Finland has two official national languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is the mother tongue of around 87% of the population, while Swedish is spoken natively by about 5%, and both carry equal status under the Finnish constitution. A handful of Sami languages also hold protected status in the far north, making Finland a genuinely multilingual nation despite its small population of roughly 5.5 million.
Finnish: The Dominant Language
Finnish, known to its speakers as suomi, is the everyday language of the vast majority of Finns and is one of the most distinctive tongues in Europe. Unlike Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, or English, Finnish is not an Indo-European language at all. It belongs to the Uralic family, sharing roots with Estonian across the Gulf of Finland and, far more distantly, with Hungarian. This means that a Finnish speaker would recognise almost nothing in a sentence of Swedish, even though Sweden lies directly to the west.
Around 4.8 million people speak Finnish as their first language. Because the language developed largely in isolation, its vocabulary shares very few cognates with the major languages most travellers know, which is one reason it has a reputation for being hard to learn. Yet its spelling is remarkably faithful to its sound, so once you know the rules, you can read any word aloud correctly.
What Makes Finnish Unusual
Finnish is an agglutinative language, meaning that grammatical information is stacked onto a word by adding one suffix after another rather than using separate prepositions or articles. This produces some of the features that fascinate and intimidate learners:
- Fifteen grammatical cases — compared with four in German and effectively none in English. Endings replace words like "in," "on," "from," and "to."
- No grammatical gender — there is a single pronoun, hän, for both "he" and "she."
- No articles — there is no equivalent of "a" or "the."
- Vowel harmony — the vowels within a word follow consistent patterns, giving Finnish its melodic, flowing rhythm.
The result is a language capable of building extraordinarily long single words. A famous playful example is juoksentelisinkohan, a single word that roughly translates as "I wonder if I should run around aimlessly." For all its complexity, the grammar is highly regular, with very few of the irregular forms that plague English.
Swedish: Finland's Second Official Language
Swedish is spoken as a first language by roughly 290,000 Finns, concentrated along the southern and western coasts and in the Åland Islands, an autonomous, Swedish-speaking region in the Baltic Sea. Although the Swedish-speaking community is a minority, the language enjoys full legal equality with Finnish. This dates back to the centuries when Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden before becoming part of Russia and finally independent in 1917.
In practice, this bilingualism is highly visible. Road signs, official documents, and product packaging routinely appear in both languages, and in officially bilingual municipalities, public services must be available in Finnish and Swedish alike. Swedish is also a compulsory subject in Finnish schools, which is why most Finns have at least some knowledge of it even if they rarely use it day to day.
Sami Languages and Other Minority Tongues
In the northernmost region of Lapland, three Sami languages — Northern Sami, Inari Sami, and Skolt Sami — hold co-official status in certain municipalities. The Sami are an Indigenous people whose right to maintain and develop their language and culture is protected by the Finnish constitution. Northern Sami has the most speakers, while Inari Sami and Skolt Sami are critically endangered, each with only a few hundred remaining speakers, prompting active revitalisation programmes.
Finland is also home to smaller communities speaking Karelian, Romani, and Finnish Sign Language, the last of which has constitutional recognition. For more on the country itself, see our finland country guide.
English and the Traveller's Experience
Visitors are often relieved to learn that English is very widely understood. Finland consistently ranks among the top non-native countries in the world for English proficiency, and younger Finns in particular speak it fluently. You can comfortably travel, shop, and dine across the country using English alone.
That said, a few words of Finnish are always appreciated. Useful phrases include Hei (hello), Kiitos (thank you), Kyllä and Ei (yes and no), Puhutko englantia? (Do you speak English?), and Apua! (Help!). And given that Finland has one of the highest rates of coffee consumption in the world, kahvi (coffee) may be the single most practical word you can learn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Finnish similar to Swedish?
No. Despite the two countries being neighbours and Finland sharing centuries of history with Sweden, the languages are entirely unrelated. Finnish is a Uralic language, while Swedish is Indo-European, so they have completely different grammar and vocabulary.
Can you get by with English in Finland?
Yes, very easily. Finland ranks among the most English-proficient nations in the world, and the vast majority of Finns, especially in cities and tourist areas, speak English well.
Why does Finland have two official languages?
Swedish was the language of administration when Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden for several centuries. The Swedish-speaking population that remained was granted full linguistic rights, and that equality is enshrined in the Finnish constitution today.
Is Finnish really one of the hardest languages to learn?
For English speakers it is challenging, mainly because of its 15 grammatical cases and its unfamiliar vocabulary. However, its pronunciation is extremely consistent and its grammar is logical, so it rewards methodical learners.