hyvää päivää
/ˈhyʋæː ˈpæi̯ʋæː/
hyvää päivää is the Finnish way to say good day. Wiktionary also lists päivää.
Meaning: greeting between sunrise and sunset (intj)
Ways to say it
| Finnish | IPA |
|---|---|
| hyvää päivää | /ˈhyʋæː ˈpæi̯ʋæː/ |
| päivää | /ˈpæi̯ʋæː/ |
This greeting is used between sunrise and sunset. While hyvää päivää is the standard way to say good day, you may also use Hyvää iltapäivää to mean good afternoon from around midday until late afternoon.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the partitive form of the adjective hyvä (good) and the partitive form of the noun päivä (day).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
hyvää päivää is the standard, polite way to greet someone in formal or professional settings. For informal greetings with friends or family, such as 'hi' or 'hello', you would use Moi.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈhyʋæː ˈpæi̯ʋæː/
Did you know?
- Although hyvää päivää is formal, you will rarely hear it used among colleagues in a modern Finnish office, where almost everyone uses the informal moi regardless of rank.
- While English speakers might use 'Good day' as a way to end a conversation, a Finn using Päivää is almost always using it as an opening greeting.
- In Finland, a formal greeting like hyvää päivää is often accompanied by a firm handshake and direct eye contact, but unlike in some cultures, a hug or kiss on the cheek is strictly reserved for very close friends.
Examples in context
- Hyvää päivää, mitä haluaisit?Good day. What do you want?This is useful for practicing the full formal greeting hyvää päivää.Tatoeba #1015464 by Silja, translation #2310291 by Gulo_Luscus
- Päivää!Good day!This shows the shortened form päivää used as a greeting.Tatoeba #7522832 by Thanuir, translation #855284 by pirytm
- Päivää.Good day.Tatoeba #8132467 by Thanuir, translation #1844755 by wwkudu
- Hyvää päivää, kuinka voin auttaa teitä?Good day, how can I help you?
- Hyvää iltapäivää, kuinka menee?Good afternoon, how are you doing?
- Päivää! Onko kaikki hyvin?Hello! Is everything okay?
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Matti meet in a bright hallway during the afternoon.
- EmmaHyvää päivää, Matti.Good day, Matti.
- MattiHyvää päivää, Emma.Good day, Emma.
- EmmaMitä kuuluu?How are you?
- MattiKiitos, hyvää.Thanks, I'm doing well.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good day” translations and entries hyvää päivää, päivää, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
