Venäjä
/ˈʋenæjæ/
The English phrase Russia is translated into Finnish as Venäjä.
Venäjä is the name for the country in Eastern Europe and North Asia.
Meaning: country in Eastern Europe and North Asia (name)
Is it said differently in some regions?
The colloquial term Itänaapuri is used mainly in eastern parts of Finland.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word changes depending on the relationship to the country: Venäjällä is used to express being 'in' or 'at' Russia, while Venäjälle expresses movement 'to' Russia. To express movement 'from' Russia, use Venäjältä. If you need to indicate possession or modify a noun, such as 'Russia's economy', use the genitive form Venäjän.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈʋenæjæ/
Did you know?
- The name Venäjä is not derived from the word 'Rus' or 'Russia' as one might expect, but from a Germanic name for the 'Wends', a group of Slavic peoples.
- The Estonian word for Russia, vene, is a close linguistic relative of the Finnish Venäjä.
- In Finnish, the word for a Russian person, venäläinen, shares the same root as the country name Venäjä.
Examples in context
- Tämän maan nimi on Venäjä.This country is called Russia.This sentence shows how to use the form Venäjä to name the country.Tatoeba #1011524 by Silja, translation #463284 by lukaszpp
- Minä olen kotoisin Venäjältä.I am from Russia.This sentence demonstrates using the form Venäjältä to express being from a place.Tatoeba #6156707 by Orava, translation #436345 by lukaszpp
- Venäjä on suurempi kuin Pluto.Russia is larger than Pluto.This sentence uses the form Venäjä as the subject of the sentence.Tatoeba #3517375 by Sanaseppo, translation #3517312 by shekitten
- 26 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Laura and Antti are talking about geography during a break.
- LauraOnko Venäjä lähellä Suomea?Is Russia near Finland?
- AnttiKyllä, se on naapurimaa.Yes, it is a neighbor country.
- LauraVenäjä on todella suuri valtio.Russia is a truly large country.
- AnttiSe on todellakin valtava.It is indeed huge.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “russia” translations and entries Venäjä, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Venäjä, venäjä, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
