Animals

1. koira

   Dog

   Usage

   "Koira puri minua" — a dog bit me. Dogs travel on Finnish trains and sit in cafés

2. kissa

   Cat

   Usage

   "Olen allerginen kissoille" — I'm allergic to cats. Worth asking before booking a private room

3. lintu

   Bird

   Usage

   Birdwatching is "lintujen bongaus". The same word appears in "Voin kuulla linnunlaulua" in the Nature & Outdoors category

4. kala

   Fish

   Usage

   The same word for the animal and the food. Fishing is "kalastus"; simple rod-and-line fishing is covered by everyman's right, but lure fishing needs a permit

5. hevonen

   Horse

   Usage

   Riding is "ratsastus". The native breed, the "suomenhevonen", is cherished as the national horse

6. lehmä

   Cow

   Usage

   Beef is a separate word, "naudanliha", so you will not see "lehmä" on a menu

7. sika

   Pig

   Usage

   Pork is "sianliha". To avoid it, say "en syö sianlihaa"

8. lammas

   Sheep

   Usage

   A common sight in the Åland Islands and the archipelago. Mutton is "lampaanliha"

9. kana

   Hen

   Usage

   Chicken as food is "broileri" or "kana"; menus usually say "broileri"

10. poro

    Reindeer

    Usage

    Herded across Lapland — none are truly wild, every animal belongs to someone, so if one steps onto the road you stop and wait rather than chase it. Hitting one obliges you to call 112. "Poronkäristys", sautéed reindeer, is the northern speciality

11. hirvi

    Moose / Elk

    Usage

    Finland's largest wild animal, behind those yellow "hirvivaara" warning triangles. They step onto roads at dawn and dusk; there are thousands of collisions a year, and if you hit one you must stay and call 112

12. kettu

    Fox

    Usage

    Found in suburbs as well as forests, and not to be touched. In Lapland folklore a fox sweeps sparks into the sky with its tail — which is why the northern lights are "revontulet", fox fires

13. siili

    Hedgehog

    Usage

    Snuffling through gardens on summer nights, mostly in the south — they do not live in the north. Never offer one milk, which harms them

14. orava

    Squirrel

    Usage

    The red squirrel with tufted ears, easy to see in Helsinki's parks. The gliding "liito-orava", the flying squirrel, is a famous protected species that regularly halts building projects

15. jänis

    Hare

    Usage

    The native "metsäjänis", the mountain hare, turns white in winter. A pet rabbit is a different word, "kani"

16. karhu

    Bear

    Usage

    The brown bear is Finland's national animal, living in the eastern forests. Encounters are rare and making noise as you walk is enough. There are bear-watching hides in the east. In Kalevala mythology it was too sacred to name directly, so it was called "mesikämmen", honey-paw

17. susi

    Wolf

    Usage

    A small population in the east and west. You are very unlikely to see one, though wolf hunting is a permanently contested topic in Finland

18. ilves

    Lynx

    Usage

    The Eurasian lynx lives in forests across Finland. Nocturnal and almost never seen, though its tracks in the snow are a common find

19. hylje

    Seal

    Usage

    Basking on the Baltic skerries. The freshwater ringed seal of Lake Saimaa, "saimaannorppa", numbers only a few hundred and is the emblem of Finnish conservation

20. valas

    Whale

    Usage

    The Baltic is too brackish for whales, so you will not see one in Finland — this is a zoo-and-picture-book word here

21. lokki

    Gull

    Usage

    They will take food off your plate at Helsinki's Market Square and along the harbour, so keep an eye on it

22. joutsen

    Swan

    Usage

    The whooper swan, "laulujoutsen", is Finland's national bird — once nearly extinct, brought back by protection, and its call returning to the lakes is the sound of spring. Aggressive near a nest, so keep your distance

23. sorsa

    Duck

    Usage

    Everywhere on park ponds; the common mallard is a "sinisorsa". Do not feed them bread, which is bad for waterfowl. The farmyard duck is usually "ankka"

24. varis

    Crow

    Usage

    The Finnish one is the grey-and-black hooded crow. The big all-black bird is a different word, "korppi", the raven

25. harakka

    Magpie

    Usage

    The black-and-white long-tailed bird you see in every Finnish town, and the one folklore accuses of stealing shiny things

26. pöllö

    Owl

    Usage

    More often heard than seen in the forest at night. The far north also has the snowy owl, "tunturipöllö"

27. kyy

    European adder (venomous)

    Usage

    Finland's only venomous snake, formally "kyykäärme", marked by the zigzag stripe down its back and found on sunny rocks and around summer-cottage woodpiles. If bitten, keep still and call 112. The harmless "rantakäärme" is told apart by the yellow patches on its neck

28. sammakko

    Frog

    Usage

    They chorus in the marshes in spring, and on summer nights they can cover a lakeside path

29. hyttynen

    Mosquito

    Usage

    Unavoidable in any account of a Finnish summer. In Lapland they swarm in July and walking into the forest without "hyttysmyrkky" repellent is simply not an option. The plural is "hyttyset"

30. mäkärä

    Blackfly / Midge

    Usage

    Smaller than a mosquito and swarming along rivers in the northern summer. The bites swell more and itch longer than mosquito bites, and only a fine-mesh net keeps them out

31. punkki

    Tick

    Usage

    The insect to take seriously in Finland — ticks carry both borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis, and in high-risk areas such as Åland and around Lake Saimaa the TBE vaccine is publicly funded. Check yourself after walking through long grass and pull any tick straight out with a remover. The formal name is "puutiainen"

32. ampiainen

    Wasp

    Usage

    They arrive at outdoor tables in late summer. "Ampiainen pisti minua" — a wasp stung me. Say so at once if you are allergic

33. mehiläinen

    Bee

    Usage

    Distinguished from the aggressive "ampiainen". Honey is "hunaja" — useful when hunting for local honey at a market

34. muurahainen

    Ant

    Usage

    Those metre-high mounds in the forest are "muurahaispesä", wood ant nests. Step on one and you get sprayed with formic acid, so give them room

35. hämähäkki

    Spider

    Usage

    No Finnish spider is dangerous to people, including the big ones that wander indoors in autumn

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