räystäs

Räystäs.jpg

MEANING:

Noun (singular): eaves

You’ll also see the plural ”räystäät”.

In English, the word eaves is almost always seen in plural. It refers to the underside of a roof that extends beyond the external walls of a building.

DERIVED FROM:

Borrowing from Proto-Germanic *hrausta-,

EXTRA CREDIT:

The Finnish translation of the 1969 song ”Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a song called ”Räystäät jos tippuu” (which translates loosely as ”If the eaves are dripping.”

piparkakku

piparkakku

MEANING:

Noun: gingerbread

DERIVED FROM:

Piparkakku comes from Swedish pepparkaka (“ginger biscuit”).

juopottelu

juopottelu

MEANING:

Noun: binge drinking (as in consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol)

DERIVED FROM:

Juopottelu is a noun that comes from the verb juopotella (to drink to excess) which results from combining the words juoppo (“drunkard”) +‎ -tella (a suffix used to forms verbs for calling someone by a name or a label.)

See it in action in the headline ”Nyt tästäkin on tutkimus: Kylmyys ja pimeys lisäävät juopottelua” which can be translated as ”Now there’s an even a study: Coldness and darkness increase binge drinking.”

haravointi

haravointi

MEANING:

Noun: raking

DERIVED FROM:

Haravointi comes from haravoida, a verb meaning ”to rake” or ”to comb (for something.)”

See it in action in the phrase ”Haravoinnista ei ollut puhetta” which means ”There was no talk about raking.”

maksuton

maksuton

MEANING:

Adjective: Free of charge.

DERIVED FROM:

Maksuton comes from maksu, which means ”payment” or ”fee” plus the suffix –ton, which means ”-less” or the lack of something.

harppaus

h arppaus

MEANING:

Noun: leap or stride

DERIVED FROM:

Harppaus comes from harpata (“to leap”) +‎ -us (“ing”)

EXTRA CREDIT:

The phrase ”Tämä on pieni askel ihmiselle, mutta suuri harppaus terveydelle” is a play on Neil Armstrong’s famous phrase when he landed on the moon. It translates approximately as ”That’s one small step for a (person) man, but one giant leap for health.”