hyvää yötä
/ˈhyʋæː ˈyø̯tæ/
The English phrase goodnight is translated into Finnish as hyvää yötä.
Hyvää yötä is a greeting used to say goodbye to someone before they go to sleep or when leaving a place at night. You can use it as a standalone phrase or as part of a longer sentiment, such as Hyvää yötä ja makeita unia, which means good night and sweet dreams.
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 yö (night).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈhyʋæː ˈyø̯tæ/
Did you know?
- If you wish someone 'sweet dreams' with makeita unia, you are using the same word makea that describes the taste of sugar.
- If you are speaking to a very close person or a child, you might shorten the sentiment to just öitä, which is a cute, clipped way of saying 'nights'.
- The word yö for 'night' is related to the Estonian word öö, showing the deep ancestral link between these two Finnic languages.
Examples in context
- Hyvää yötä arvon rouvat.Goodnight, ladies.This sentence shows how to use hyvää yötä when addressing ladies.Tatoeba #8184544 by Silja, translation #2210662 by Hybrid
- Hyvää yötä.Goodnight.This is a simple example of the phrase hyvää yötä.Tatoeba #1160746 by talvipuutarha, translation #7822164 by sharris123
- Hyvää yötä!Goodnight!This shows the phrase hyvää yötä used with an exclamation.Tatoeba #3742575 by Silja, translation #1068125 by erik21889
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Mikko are parting ways at the end of a late evening.
- EmmaHyvää yötä, Mikko.Goodnight, Mikko.
- MikkoKiitos, hyvää yötä sinullekin, Emma.Thanks, goodnight to you too, Emma.
- EmmaNähdään huomenna!See you tomorrow!
- MikkoJoo, nähdään.Yeah, see you.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry hyvää yötä, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
