kyllä ja ei
/ˈkylːæ ˈjɑ ˈei̯/word by word
The Finnish phrase for "yes and no" is kyllä ja ei.
This phrase is used to indicate that there is no simple "yes" or "no" answer.
Meaning: indicating there is no simple "yes" or "no" answer (phrase)
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈkylːæ ˈjɑ ˈei̯/
Did you know?
- The word kyllä likely developed from an earlier noun that meant 'some' or 'several', which was borrowed from Balto-Slavic languages.
Examples in context
- Kyllä, kiitos.Yes, please.
- Joo, miksipä ei!Yeah, why not!
- Juu, totta kai.Yeah, of course.
- Ei kiitos.No, thank you.
- Ei, en nyt voi.No, I can't right now.
- Vastaus on kyllä ja ei.The answer is yes and no.
Example conversation
Emma asks Matti if he likes his new job.
- EmmaPidätkö uudesta työstäsi?Do you like your new job?
- MattiKyllä ja ei.Yes and no.
- EmmaMitä tarkoitat sillä?What do you mean by that?
- MattiTyöt on kivaa, mutta stressaavaa.The work is nice, but stressful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “yes and no” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (kyllä, ja, ei) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ei, ja, kyllä, CC BY-SA 4.0.
