tervetuloa Suomeen
The English phrase "welcome to Finland" is translated into Finnish as tervetuloa Suomeen.
tervetuloa Suomeen is used as a greeting to welcome someone who has just arrived in Finland.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of tervetuloa, which means "welcome" and Suomeen, which means "into Finland".
How does it change in a sentence?
The word for Finland, Suomi, changes to Suomeen because the context of moving to a place requires the illative case, which expresses movement into a place.
Did you know?
- While tervetuloa Suomeen is the standard greeting, Finns often express hospitality through the silent offering of a sauna or coffee rather than elaborate verbal welcomes.
- The ending of Suomeen demonstrates the illative case, one of 15 grammatical cases in Finnish, which is significantly more than the few cases found in English.
- The word tervetuloa is a literal wish for the person to arrive in a state of being 'healthy'. It combines terve, meaning 'healthy', with tuloa, a form of the verb 'to come'.
Examples in context
- Tervetuloa Suomeen, ystäväni.Welcome to Finland, my friend.
- Tervetuloa Suomeen, uusi naapuri.Welcome to Finland, new neighbor.
Example conversation
Sofia meets Mikko at the airport arrival gate.
- SofiaHei Mikko, tervetuloa Suomeen!Hi Mikko, welcome to Finland!
- MikkoKiitos Sofia, on kiva olla täällä.Thanks Sofia, it's great to be here.
- SofiaOletko väsynyt matkasta?Are you tired from the trip?
- MikkoHieman, mutta olen innoissani.A little, but I am excited.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tervetuloa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
