How to Say "Night" in Finnish

yö

/ˈyø̯/

The Finnish word for night is yö.

yö refers to the period between sunset and sunrise.

Meaning: period between sunset and sunrise (noun)

Related words

The plural form of yö is yöt. To indicate possession or to express a duration such as 'all night', use the genitive form yön.

/ˈyø̯/

The word yö is a distant relative of the Hungarian word 'éj', which also describes the night.
In Finnish, the concept of 'night' is often linked to the 'white nights' valkoiset yöt of summer, where the sun barely dips below the horizon in the north.
The phrase hyvää yötä is the standard way to say 'good night', but it is strictly used as a farewell when going to bed, not as a greeting upon arriving in the evening.

Täällä on jo yö.
It's already night here.
This sentence shows how to use yö to state that it is currently night.
Tatoeba #3213075 by Silja, translation #3085837 by weehawken
Ne nussi koko yön.
They fucked all night long.
This sentence uses the genitive form of yö to describe an action occurring throughout the entire night.
Tatoeba #2670431 by Silja, translation #690130 by qdii
Tomi yski koko yön.
Tom coughed all night.
This sentence demonstrates using the genitive form of yö to express the duration of a cough.
Tatoeba #5397344 by Orava, translation #4496967 by CK
Hyvää yötä
Good night
Yö on kaunis ja rauhallinen aika.
Night is a beautiful and peaceful time.
Hyvää yötä ja näkemiin
Good night and goodbye
254 more sentences on Tatoeba

Laura and Juho are talking about their sleep quality.

Sources

Wiktionary, “night” translations and entries yö, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries yö, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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