First Phrases

Pub quiz · Suomi

Pub quiz in Finnish: 10 phrases for tonight

Teams of four to six answer rounds of questions over drinks. Solo players are almost always welcome to join a team with a free seat, so asking to join is the key move.

Register: Informal (friendly). Finnish has no formal/informal switch like tu/vous: "sinä" (you, one person) and "te" (you, a group or a stranger you want to be polite to) are both fine, and first names are used with everyone. Plain "moi/hei" is normal everywhere.

How to read the sounds: Finnish is spelled as pronounced, and the stress is always on the first syllable. Doubled vowels (aa, ii, uu, ää) and doubled consonants (kk, ll, tt, ss) are held noticeably longer, so kuuma and kumma are different words. y = ü (say 'ee' with rounded lips), ä = the a of 'cat', ö = the eu of French 'peu'. ai = eye, ei = ay, oi = oy, u = oo.

10 phrases, door to goodbye

  1. 01 · Arriving
    Hei kaikille, hyvää iltaa!
    Say it like: HEI KAIK-kil-le, HÜ-vää IL-taa
    Hi everyone, good evening!
  2. 02 · Saying you're new
    Olen uusi täällä ja tulin yksin.
    Say it like: O-len UU-si TÄÄL-lä ja TU-lin ÜK-sin
    I'm new here and I came alone.
  3. 03 · Asking how it works
    Miten tämä toimii? Montako kierrosta on?
    Say it like: MI-ten TÄ-mä TOI-mii? MON-ta-ko KIER-ros-ta on
    How does this work? How many rounds are there?
  4. 04 · Small talk
    Käyttekö täällä usein?
    Say it like: KÄÜT-te-kö TÄÄL-lä U-sein
    Do you come here often?
  5. 05 · Small talk
    Mistä te olette kotoisin?
    Say it like: MIS-tä te O-let-te KO-toi-sin
    Where are you from?
  6. 06 · Small talk
    Oletteko hyviä tietovisoissa?
    Say it like: O-let-te-ko HÜ-vi-ä TIE-to-vi-sois-sa
    Are you good at quizzes?
  7. 07 · Joining a team
    Voinko liittyä teidän tiimiinne?
    Say it like: VOIN-ko LIIT-tü-ä TEI-dän TII-miin-ne
    Can I join your team?
  8. 08 · Not knowing an answer
    Ei aavistustakaan. Mitä sinä luulet?
    Say it like: EI AA-vis-tus-ta-kaan. MI-tä SI-nä LUU-let
    No idea at all. What do you think?
  9. 09 · Naming the team
    Mikä meidän tiimin nimi on?
    Say it like: MI-kä MEI-dän TII-min NI-mi on
    What's our team's name?
  10. 10 · Leaving & keeping in touch
    Oli hauska ilta! Nähdäänkö ensi viikolla uudestaan?
    Say it like: O-li HAUS-ka IL-ta! NÄH-dään-kö EN-si VII-kol-la UU-des-taan
    That was a fun evening! Shall we meet again next week?

3 things you will probably hear

  1. H1 · You may hear
    Tule istumaan meidän pöytään!
    Say it like: TU-le IS-tu-maan MEI-dän PÖÜ-tään
    Come and sit at our table!
  2. H2 · You may hear
    Seuraava kierros alkaa viiden minuutin päästä.
    Say it like: SEU-raa-va KIER-ros AL-kaa VII-den MI-nuu-tin PÄÄS-tä
    The next round starts in five minutes.
  3. H3 · You may hear
    Hiljaa, kysymys tulee!
    Say it like: HIL-jaa, KÜ-sü-müs TU-lee
    Quiet, the question is coming!

Go and try it

Find pub quizzes and game nights on Come Alone

Quick answers

What do I say when I arrive alone at a pub quiz in Finnish?

Start with: "Hei kaikille, hyvää iltaa!" (Hi everyone, good evening!). Then say you are new: "Olen uusi täällä ja tulin yksin." (I'm new here and I came alone.)

Should I use informal or formal Finnish at a pub quiz?

Finnish has no formal/informal switch like tu/vous: "sinä" (you, one person) and "te" (you, a group or a stranger you want to be polite to) are both fine, and first names are used with everyone. Plain "moi/hei" is normal everywhere.

How do I ask to meet again after a pub quiz in Finnish?

Try: "Oli hauska ilta! Nähdäänkö ensi viikolla uudestaan?" (That was a fun evening! Shall we meet again next week?)

Same evening, another language

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Finnish, another evening

Pub quiz Padel & pickleball Run club Sauna Book club Dinner with strangers Language café

All 7 × 6 cards · Phrases for a specific event near you

How it works

  1. Pick the evening and the language people will speak.
  2. Read the ten phrases in order: they follow the evening from the door to goodbye. Tap the speaker to hear each one in your device's voice.
  3. Print the card or keep it open on your phone. Native-speaker review is still pending; a "check" mark flags a phrase we are least sure of.
  4. Find the event on Come Alone, open it in Meet & Mint to see who else is going, and say the first phrase for real.

firstphrases.app/tonight/quiz/fi/ · Meet & Mint