Doesn't that just have the sweetest ring to it?!
Yes, it's back. Everyone's favorite Friday feature. Right?
Frackin' Friday is here to get you learned on all those things you shouldn't really be learned about. Cussing in a foreign language.
Now, I really don't know enough Finnish to even save my life.
Wait, yes I do. I know "Help!" (Apua!) and "One beer, please" (Yksi olut, kiitos). The absolute essentials. And that's pretty much where I am starting from.
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| Looked European to me... (source) |
Now, I really don't know enough Finnish to even save my life.
Wait, yes I do. I know "Help!" (Apua!) and "One beer, please" (Yksi olut, kiitos). The absolute essentials. And that's pretty much where I am starting from.
But I have managed to at least pick up one naughty word already. Two weeks in, along with a killer beginning to this week, I definitely need a bad word to perk me right up!
The trip to Germany was smoother than I could have envisioned. Somehow or another, I drove the one hour trip to Helsinki, flew three hours over eastern Europe, landed in Munich, rented a car, drove two hours to Ravensburg. Packed up our whole German life (slash gave/threw away everything else that couldn't come alone) and in less than 48 hours, turned around and did the whole trip backwards. Sheesh. I'm exhausted. But it is all said and done.
Oh, and did I mention that Germany had a record heat wave while I was there? Nothing like moving, in un-air conditioned places, in 40 degree heat. That is over a 100 degrees for you Fahrenheit lovers.
Like I said, I need a Frackin' Friday today!
From what I can gather, this might be one of the most important Finnish words out there. And any of you Finnish readers, feel free to back me up...or correct me.
Perkele
(Pear-kel-lay)
(Pear-kel-lay)
(Two quick things you need to know about pronouncing Finnish words. One, the accent is always on the first syllable. Put that heavy stress on the "pear". And two, roll them R's, just like in Spanish. Or as in "Rrrruffles have Rrrrridges!". Anyone?!?)
Meaning: Well....this might be a tough one. Let's just say along the line of 'crap', 'oh hell', 'gosh darnit', or even 'f**k'. Wide range, I know.
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| I want it! (source) |
I like Urban Dictionary's definition even better. Want to put money on it that a proud Finnish lad wrote this explanation?
"Most likely the most powerful curseword ever created by mankind. Cannot be translated without loss. Versatile word that can be used alone or repeated indefinitely."
Haha, who doesn't love it?!
I don't even have to give you examples for you to know that it can probably be used in just about any situation. Plus it sounds so fun!
Roll that R long for extra emphasis. And enjoy your Friday!
I'm playing a nice little game of catch up with sleep, emails, blogs and hockey.
how on earth do you pronounce : Yksi??????? im just dying to know
ReplyDeleteperkele sounds like perculate (SP?).
my only interaction with the finnish language was about 6 months ago. i rented a movie on demand because it said it was in norwegian (stupid time warner cable)....i started watching it to see what i could understand and i didnt catch ANYTHING. i told andre i was watching it and he googled it and it turns out it was finnish. i was gonna keep watching but then some really nasty guy ended up being naked and i just couldnt bear it any longer. dang europeans and their nudity (totally dont mind it if it is a hot bod, but i dont wanna see a guy older than my dad naked attempting to have sex with an equally as nasty female).
glad you're settling in over there and the trip to germany went smoothly! :)
Hahahaha...aliiteration in your title and a swear word in you post! Great start to Friday haha!Well done on that move and thank you for another swear word to add to my collection!
ReplyDeleteI love learning swear words in different languages...my favorite French lesson ever was when my French teacher said notice the word "sh*t - in French? merde, in Spanish, merda, and in Italian mierda" I was like, wow, that totally rocks. I can swear in 3 languages!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I am totally going to try to say this to one of my finish friends.
ReplyDeleteI doubt I can say it right though - when I was living in Geneva I would say "merci beaucoup" to my UN boss and apparently instead it came out sounding like I was saying"Merci beau cul" which is thank you nice arse. Classy. They waited 2 weeks to tell me.
Also, Megan - that is hysterical.
@Megan - haha, that is too funny! No, at least Norwegian has some Germanic roots. Even though it is pretty out there too. It is ooksi. Y's are like 'oo's. Fun, huh?!
ReplyDelete@Missy - no prob lady! Glad I could help your naughty vocab. Can't wait to hear more about your trip!
@Sarah - I used to use that Spanish one all the time! Someone did a guest post on the French one not too long ago. Too funny that it works for all three!
@Shera - Hopefully I am not wrong and they understand what you are talking about, lol. Haha, now that is a great story. Of course they waited 2 weeks to tell you. Awesome!
Ah, looks like you're settling in nicely :)...Shera...'beau cul'...hahahaha...heh.
ReplyDeletei like that you definitely have the most important finnish words down! i dont know how people learn languages that are phonetic! which is basically the only reason i know how to speak spanish!
ReplyDeleteglad you got over moving all the stuff from germany! the weather in europe was so weird this summer! when we were in london they said it was record highs, and then when we were in germany they said it was much cooler than normal! the earth is rebelling!!
have a great day and have fun settling back in!!
That's funny. Why is it we always learn the curse words first? My Mr is Portuguese and so I can tell his Mom to "F off" but not ask her how her day was. Kind of funny but not so great for conversing with the in-laws!
ReplyDeleteI also have a hard time understanding some of the curse words in other languages as far as how serious they are. Like this one seems like it can be used pretty tame, ie crap, or pretty severe, ie F$%^. So...how do we know if we are REALLY offending someone or not!?
Just pronounced it outloud. I'm glad no one around here speaks Finnish. And I will definitely use it in traffic later!
ReplyDeleteAnd hey--that German heat just made you feel right at home, like you were back in Texas, right?
Well, I'm a Finn and I enjoyed reading these posts as well ;) and actually you don't pronounce "yksi" as "ooksi" it may sound better if you pronounce it "ukse" or "uxe".
DeleteHahahahaha. I love this. I can say this in class and no one will know what I'm saying. Awesome.
ReplyDeletedo you know the swear police are knocking on your door... brilliant post.
ReplyDeleteI love it! Battlestar Galactica cussing is so frackin' awesome. LOL Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteA Ladybug's Life
Sonnia
Cracking up to no end that you dedicated a post to "perkele". haha. :)
ReplyDelete@Megan, "Yksi" is pronounce "OUK-see". Kind of hard to explain the "y" properly, it's sort of like "oo" as in "ook", but it's like you're trying to swallow the word in the middle. (My mother's Finnish and I've heard the word all my life.... I still stumble over it occasionally.
YAY! Most exciting frackin' friday post EVER...well, maybe not ever, but Finnish frackin' friday is pretty dang exciting. And I love the definition of "perkele"; how great is that?!?
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that you're learning the local lingo. I hope you've worked out what you're going to do when those long dark Finnish nights hit in Autumn/Fall? :-)
ReplyDeletegee...all my Finnish friends ever taught me to say was I love you. Not that I am not a romantic, but yours seems more fun!
ReplyDeleteI always say your frackin friday words out loud several times, first just like a robot, and then with emphasis. PERKELE!
ReplyDeleteGreat one!
LOVE that this never posted, yesterday...
ReplyDelete@TriGirl - finally feel a little settled! Isn't that funny, I just hope I have never said it like that!
@Kimberly - all the important ones, haha. I am a fan of global warming...in the winter. But not on hot hot hot warming day! Thanks girl!
@Kyria - because they are the most fun :) haha, that is too funny! It is used in a more severe way than just crap usually. But cuss words aren't as big a deal over here. Or at least that is the feeling I get. Of course the F word is always a favorite, no matter where you are!
@Heather - Haha, I thought it would be great in traffic too! THat's right, they were trying to make me feel at home. Gee, thanks.
@Meg - perfect usage of the word right there. Just make sure there are no foreign exchange students, lol
@iZombie - please don't tell on me! haha, thanks!
@Katie - haha, you know it! It is a great word. Pretty useful!
ReplyDelete@Paul - always the best words come first, right?! Sheesh, blog. Lots?
@Rory - Even that is hard to pronounce! I think both I love you and Perkele might come in handy :)
@Meri - Haha, first like a robot! Love it Meri. Thanks for taking my lessons so seriously ;)
That's a keeper!!! Now ... all I have to do is scare up a clutch of Finns, engage them in a dodgy conversation, and throw in a 'Perkele' or two at the right moment!
ReplyDeleteBUT ... tempting though it is, it MIGHT be a bit tricky downunder - there's a dearth of Finns in these parts!!
oh my..! Finnish language is so hard to understand! Its our "neighbours" but we dont understand each other at all!!Glad you are enjoying it:)))
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law is Finnish and next week is her birthday...should I try to wow her with my new Finnish word? :-)
ReplyDeleteI think I'll start using this at work. A lot. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeletevisiting from ftlob. thanks for the new word- i love expanding my vocabulary- naughty or nice.
ReplyDeleteOh I love this post! My daughter who is almost fluent in German is always holding that over my head - hee hee - now I have a word to say to her - off to practice my rrrrrrolling R's!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such a nice comment on my back to school post! You are a sweetie!
I always think curse words to be in the one syllable range, so this is kind of exciting - it's like a whole new world of potty words. This is also a reminder that I need to go review some of your old frackin fridays so I can work on my German, you know, the super important stuff.
ReplyDeleteAwesome word! Glad your trip went smoothly. As for why Jake replies to her...Jake sometimes smokes stuff that isn't necessarily tobacco for his headaches and her brother sells stuff that isn't necessarily tobacco so she always is offering some to Jake, since that's her connection or her "in". On one hand it's kind of nice because that stuff can be expensive and she's always giving it to him trying to get him to hang out with her but on the other hand, I'd rather just pay for it and have her be gone.
ReplyDeleteWhaddya think would happen if you yelled "Per que no llamas!
ReplyDelete@Red - It just sounds so good, right? Is that what a group of Finns are called. A clutch?? I like it ;)
ReplyDelete@Mrs K - haha, knowing how Swedes and Finns feel about each other, I think you might think some things I post are 'funny' , lol
@Kelli - ummmm, you might want to hold off. Tell her Rakasta sinua instead!
@Natalie - haha, i'm glad I could help.
@Mallory - well thanks Mallory for stopping by. Yes, always expanding and learning more :)
@Cherie - Yes! I have lots of German ones, you will have to back track. So you can keep up with her on those too. Thanks for coming over here too!
@Alex - I need to do a recap of them all. How about that??
@Jordan - it just sounds fun, right?? Ahh, I see I see. Not judging :) And in that sense maybe, just maybe, don't blame him. I see the predicament now. Will you keep us updated if there is a solution to this?? I was really curious. And hope you are doing good girl!
@Mollie - Haha, um, everyone would think that I was awesome. You would think of that. I might just have to use it now!
Some reference material
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