A0 Expressions & Patterns 1 min read 쉬움

Common Greetings

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Finnish greetings are simple: use 'Hei' for almost everyone and 'Moi' for friends.

  • Use 'Hei' or 'Terve' for formal or neutral situations: 'Hei, miten menee?'
  • Use 'Moi' or 'Moikka' for casual, friendly interactions: 'Moi! Kiva nähdä.'
  • Finnish greetings are generally gender-neutral and do not change based on the person you address.
Greeting + (optional) Question = Friendly Interaction

Common Finnish Greetings

Type Finnish Register Usage
Neutral
Hei
Neutral
Any situation
Neutral
Terve
Neutral
Common
Casual
Moi
Informal
Friends/Family
Casual
Moikka
Informal
Friends/Family
Time-based
Hyvää huomenta
Formal
Morning
Time-based
Hyvää päivää
Formal
Daytime
Time-based
Hyvää iltaa
Formal
Evening

Meanings

These are the standard linguistic markers used to initiate social contact in Finnish culture.

1

Standard Greeting

Used to say hello to anyone.

“Hei!”

“Terve!”

2

Casual Greeting

Used with friends and family.

“Moikka!”

“Moi moi!”

3

Time-based Greeting

Greeting based on the time of day.

“Hyvää huomenta!”

“Hyvää päivää!”

Reference Table

Reference table for Common Greetings
Form Structure Example
Standard
Hei
Hei, miten menee?
Casual
Moi
Moi, kiva nähdä!
Morning
Hyvää huomenta
Hyvää huomenta, Pekka.
Daytime
Hyvää päivää
Hyvää päivää, rouva.
Evening
Hyvää iltaa
Hyvää iltaa, tervetuloa.
Group
Tervehdys
Tervehdys kaikille.
Double
Moi moi
Moi moi, nähdään!

격식 수준 스펙트럼

격식체
Hyvää päivää

Hyvää päivää (Meeting someone)

중립
Hei

Hei (Meeting someone)

비격식체
Moi

Moi (Meeting someone)

속어
Moro

Moro (Meeting someone)

Greeting Hierarchy

Greeting

Formal

  • Hyvää päivää Good day

Neutral

  • Hei Hi

Informal

  • Moi Hi
무료 가입하고 전체 설명 읽기

수준별 예문

1

Hei!

Hi!

2

Moi!

Hello!

3

Terve!

Hello!

4

Moikka!

Hi!

1

Hyvää huomenta!

Good morning!

2

Hyvää päivää!

Good day!

3

Hei, miten menee?

Hi, how is it going?

4

Moi, kiva nähdä!

Hi, nice to see you!

1

Tervehdys kaikille!

Greetings to everyone!

2

Hei, olisiko hetki aikaa?

Hi, would you have a moment?

3

Moikka, nähdään huomenna!

Bye, see you tomorrow!

4

Hyvää iltaa, tervetuloa.

Good evening, welcome.

1

Hei, kiitos avusta.

Hi, thanks for the help.

2

Terve, pitkästä aikaa!

Hi, long time no see!

3

Hyvää päivää, saanko kysyä?

Good day, may I ask?

4

Moi, miten viikonloppu meni?

Hi, how was the weekend?

1

Hei, mukava tavata näin pitkästä aikaa.

Hi, nice to meet after such a long time.

2

Terve, oletko ehtinyt katsoa sitä?

Hi, have you had time to look at that?

3

Hyvää huomenta, aloitetaanko kokous?

Good morning, shall we start the meeting?

4

Moikka, nähdäänkö myöhemmin?

Hi, shall we meet later?

1

Hei, toivottavasti päiväsi on alkanut hyvin.

Hi, I hope your day has started well.

2

Terve, miten projekti etenee?

Hi, how is the project progressing?

3

Hyvää iltaa, onpa mukava nähdä.

Good evening, it is so nice to see you.

4

Moikka, kiva kun pääsit tulemaan!

Hi, nice that you could make it!

혼동하기 쉬운

Common Greetings 대 Hei vs Moi

Learners often use them interchangeably without considering register.

Common Greetings 대 Terve vs Tervehdys

Tervehdys sounds like a plural greeting.

Common Greetings 대 Hei hei vs Hei

Learners think Hei hei is a greeting.

자주 하는 실수

✗

Moi to a professor

✓

Hei to a professor

Moi is too informal for academic settings.
✗

Hyvää huomenta at night

✓

Hyvää iltaa at night

Time-based greetings must match the time.
✗

Tervehdys to a close friend

✓

Moi to a close friend

Tervehdys is too formal for friends.
✗

Hei hei as a greeting

✓

Hei as a greeting

Hei hei is usually for goodbye.
✗

Moi, miten te voitte?

✓

Moi, miten sinä voit?

Moi implies informal 'sinä'.
✗

Hyvää päivää, ystävä

✓

Moi, ystävä

Mixing formal and informal registers.
✗

Terve, rouva

✓

Hyvää päivää, rouva

Terve is too casual for a formal title.
✗

Hei, kuinka teillä menee?

✓

Hei, kuinka sinulla menee?

Consistency in register is key.
✗

Moi, haluaisin kysyä

✓

Hei, haluaisin kysyä

Professional requests need 'Hei'.
✗

Terve, nähdään huomenna

✓

Moi, nähdään huomenna

Terve is rarely used for casual plans.
✗

Hyvää päivää, moi

✓

Hyvää päivää

Redundant greetings.
✗

Hei, mitä kuuluu?

✓

Hei, miten menee?

Mitä kuuluu is slightly more formal/standard.
✗

Tervehdys, miten menee?

✓

Hei, miten menee?

Tervehdys is for groups.

문장 패턴

___, miten menee?

Hyvää ___, mitä kuuluu?

___, hauska tavata.

___, nähdään huomenna!

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Moi! Mitä kuuluu?

Job Interview very common

Hyvää päivää, kiitos kutsusta.

Social Media constant

Hei kaikille!

Ordering Food common

Hei, haluaisin tilata.

Travel common

Hyvää huomenta, hotelli.

Email very common

Hei, tässä on raportti.

무료 가입하고 모든 예문 보기
💡

Keep it simple

Don't overthink. 'Hei' is always correct.
⚠️

Avoid 'Moi' with strangers

It can be seen as rude in very formal settings.
🎯

Use time-based greetings

It shows you know the language well.
💬

Finns are direct

Don't be offended if they don't add extra fluff to the greeting.

Smart Tips

Use 'Hei' and a smile.

Moi → Hei, hauska tavata.

Use 'Moikka'.

Hei → Moikka!

Use 'Hei' or 'Hyvää päivää'.

Moi → Hei,

Use 'Hei hei'.

Hei → Hei hei!

발음

Moi (short o)

Vowel length

Finnish vowels can be long or short. 'Moi' is short, 'Moi moi' is a repetition.

Rising

Moi? ↑

Uncertainty or checking if someone is there.

암기하기

기억법

Hei is for the High-level (formal), Moi is for the Mate (informal).

시각적 연상

Imagine a 'Hei' sign on a professional office door and a 'Moi' sign on a coffee shop with friends.

Rhyme

When you see a friend, say Moi, it brings us all a lot of joy.

Story

Matti walks into a store and says 'Hei'. The clerk smiles and says 'Hei'. Matti then sees his friend Eeva and shouts 'Moi!'. They both laugh and start talking.

Word Web

HeiMoiTerveMoikkaHuomentaPäivääIltaa

챌린지

Say 'Hei' to three different people today (or in your head) and notice how it feels.

문화 노트

Finns value silence. A greeting is often the only required social interaction before getting to the point.

Finnish greetings have roots in ancient Uralic social structures.

대화 시작하기

“

Hei, miten menee?

“

Hyvää huomenta, onko sinulla aikaa?

“

Moi! Mitä olet tehnyt tänään?

“

Hei, oletko kuullut uutisista?

일기 주제

Write about who you greeted today.
Describe a formal meeting.
Compare greeting a friend vs a boss.
Reflect on Finnish social etiquette.

자주 하는 실수

Incorrect

정답

Incorrect

정답

Incorrect

정답

Incorrect

정답

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Test Yourself

Which is formal? 객관식

What do you say to a boss?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hyvää päivää
Hyvää päivää is formal.
Fill in the blank

___, miten menee?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hei
Hei is a greeting.
Fix the sentence Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Moi, herra johtaja.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hei, herra johtaja
Hei is better for a boss.
Match the greeting Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Morning-Huomenta
Matches time.
Build a sentence Sentence Building

Order: päivää / Hyvää / , / rouva

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hyvää päivää, rouva
Correct word order.
Complete the dialogue Dialogue Completion

A: Hei! B: ___

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hei!
Matching greeting.
Which is informal? 객관식

What do you say to a friend?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Moi
Moi is informal.
Fill in the blank

Hyvää ___!

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: huomenta
Hyvää huomenta is a phrase.

Score: /8

연습 문제

8 exercises
Which is formal? 객관식

What do you say to a boss?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hyvää päivää
Hyvää päivää is formal.
Fill in the blank

___, miten menee?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hei
Hei is a greeting.
Fix the sentence Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Moi, herra johtaja.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hei, herra johtaja
Hei is better for a boss.
Match the greeting Match Pairs

Match time to greeting

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Morning-Huomenta
Matches time.
Build a sentence Sentence Building

Order: päivää / Hyvää / , / rouva

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hyvää päivää, rouva
Correct word order.
Complete the dialogue Dialogue Completion

A: Hei! B: ___

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hei!
Matching greeting.
Which is informal? 객관식

What do you say to a friend?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Moi
Moi is informal.
Fill in the blank

Hyvää ___!

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: huomenta
Hyvää huomenta is a phrase.

Score: /8

자주 묻는 질문 (8)

No, it's too casual for formal settings.

It's neutral, but can sound a bit old-fashioned.

It's a common way to say goodbye.

No, Finnish is gender-neutral.

Hei is the most versatile.

Use 'Tervehdys kaikille'.

No, a handshake is standard.

No, it's perfectly polite.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish high

Hola

Finnish lacks the gendered articles found in Spanish.

French moderate

Bonjour/Salut

French uses 'vous' for formal, Finnish uses 'te' but it is rare.

German high

Hallo/Guten Tag

German has more complex case endings for greetings.

Japanese low

Konnichiwa

Finnish is egalitarian, Japanese is hierarchical.

Arabic low

As-salamu alaykum

Finnish greetings are secular and simple.

Chinese moderate

Ni hao

Chinese uses tones, Finnish does not.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Next
Saying Goodbye

Related Grammar Rules

A0

Polite Phrases (Kiitos, Ole hyvä)
A0

Saying Goodbye
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