The journey to speaking Finnish like a local: where to begin

My Finnish learning adventure is like building a puzzle, some pieces come from classrooms, others from unexpected places. I’ll admit, there were moments when I stared at my textbook wondering if some words were even real. But little by little, with the right resources, I started making progress.

It all began with university courses. From the basic introductory course, Survival Finnish to grammar-building courses, Beginner Finnish 1 & 2 courses. Those first awkward "Mitä kuuluu?" exchanges in class gave me the courage to try speaking outside the classroom.

What's great is that the learning path continues well beyond these basics, with the university offering intermediate and advanced level courses. But when summer came, I didn’t want to lose momentum, so I signed up for Villa Victor’s jatkokurssi (Follow-up course). The small group settings meant I had to talk, and the teachers’ patience was top-notch.

Real progress usually happens outside formal classes, when you stop treating Finnish like a textbook subject and start living it. Cafe Lingua at the University of Oulu is a safe space to practise your Finnish language skills and expand your social network. Then there’s the Kummi family programme organized by the University. My Kummi family didn’t just teach me Finnish, they taught me Finland. Coffee chats turned into lessons on how to pronounce ‘u’, ‘y’, ‘a’, ‘ä’, sauna etiquette, and why Finns are so obsessed with salmiakki.

The apps that have saved me:

• Puhu suomea – Not just another language app, but one that shows you real places in Oulu where you can practice Finnish (like cafes, libraries, and events). Plus, it lets you track your progress with self-evaluations. Perfect for seeing how far you’ve come.
• Suomipassi – My go-to for quick revision. Need to quickly check how to say, "Where’s the bus stop?" ("Missä on bussipysäkki?")? Done. Want to drill vocabulary while waiting for the bus? Perfect.
• Selkosanomat.fi, yle.fi – news sites in simple Finnish. Perfect for beginners! I read one article and picked up new words to write down.

And for those late-night study sessions, Uusi kielemme (Finnish Grammar Topics - Overview - Uusi kielemme) became my grammar guide on top of my class-knowledge. No confusing textbook writings, just clear, simple explanations (with examples that actually make sense).

Turning my apartment into a learning lab:

Sticky notes everywhere - Jääkaappi  on the fridge, tietokone  on my laptop, even sänky  on my bed (this habit amazed some of my guests). Immersion works, one of the best ways to remember vocabulary.

I started with the basics: Hei (Hi), Kiitos (Thanks), and Anteeksi (Sorry, which I used a lot at first). Just these three made daily life smoother.

When I first saw Finnish words like jääkaappi and tietokone, I thought someone was playing a joke on me. An "ice cabinet" for a fridge? A "knowledge machine" for a computer? But then it clicked. Finnish words often describe exactly what they are! This made learning way more fun once I started noticing these everywhere:

• Open your jääkaappi (ice cabinet = fridge) and think: "Well, it does keep things cold..."
• Type on your tietokone (knowledge machine = computer) and realize: "Okay, that’s actually accurate."
• When Wednesday rolls around, remember it’s keskiviikko, literally the "middle of the week." Why don’t all languages do this?

Suddenly, vocabulary felt less like memorization and more like solving tiny riddles.