Signification
Heading toward a wooded area.
Contexte culturel
The forest is seen as a place of both life and death in Finnish folklore. While modern Finns love hiking, the language still carries the ancient fear of the 'untamed' woods. Finns are very direct. Using 'mennä metsään' is a common way to be honest about a project's failure without being overly dramatic. Sports commentators use this constantly. It's part of the 'national vocabulary' of disappointment in ice hockey or skiing. Teachers might use this to gently point out that a student's logic in a math problem is heading in the wrong direction.
Use with 'ihan'
Adding 'ihan' (completely) before 'metsään' makes you sound very natural and native.
Case matters
Never say 'metsässä' if you mean something is failing. That just means it's located in the woods.
Signification
Heading toward a wooded area.
Use with 'ihan'
Adding 'ihan' (completely) before 'metsään' makes you sound very natural and native.
Case matters
Never say 'metsässä' if you mean something is failing. That just means it's located in the woods.
Teste-toi
Fill in the missing word in the correct case.
Voi ei! Meidän suunnitelma on menossa ______.
The idiom requires the illative case 'metsään' (into the forest).
Which sentence uses the idiom correctly to mean 'The project is failing'?
Valitse oikea lause:
'Menee metsään' is the standard idiomatic form for failing.
Match the situation to the phrase.
You are cooking and you burn the food. What do you say?
We use 'metsään' for failures, not other locations.
🎉 Score : /3
Aides visuelles
Banque d exercices
3 exercicesVoi ei! Meidän suunnitelma on menossa ______.
The idiom requires the illative case 'metsään' (into the forest).
Valitse oikea lause:
'Menee metsään' is the standard idiomatic form for failing.
You are cooking and you burn the food. What do you say?
We use 'metsään' for failures, not other locations.
🎉 Score : /3
Questions fréquentes
3 questionsNot usually. You wouldn't say 'Hän menee metsään' to mean he is failing in life. It's for tasks, plans, or logic.
No, it's neutral. It's a very common way to describe a situation.
There isn't a direct 'forest' opposite, but you could say 'mennä putkeen' (to go into the pipe/go perfectly).
Expressions liées
mennä päin mäntyä
similarTo go against a pine tree (to fail badly)
mennä mönkään
synonymTo go wrong
mennä puihin
similarTo go into the trees
olla pihalla
contrastTo be out in the yard (to be clueless)
