Advanced swearing in Finnish
#896. Keskiviikko, 19. tammikuuta 2005 klo 14.20.01, kirjoittanut Jani. 34
My second puff towards The Butt Ugly Weblog today comes in the form of a sequel: I thought we could take a a look at some colorful ways of using the expressions in JJ’s list of “Useful words in Finnish”. #
The possessive form. A powerful, yet easy way to enhance the effect of your magic word is using a possessive form as a pair for the word in its basic form. Examples: #
- “perkeleen perkele” - the devil’s devil
- “vitun vittu” - vagina’s vagina
- “Saatanan Saatana” - Satan’s satan
Note, that although the form suggests a strange relationship between the two words (e.g. as if Satan had “a satan” of his own, or a vagina had a vagina), no one using these actually means it; the form is probably just used because saying the same word twice sounds pretty stupid, and still you wish to express that your irritatedness is best descibed by, say, “perkele” to the second power. #
Using “vittu” as a sentence. “Vittu” has become such a generic expression of feeling the “vitutus” (as discussed by J-Ko) that a need has risen to use another powerful word as the actual swear word in accompany of this one, sentence-like word. Perhaps for some subconscious, linguistic reasons, “Saatana” seems to go particularly well with this: #
- “Vittu, Saatana!”
To convey the full meaning of this expression, it would probably have to be translated something like this: “For fuck’s sake, I am feeling extremely frustrated and irritated, if not completely pissed off!” As you can see, intense emotions and rich nuances are easily expressed using compact sentences of the Finnish language. #
How to express something “sucks”. The actual word “suck” which is “imeä”, really isn’t used that much, since most Finnish speakers only associate it with something vacuum cleaners do (as well as something else, which you are free to associate from vacuum cleaners yourself). A very similar expression in meaning we do have, however, and that is “olla perseestä” which is “to emerge from ass”: #
- “tämä on perseestä” - this emerged from ass (“this sucks”)
- “proge on perseestä” - progressive rock emerged from ass (“progressive rock sucks”)
- “se jätkä on ihan perseestä” - the guy definitely emerged from ass (“the guy sucks ass”)
N.b.: “ass” in this context does not refer to the animal, but the part of human anatomy. #
See also (and react to, if you know the answer) pni pondering why finns use sixteen (“kuustoista”) and the swedes seventeen (“sjutton”) in a swearing context. #
[muokkaukset]
[muokkaus][klo]24.1. 10:54[/klo] Lisäsin linkin Skrubuun.[/muokkaus]
[muokkaus][klo]3.4.2006 14:33[/klo] Muotoilin WP:lle. Nykyaikaistin tyyliä.[/muokkaus]
[muokkaus][klo]21.8.2007 16:52[/klo] Nykyaikaistin tekniikoita. Lisäsin huomautuksen lapsilukosta.[/muokkaus]
[muokkaus][klo]2011-07-25 22:25[/klo] Poistin huomautuksen lapsilukosta.[/muokkaus]
[/muokkaukset] #
Wow, great stuff!
It’s woth noting that things can also emerge from the deep(ness of the ass). So tämä on syvältä (this emerged from the deep) means the same than tämä on perseestä.
PA: Absolutely, a good point! Thanks.
Actually we could go way further into this study of the word “vittu”. First of all, we can sometimes use expressions like “vitun vitun vitun vittu” if something has irritated us beyond normal scales which we can handle with “vittu” or “vitun vittu”.
While “vittupää” (cunthead) is easily translated and is associated with a specific person we also have the adjective form “vittumainen” which can be associated to practicly anything difficult or annonying.
But let’s go into more advanced topics. “voi vitulla päähän” (oh, somebody put a vagina in [someone’s] head) comes in handy sometimes.
To express one’s opinion about some asshole one might say “vedä vittu päähäs” (please, draw a vagina over your head) which however doesn’t refer to cunnilingus. A more versatile form might be “vedä vittu päähäs ja pakene vuorille” (please, draw a vagina over your head and flee to the mountains). Similarly “suksi vittuun” (ski to vagina) or “painu vittuun” (get to vagina) do not suggest finding an actual vagina and going there.
In a somewhat older curses we have expressions like “voi vittujen kevät” (oh, the spring of vaginas) which too are quite hard to distinguish from the translations of previous examples in less developed languages.
Then we have modern stuff associated with the word vittu like “V-käyrä” (V-curve), “kestovitutus” (constant “vitun vittu” feeling).
hp: Thank you for your insightful contribution as well! “Vittujen kevät” is one of my personal favorites.
At least on the west coast of Finland the expression “vittujen kevät” is often heard as a longer version: “Vittujen kevät ja kyrpien takatalvi”. I, however, am not willing to translate that as it makes a whole lot less sense than “a spring of vaginas”.
Oh, and just to make one thing clear: progressive rock did not emerge from ass.
Ugus: “I, however, am not willing to translate that…”
You knew I’d love to do it myself, thank you! ;) “Vittujen kevät ja kyrpien takatalvi” is “a spring of vaginas and a return of winter of cocks”.
“Oh, and just to make one thing clear: progressive rock did not emerge from ass.”
Sure it did. From the deepness of it.
To top it all off, one can add …ja poikittain (…and sideways), which gives the expression a certain sadistic flair: Tää on ihan perseestä! Syvältä ja poikittain!, This stuff came out from the depths of an ass, sideways!.
Progressive rock emerged from too many bong hits, I believe.
Oh, how many lovely, painful and twisted variations we have for all these beautiful words we love so dearly. Clearly, this was an issue worth digging into.
Käytännön harjoitusmateriaalia:
http://stuff.salde.net/flash/vittu_vs_saatana.swf
JK: Instructions for pronounciation would have been left out entirely without your link, thanks!
“a return of winter of cocks”
hmm, i prefer the poetic alliteration of “a cold spell of cocks”
cbt
careygrrl: You’re absolutely right, that does sound better. Not knowing whether you can leave the “in spring” part out, I opted for the other one, since “a spring of vaginas and a cold spell in spring of cocks” would, in the end, leave one wondering whose spring it is.
obviously the classics like “perseet olalle”, i.e. pull asses to your shoulders and “vittumainen jätkä”, i.e. vagina-like guy should be mentioned.
Only by seeing these translations did I come to think of how upside-down many of these words are. Take pete’s “vittumainen jätkä” for instance; a vagina-like guy, to me at least, sounds like something entirely different from how we usually perceive someone who is “vittumainen”. Being vagina-like almost sounds… uhh… positive…
Somebody sucks or something sucks you really do not have to have a source of sucking, like you had ass ‚You just say ” he sucks.” Or “this movie sucks.“Same as you say in Finland “Voi vittu” you don’t say” who’s ‚vittu where ever it is, sucks.“Doesn’t really make any difference,and who cares anyway.
Meilla on myoskin sanontoja jotka suoraan kaannettyna eivat aja tarkoitusta “You mother fucker” tai “fuck you”.Olemme myoskin kaantanneet sanontoja ns. suoraan “hevon paska”=“bull shit”. Minka Amerikkalainen kaverimme 63v.huusi kaupan parkkipaikalla vanhemmilleni,SjaH,kun ei muutakaan Suomeksi osannut.Ainahan vieraasta kielesta opitaan ensin kirosanat.
Amerikassa sina et ole vittumainen,sina olet motherfucker,minka mina tunnen olevan paljon pahempi.Suomessa kaytetaan sanaa vittu niin usein ja olen itsekkin sita kayttanyt niin paljon etta siita on mennyt merkitys,sita kaytetaan normaali kanssa kaymisessa niin paljon, tai ainakin kaytettiin jo 15v. sitten etta mina en edes ajattele sita “TOSI“pahaksi sanaksi keskustelussa.
Satu: “Amerikassa sina et ole vittumainen,sina olet motherfucker,minka mina tunnen olevan paljon pahempi.”
I don’t believe I’ve ever used “vittumainen” to (or in?) anyone’s face, I’ve only used it to describe somebody to someone else. As a noun, “motherfucker” is more handy in that sense. (Or must be, can’t say I’ve ever used it face to face either, and would probably be even more careful using it so, since it would mean I’m dealing with someone from a different culture.)
I recently learned that motherfucker refers to someone who ‘just’ prefers women who are mothers. Can’t say that sounds nowhere near as bad as someone having sex with their own mother (the way it sounds to a finn, at least).
“Suomessa kaytetaan sanaa vittu niin usein ja olen itsekkin sita kayttanyt niin paljon etta siita on mennyt merkitys,sita kaytetaan normaali kanssa kaymisessa niin paljon, tai ainakin kaytettiin jo 15v. sitten etta mina en edes ajattele sita »TOSI«pahaksi sanaksi keskustelussa.”
Nowadays “vittu” is probably considered as part of the punctuation even if you asked Kielitoimisto.
HAIL SATAN!
SAATANA!
For more info.
“Jumalauta” is very interesting word. It is one of its kind in Finnish swearwords vocabulary. It is a word originally formed from “Jumala auta” “Please help me God”. However it has completely lost its original meaning, and nowadays it means nothing, except that the user of it expresses angryness, but it can be used also to express extreme astonishment, for example when seeing a really powerfull car doing a burnout.
In later mentioned use it almost has the same meaning as “oh my god”, but the angry meaning is something like“Now I am really mad!”
If there is going to be a fight, you’ll surely hear this word at least once.
Baredevil: Thanks for bringing this one up too, since it’s also one of my personal favourites. Perhaps somewhat paradoxically, even though ‘Jumala’ is a completely misformed and meaningless word to me, ‘jumalauta’ makes me feel strong coming from my lips.
I forgot to mention also, that “jumalauta” has formed also other “versions”, that also directly means nothing. For example “jumankauta”, “jumankavita”, “jukolauta”, “jukoliste” and “jumantsuikka”. These somehow are often considered as a bit softer versions of “jumalauta”.
Kummeli TV-series effectively used “jumankauta jätkät” (damn you guys) to express that those guys just done something as stupid a man can possibly do. :-)
Baredevil: Whereas in speech I prefer the pure and original ‘jumalauta’, at times ‘jumankavita’ seems to slip from my keyboard more often.
ttule gbg niin taidat saadat mitä haluat
sää oot mulkkku
terveisiä//// sårskorppebanditen//////rupikonna
By the way, although vagina is a translation for vittu, the true swearword translation would be cunt. It has the raw edged brutality of its Finnish cousin, too
loopyloo: You’re absolutely right. I was just so amused by ButtUgly’s use of the medical term that I copied it.
hahah! i have forgotten how funny finnish swearwords are. :D
I don’t understand Finnish too well, but I do agree the swearing is amusing. Does anyone know of any places in Australia that teach Finnish??
I really want to learn, but my stupid country lacks any real culture. (Incase you haven’t noticed, I’m not very patriotic :P )
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So, if “Jumala auta” is “Please help me, God”, what would “Jumala auta vittu” be? “Please, God, help my cunt”?
“My cunt” implies possession and its context makes it objective, whereas plain “vittu” doesn’t have either quality (if it did, it’d be “vittuani”. “Please God, help, (you) cunt” would technically be more accurate, and “Please God, fucking help me” perhaps conveys the actual meaning of “Jumala auta vittu” best.