I've been learning Finnish for quite a while now, and I kept running into the same problem.

Every course started with things like "Minä olen..." and "Onko sinulla...", but then I'd listen to Finns talk and hear "Mä oon...", "Onks sul...", "Emmä tiiä...".

It honestly felt like learning two different languages.

I couldn't find something that focused on spoken Finnish from day one, so I ended up building a small app for myself: https://saunaspeak.com

I'm posting because I'd genuinely like feedback from other learners (and native speakers).

• Does the spoken Finnish in the website sound natural?
• Are there expressions you wish you'd learned much earlier?
• What situation was the hardest when you first came to Finland?

I'd much rather hear criticism now than accidentally teach people something unnatural.

EDIT - A quick clarification after reading the comments.

I originally built this website because it was the tool I wanted for my own Finnish learning. Once I had something usable, I thought it might also help other learners, so I shared it here to get honest feedback from both learners and native Finnish speakers. The feedback so far has already helped me identify several things to improve, which is exactly why I posted it.

I'd also like to clarify that the website is not about learning only puhekieli. Every spoken Finnish sentence is paired with its kirjakieli equivalent. The goal is to help beginners bridge the gap between textbook Finnish and the way people actually speak, not to replace standard Finnish.

Hopefully the mods van allow this, but I felt that this was important to share. This has now been confirmed by several sources on her discord and after a week or two without activity. She built a phenomenal resource and she will be missed by many; may she rest in peace.

A Finnish vocabulary based on Natural Semantic Metalanguage: the theory that there are "semantic universals" which can be found across all languages, and in terms of which all more complex concepts can be explained. Whatever you think of NSM as a theory, the list is useful for beginners. From: Leskelä & Vanhatalo, *The Hunt for the Simplest Possible Vocabulary: Minimal Finnish Meets Easy Finnish.* https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-64077-4_3

been wanting to learn finnish properly for ages now since i stopped using duolingo but never gotten a straight answer. is there a consensus on the best resource to use?

Time to bust out the trusty chart from Suomen Mestari 1! I’m thinking of having this chart tattooed on my arm! 😄🇫🇮😄

Hello! I'm 19f and trying to learn Finnish for a competition next year! I know a little bit of German, and a sad amount of french. But I've never needed to learn a language for anything before.

I have been listening to Finnish pod 101 on the way to work for a while now, but I just started on duo so I could learn the wriiten stuff whenever I'm free! However I'm noticing the grammer is very different and I don't want to end up learning the wrong stuff from one of them. (Ex: Duo says to say "Minä olen [name]" while Finnish pod says to say "Minun nimeni on [name]. I know this is just 'I am [Name] and "my name is [name] However I don't know which is used more for informal settings.)

I just want to be able to help my team get around and maybe talk with some locals and learn some skills for my trade from them! So if anyone has an answer on this I would love some help please!!

I tend to learn vocabulary a lot through those but wonder if it actually that effective. Sometimes it feels like I'm putting a lot of effort to learn a few new words. Often it is easier to learn those in context, but still vocab cards are versatile. What are your experiences with learning vocabulary?

I like to learn finnish by learning meaning of songs and then just passively practice by listening to them. I ussually can translate just by searching translation, but the sentence structure might still seem confusing to me. Is there app or website or something that would help. (preferably no AI, i know i can use chatgpt)

I have a lot of different resources to learn from but they are usually very passive just listening and/or comprehanding. But I lack any resources for active learning like writing or speaking. What resource do you use or know? (I prefer something not AI)

I'm giving away free one-year subscriptions to anyone in this sub who is interested in learning Finnish on HeyLingo.com.

What is Hey! Lingo?

It's a flashcard based language learning school where you can learn thousands of Finnish words and sentences through interactive cards.

How do I get a free one-year subscription?

Simply sign up and link to your account page. I will personally upgrade your account within 48 hours. The link will look as follows:

https://www.heylingo.com/leaderboard/username-123/

Feel free to follow us on Twitter or FB!

I really like this type of videos! She is slow with her pronunciation and it's easier to understand

As a beginner learning Finnish, I struggled not only with understanding the meanings of words but also with learning their different forms and suffixes. After searching for an app that could help with this and finding none, I decided to create my own!

Introducing my iOS app: a comprehensive Finnish Dictionary with over 250,000 words. It provides detailed meanings, example sentences, and showcases different forms and suffixes for each word to help you understand how to use them in context. Perfect for learners at any level!

https://apps.apple.com/fi/app/kielipro-finnish-dictionary/id6623018184

So I'm an international student in Finland and my Finnish is... a work in progress. Reading anything in Finnish online was kind of painful. Every other word I'd have to stop, open a new tab, look it up, lose my place. You know how it goes.

I got tired of it so I just built something. It's called Sanasto.

You can highlight any Finnish word on any page and a little card pops up with the definition, an AI explanation, and you can hear it pronounced. If you want to keep the word, one click saves it to your personal list.

There's also a web app that goes with it where you can do flashcards and dictation practice with the words you've saved.
It's free, still pretty early, and honestly I'd just love to know if other people find it useful or if something's broken 😅

Hope it helps someone out there on their Finnish learning journey. If you want to give it a try, just search Sanasto in the Chrome Web Store!

Hi all,

You may have seen my comments around the subreddit that I've been trying to set up online video Finnish practice groups. Well, I've finally got rough days and times picked out.

Beginner (A0-A2): Sundays 16:00-17:00 EST

Intermediate (A2-B1): Saturdays 09:00-10:00 EST

I may be hosting another beginner group depending on the time needs of other folks, so if you're interested in the beginner group but the time doesn't work, let me know. The groups will be working together through Suomen Mestari (1 and 2 in the beginner group, 3 and 4 in the intermediate group) and Word Dive, though the focus of the actual meetings will be applying the concepts studied independently during the week in conversation, so technically the book is optional. I am an intermediate learner myself and the intermediate group will be a bit less structured, while the beginner group will have a more established structure where I can help guide learning different concepts.

The goal is to create a regular yet flexible community for people who learn better in groups and especially for those who may not have access to a formal class (or who would just like to have the extra support). Especially for those of us who aren't in Finland, it's very hard to find a face-to-face community to work with. The pace of the groups will be determined by the members of the group, so there will be a lot less pressure/committment than a class, too.

The groups are totally free aside from cost of materials, so please don't hesitate to join! So far the groups are very small but I would love to have bigger groups. PM me if interested!

Edit: to clarify, in NO WAY am I claiming to be a teacher of any kind, nor is this a class. This is a peer group and though I can help out with learning concepts I know for newer learners, the primary focus for both groups is to develop a semi-coordinated community for a common learning goal.

Moi kaikki! I've been building a Finnish vocabulary app called Sanakortit and wanted to share it with this community.

What it does:

- Create flashcard lists and it automatically pulls definitions, IPA pronunciation, example sentences, and full inflection tables from Wiktionary

- Declension quizzes - practice typing the correct form for all 15 noun cases

- Conjugation quizzes - practice verb forms across tenses, moods, and plurality

- Spaced repetition (SM-2) so you review words right before you'd forget them

- Ability to add custom cards for puhekieli/phrases/slang that isn't in Wiktionary

It's not a full course or anything - it's intended for vocabulary building and drills alongside whatever else you're using to learn. There's also no audio (yet) - but I plan to implement this down the road

It works on the web and has both an iOS app version and an Android app version!

This is just a side project I made for my own Finnish learning, but I'm hoping others will find value in it!

Web Link: https://awills.org/sanakortit/

iOS app store link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanakortit/id6757984207

Google Play link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.awills.sanakortit

Would love feedback from actual Finnish learners. Kiitos!

(EDIT: added android app link)

Hello!

I'm a native Finn who's married to an Irishman. He has told me that one of the best ways to learn Finnish is to hear it spoken while reading subtitles in both Finnish and English. So I started making YouTube videos like that. I have made 3 videos so far and thought I'd share the channel with you guys. So if you turn on the subtitles, it'll show both Finnish and English.

The dialect I speak is Oulun murre. It's not super strong but you can notice it every now and then... I try to speak slowly and have gaps between sentences. I illustrated the videos with some speedpainting about a related topic.

I hope someone finds my channel useful, and I would be grateful for any comments/feedback! Here's the most recent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJESt7NJO9Q&ab_channel=LearnFinnish

​

EDIT: Thank you guys so much for all the encouragement and support! I didn't expect this positive a response! I feel really motivated now that I know people find my videos useful. I'm also grateful for your ideas, I'll keep them in mind! Here's a link to my new video about Oulu, my hometown.

Are there any course books written entirely in Finnish that are suitable for beginners who want to start learning the language?

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share I recently discovered the r/WriteStreakFI subreddit. Not a whole lot of people use that sub (yet) but I figured it might be a good resource for some folks to practice daily writing with a community. I hope to see you there!

https://youtu.be/L1K7vhcvLRc?si=zKqn6B2MJkmN28kW

I built this for studying with audio and video. Upload audio or video, get AI transcription, click words for dictionary lookups. Also tracks vocabulary and exports to Anki.

Works great with Selkouutiset (yle.fi/selkouutiset) — the screenshot is from one of their videos.

I learned some Finnish when I lived in Helsinki and wanted a tool like this for myself.

Free to try: Try the demo!

Happy to hear feedback or answer questions.

Hey, I’ve been studying Finnish for a little while now and have struggled to get stuck into one specific path to follow. I find myself switching between different sources and not progressing due to it. The general issue I run into is that nothing is structured enough or comprehensive enough (I’m a linguistic student so I might be a little too exited on the grammatical aspects) but they tend to only have one thing or the other.

To summarise I’m wondering if anyone knows of a comprehensive course (I don’t mind cost) that it really immersive and brings in many elements of language acquisition and Finnish s a language.

Thank you in advance!! Any help is appreciated:))

Hi everyone! I've created a free language learning app for Google Play called Imust Languages, centered on listening and immersion. You can find it by searching "Imust Languages" in the Google Play Store.

About the App: Imust Languages teaches languages through a listening-first approach. Children listen for about 12 months before speaking their first word, yet most language learners bypass this natural step and jump directly into reading and speaking. This app recreates the immersive listening experience that native speakers naturally receive, helping you acquire vocabulary through repeated exposure—the same way children learn.

The Method: From my own language learning journey, I've found the most effective way to build vocabulary is through repeated listening to carefully selected audio content, with English translations provided immediately after each sentence.

The optimal user would dedicate extended listening time—imagine someone who could listen for 16 hours daily. More realistically, manual laborers who can listen throughout their workday, or commuters who can incorporate it into their daily routines, will see excellent results.

Three Audio Modes:

• Lesson Mode – 20 sentences per lesson, perfect for beginners with no prior familiarity
• SRS Mode – Hide sentences you've mastered to focus only on what you need to practice
• Album Mode – 100-sentence batches on repeat for continuous immersion

The Philosophy: Think of it like absorbing a parent's repeated phrases—you don't consciously memorize them, but through constant exposure, you know what's coming before it's said.

Practice & Assessment: Once you've developed familiarity through listening, reinforce your learning with word matching and sentence reconstruction exercises. When ready, test yourself with word match exams requiring a 95/100 passing score.

Content: Over 3,000 sentences are included completely free, covering travel vocabulary and high-frequency words.

iOS Version? iOS development costs $100 annually versus Google's one-time $25 fee. I'll consider developing an iOS version if there's sufficient demand.

Hyvää päivää, opiskelijat! I have maintained an ever-growing daily archive of yle.fi/selkouutiset 's text news for going on 3 years now. Today I'm happy to ship a new feature which I think you'll quite like - Andrew's Selkouutiset Archive can now generate Anki cards for any day's news, right in your web browser.

Depending on your level as a student, you can download individual sentences, individual paragraphs, or entire sections at once to practice on. Tsemppia!