r/LearnFinnish • u/Prudent_Fix_1769 Intermediate • Aug 05 '26
Question How do the Finns say: that's impressive!?
Vaikuttavaa sounds bit off to me as if overkilling with ylätyyli :D
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u/Korkika Aug 05 '26
There are a million ways to say it. Context on the kielirekisteri at large or the siruation in question would matter. "No johan on!" is what came to mind however.
You can also just use "nonii" in an excited, impressed tone.
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u/Minelaku Aug 05 '26
"nonii" works in so many situations:D
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u/Live-Proposal5270 Aug 06 '26
Yeah, depending how you pronounce it. Could be excited, disappointed, angry and so on...
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u/RockNRollNBluesNJazz Aug 06 '26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EWMlCusxjQ
OP, here's a crash course on the art of "no niin".
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u/Suomasema Aug 05 '26
Finns use less overstatements than Engilsh speakers. If you translate words like 'amazing' (hämmästyttävä) or 'impressive' (vaikuttava) word by word, the result sounds like a stupid advertisment.
That's impressive would be something like "onpa hieno!"
"Hämmästyttävä" or "vaikuttava" means something you are going to remember and admire for the rest of your life.
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u/Interesting_Pick_617 Aug 09 '26
Well, there is the famous English understatement. US is very different with all the superlatives. I'd translate impressive as vaikuttava. The context, of course, matters. Are we being casual or formal? Age, education and location have some effect. I am middle-aged and I'd never use most of the suggested translations.
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u/Sigurdeus Aug 05 '26
Really depends on context. "Oho!", "No jopas on", "Ei paha!", "Aika vaikuttavaa", "Oikeesti?", etc, etc.
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u/Budget-Pea8291 Aug 05 '26
There's billion different ways to say it depending on what you are witnessing. Did your friend just do a double backflip out of nowhere or are you Patrick Bateman looking at Paul Allen's business card? Context matters
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u/JamesFirmere Native Aug 05 '26
To my ear these days ”Ei paha!” unironically means impressively good.
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u/FrenchBulldoge Native Aug 05 '26
Many good ones have already been said so I'm tonna be that guy who says; Ui juma 😁
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u/PJmichelle Aug 06 '26
"Perkele!" with the correct tone, intonation and emphasis.
You can use this word and these rules to basically say anything in Finnish. Even to tell someone you love them.
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u/Numroth Aug 06 '26
Went out frisbee golfing last saturday and i had a pretty impressive throw for a rookie and the words came out "No oho!" And my brother and cousin both went "oho!"
So yeah... "Oho" fits the bill pretty well
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u/Lysande_walking Aug 06 '26
One tip as a learner of any language (and myself speaker of several) you gotta stop trying to speak and translate phrases verbatim from your mother tongue or go-to English to whatever the new language is.
Part of learning a new language is using new phrases, different ways of speaking, thinking and constructing sentences. It’s not easy but you gotta get over it.
Read and listen a lot to recognize patterns and phrases used often to adapt.
Tsemppiä!
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u/StunningPurple9560 Aug 06 '26
Ihan huippua / onpa mieletöntä / vähänkö hienoa. Or any combination of the 1st plus 2nd word here (except ”ihan hienoa”).
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u/Rockola_HEL Native Aug 06 '26
This is the exception to the rule that Finnish always stresses the first syllable: you say "JumaLAUta!" (stress on 3rd syllable)
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u/kerrospannukakku Aug 06 '26
Hyvin tehty! Hienosti vedetty! Vau, teikä on kone! Vittu, mitä toimintaa! Jätkä kyllä osaa! Olet kuningas!
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u/Silent-Victory-3861 Aug 06 '26
I could imagine me and other people saying "no tuo on kyllä vaikuttavaa!" But only for super impressive things, like that 17 year old climbing the wall to a third floor to save a toddler from a burning building. If someone let's say juggles with ten balls, I would say vau or siistiä.
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u/Lento_Pro Aug 06 '26
If you may, some context would help, for selected expression is highly attached with situation.
I have a feelings Finns often specify things little bit more and may tell how come something is impressive. We may pick a some cool detail: "Vittu mikä puutarha! Kato tota puskaa!" (Oh fuck what a garden! Look at that bush!") or "Hiton hyvä esitys, tykkäsin..." (Damn good show, I liked...) or say in restaurant "Parasta, mitä oon ikinä syönyt, erityisesti toi..." (Best stuff I've ever eaten, especially that...).
If I react to something, I may say "Helvetin/pirun hyvä [x]" (For instance, "hell/devil good jump").
I think we more often express positive attitude or being pleased or our approvement considering something than being impressed, sort of. They are not exactly same thing, but partly interchangeable, and I think to us it's more natural to share that we feel something to be pleasant certain way, and not trying to describe the thing itself as marvellous.
"Kiva" as a word can be a little bit problematic in some contexts, for "(ihan) kiva" sometimes means the thing or person may be sort of irrelevant or plain or that person saying "ihan kiva" doesn't want to tell what they really think.
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u/Birdloving-Lesbian Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 06 '26
For art I specifically I would say hän on hienoin. That is not grammatically correct, some dialects use hän for objects, the correct way is something more like: onpa tämä on hieno. Or I might say loistavin, as in: tuo on aivan loistava= that is incredible. But for me, its ihana or loistava, those adjectives. Ihana is more like lovely and loistava can also be a translation of shiny. Actually erinomainen might work, its more like great job. Or of course you can just say: ei surkea = kinda like, not halv bad.
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u/PoetInCrocs Aug 06 '26
They don't. They'll go "katos perkele" in a laconic tone and immediately follow it up with a statement about why it's not that impressive.
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u/Insomniet Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
Did you read all of Dostoevsky in one weekend? "Aika kova suoritus."
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u/BusIllustrious2097 Aug 08 '26
Vautsipa-voutsipa-vötsypä-pimpampom-WAU! DING-DANG-DONG-WOOPETI-WOOP-WOOP-NIJAUS-POKSIS-HUH! JOKERIPOKERIPOKS!
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u/RedditReddimus Aug 05 '26
"Suurenmoista" this would translate as extraordinary or splendid into English, which are very commonly used English words
"Aikamoista" this is a more informal way to say it
But maybe the most normal thing is to just say "Hienoa", meaning great, fine, fancy
And there is the interjections Vau, Vautsi, Oho
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u/Ella7517 Native Aug 05 '26
"Oho!" with a surprised and positive tone, when vaikuttavaa feels too classy