Hyvää päivänjatkoa
The Finnish phrase for "have a good day" is Hyvää päivänjatkoa.
Hyvää päivänjatkoa is a polite phrase used to say goodbye to someone during the day. It is used to wish someone a good remainder of their day.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally means "good continuation of the day".
Which one should you use?
While Hyvää päivää is a standard greeting or farewell meaning "Good day", Hyvää päivänjatkoa specifically wishes the person a good remainder of their day.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Hyvää päivänjatkoa is a polite and standard way to wish someone a good day, making it suitable for service workers and acquaintances alike.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word päivänjatkoa is the partitive form of the compound noun päivänjatko (continuation of the day).
Did you know?
- If it is already evening, a Finn would switch from Hyvää päivänjatkoa to Hyvää iltaa, because the 'continuation of the day' conceptually ends when the evening begins.
- Finnish uses a specific grammatical case called the partitive for päivänjatkoa because you are wishing someone a 'portion' of a good day rather than the entire day in totality.
- Because the phrase focuses on the 'continuation', it is almost exclusively used after the midpoint of the day has passed.
Examples in context
- Kiitos, samoin sinulle. Hyvää päivänjatkoa.Thanks, same to you. Have a good rest of the day.
- Hyvää päivänjatkoa kaikille!Have a good rest of the day, everyone!
Example conversation
Sofia and Juho are meeting after a quick coffee catch-up.
- SofiaKiitos kahvista, Juho.Thanks for the coffee, Juho.
- JuhoOle hyvä, Sofia.You're welcome, Sofia.
- SofiaHyvää päivänjatkoa!Have a good rest of the day!
- JuhoKiitos, samoin sinulle.Thanks, same to you.
