hei ja tervetuloa
The English phrase "hello and welcome" is translated into Finnish as hei ja tervetuloa.
This phrase is a friendly greeting used to receive guests or people arriving at a place. You can use the individual components separately: Hei! is a versatile greeting that can be used in both formal and informal situations, while Tervetuloa! is used to warmly welcome someone to an event or establishment.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of hei (hello), ja (and) and tervetuloa (welcome).
How does it change in a sentence?
The word tervetuloa is in the partitive case, which is the standard form used for this greeting.
Did you know?
- The word tervetuloa literally means 'healthy coming'. It is built from terve, meaning 'healthy', and tuloa, meaning 'coming'.
- In Finnish culture, a warm welcome often includes the tradition of 'sauna'. Guests are frequently welcomed with an invitation to the sauna as a sign of hospitality.
- While hei is used for 'hello', the word terve used in tervetuloa also serves as a more traditional greeting. It functions as both a wish for health and a hello.
Examples in context
- Hyvää päivää! Tervetuloa seminaariin!Hello! Welcome to the seminar!
- Hei ja tervetuloa ravintolaamme!Hello and welcome to our restaurant!
- Hei ja tervetuloa kotiimme.Hello and welcome to our home.
- Hei ja tervetuloa uuteen ryhmään.Hello and welcome to the new group.
Example conversation
Antti greets Sofia at the door of his apartment.
- AnttiHei ja tervetuloa sisään, Sofia!Hello and welcome inside, Sofia!
- SofiaKiitos paljon, Antti.Thank you very much, Antti.
- AnttiTulkaa vain, otathan takkisi pois.Come in, please take off your coat.
- SofiaTämä koti on oikeasti kaunis.This home is really beautiful.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hei, ja, tervetuloa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
