatz (born 1960) is a German-born Finnish TV show host and writer. ... Someone with a Chinamans chance has no chance at all. ...

Sisu can be either good or bad, but the usual meaning is good. Bad sisu (Finnish paha sisu) means malice combined with ruthlessness and implacability: it means relentless strive for mischief, persecution and vengeance (compare chutzpah). It is in a sense the mirror image of good sisu. Finnish expression pahansisuinen implies "audacious", "implacable", "full of affrontery", "malevolent" etc with aggressive overtones. The verb sisuuntua refers to getting angry, but with an element of determination and even being unforgiving. The idiom meni sisu kaulaan ("the sisu went to the throat [or neck]") returns to the original meaning, "innards"; "get a lump in one's throat", as in become too intimidated to act. Look up Chutzpah in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

External link

• Washington Post: The Finnish Line, about Finnish fortitude and resilience