Amazing Onomatopoeic Finnish

Finns have an astounding array of precise words for various sounds.

Here are some examples:



sirinä - the sound a cricket or a high pitched electronic device

sorina - crowd talking busily

surina - a buzz like an insect or a kitchen appliance

särinä - a tingly or crackly “buzz”

helinä - jingle of tiny bells

hälinä - a loud hubbub of a crowd

hulina - sort of wild commotion, for example the noise of rowdy crowd

mulina - stupid sounding or stupid speech

pirinä - sound of an old alarm clock or something fast, continuous and high pitched

pärinä - sound of a drum roll or the snare drum, also used to describe drug effects, especially caffeine

purina - a gruntle or discomforted animal sound

porina - the sound of boiling water or food, also used for chatter

lirinä - sound of trickle of thin stream of liquid

lorina - a larger stream of liquid, sound of urination

lärinä - a robust splish-splash

lörinä - …something like a diarrhea

sihinä - a hiss like a snake

suhina - a whisper like sound of wind, grass or bed sheets

sähinä - an exclaimed hissing, also a visual description of how fireworks or vivid, moving patterns look

kahina - sound of brustling cloth or paper money

kihinä - the imagined sound of someone very angry, like a boiling point

kohina - the static sound of a tv or a rapid

kuhina - the imagined sound of a busy anthill or a busy crowd of people

kähinä - a hoarse voice

köhinä - continuous coughing

hurina - a stable hum, like that of a fan or a computer

murina - an animal growl or very discomforted voice

marina - annoying complaining

murina - animal grunting or growling sound

märinä - annoying or useless crying

mörinä - a very low voice, like that of a troll

ärinä - voice that dogs make when they’re agitated, but not barking or growling

örinä - a guttural voice, used to describe voice of extreme metal vocalists



…and that’s just some very common ones, you might have picked some logic there. If there is a need to describe some specific sounds, finns can easily make up new words, for example:

tähinä, which would at least to me sound like exited, non-vocal anticipation.

How marvelous!

– Fan submisson, thanks Sami N.!