10 Tiny Things That Annoy Finns 

When social distancing started, the Finns said, "Two meters? Must we stand so close together?"

The first time that I visited Suomi I was on a bus to Turku when I really noticed that; everyone sat solely in each row. A middle aged woman who had been drinking got on and tried to sit next to everyone who sent her on her way. She worked her way around the bus until she sat next to me and spoke in Finnish. I apologised that I didn’t speak Finnish and she replied “then we shall converse in English.” Being a typical Kiwi and loving the chance to talk with someone from another country we had a great chat (she was heading home from a florist conference). Everyone else looked very disapprovingly at us. However she said something that still resonates with me. We were discussing the forest and she said “that is the wealth of Finland and the soul of Finland.” It summed Suomi up nicely for me. However NEVER believe that the Finns are not friendly as the opposite is true; they just don’t wear their hearts on their sleeves. Think of it this way: The Americans will say “I’ll take you to the best goddam thing you’ve ever seen!” Us Kiwis will say “I’ll take you somewhere really nice.” A Finn will just take you somewhere and if you like it they will smile gently and if you don’t react they will simply take you somewhere else.

My wife is from Finland thanks for this video , now I understand why she is always angry … 😂😂😂

In 2017 we travelled around much of Finland by train. It was so peaceful & quiet that I still think back to those trips we took... moving at 220 km per hour and sipping coffee in total serenity. The entire three weeks we were there were absolutely fantastic.

Or "10 reasons I enjoy visiting Finland" 😄

My Mummi died two weeks ago and she instilled in me such a love for Suomi. I love learning about my Finnish roots

The social distancing thing has always annoyed me like when someone sat next to me when they could be seated elsewhere and most of these things i feel the same about.. Guess I’ve always been secretly Finnish

As from Norway. I say 8 of ten is the same here @HerFinland. We know yours are a more "mix" than "us" Scandinavians but belong to the same North and is HIGHLY respected. All in all, Scandinavia and Finland shares 90% and will stand by and help each other anytime. :)

Oh, my gosh! My paternal grandfather came to Canada from Finland, and I've always been told I am just like my dad. My Finnish roots must run deep since every one of those things is the same for me! Especially the coffee! Kiitos!

We love Finland. We visited Helsinki on a cruise, and intend to go back to enjoy more of your beautiful country. We are Canadian. Many similarities.

Whoa, you just reminded me… I had a Finnish babysitter when I was very little. I was a noisy kid and she always said to me “talk is cheap, but silence is rich.” I haven’t thought of that in a long time. I’m still noisy as an adult, though.😅

My friends came to visit me from Argentina and we had to charge the bus card so we went to the kiosk and I said - lets go to the other one because is very full here (there were only 5 people) and they started laughing!

I'm not a Finn, but grew up in an area in the US with many Finnish people. The one thing that really annoys anyone from there is the way most others pronounce sauna. So nice to hear it said properly by yourself 🙂

I want to move to Finland in near future and I find your chanell very helpful! Well - when you mentioned Finnish care about the silence (the most beautiful sound) I already fell in love with this country ♥️

I suppose I'm a Finn. Yet born, raised and stuck in (northern) Germany. I miss Finland and my finnish friends in Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu.

I would fit so well in Finnish society. Most of the things you listed are parts of my own personality. In Spain we are definitely not bothered by a stranger sitting next to us in the bus, but i personally find it annoying, among other examples. I get the feeling that I should've been born in Finland as I keep watching your videos! Edit: And yes, it is true that we complain about Spain a lot, and hate on it a bunch, but if someone else foes it we get annoyed

It was interesting to learn how Finns view personal space in the classroom or other public places. I had no idea! I live in California and am 50% Finnish. I can relate to wanting personal space, must be the Finn in me! Thank you Varpu for posting videos as I learn more about my heritage! :)

I am a Finnish Citizen who has lived abroad for most of my life. Three things that come to the forefront- I truly love the quiet, do not like my space compromised , and certainly do not like crowds! Varpu, I am glad that you have a sunny disposition and are not too stoic, as many of us are!

When worked on a cruise ship I was able to see a little bit of Helsinki. I just loved how different from other big cities, no crowd anywhere, almost. Architecture also was very cozy, nice. As a Hungarian I can say after watching some of your videos, that we two nations maybe really related somewhat, we have so many similarties. :)

I agree with the point about criticism XD I feel annoyed if someone criticize about the country where I am from or where I live, but I myself can criticize it :D Great video!

I must be Finnish! (I'm American) because these 10 things are all things I wish we did here. I love quite, being alone, coffee, personal space, and all + Santa can live in Finland as far as I'm concerned.

As always, charmingly informative. Half-Finnish, not raised in the culture here in the United States, but I surely do prefer silence, personal space, and distance from others. I will offer these in kind, of course. Kiitos!

Thanks for information ℹ️ it's useful.

I've been doing a research in terms of different cultures and spoke with a lot of representatives of those, but finnish one took my heart completely. At some point the points you mentioned as weird are so native to my mindset. Questionning myself did I fave finns in my family XD ahaha, maybe, who knows XD Compering to my culture we have really a lot in common but the mindset is a bit different what makes things more difficult for many ppl. But when you will understand the mindset and the reason why everything is super clear and easy. I appreciate for your videos a lot, for sharing your wonderful culture with well structured content. In terms of my personal challenges here in Finland it's how to give more action to my kid, I like the way of living but she is bored a lot XD so top 10 of common kids activities in winter and the same list in summer would be a great bonus for me Kiitos, hei :)

This is so nice and cute The Finnish government should recruit this lady for some special office or be the official spokeswoman for tourism or something. Loving these videos.

Thanks for the video. Good to know about riding the bus as I generally jump into the first available seat. Also I noticed my wife does tend to get annoyed if I criticize her home town. Kiitos

Thanks for video and explanations, Kiitos hyvin paljon!

Going on a solo trip to Helsinki next month! So far after watching this video I feel more finnish than portuguese haha I hope I love to explore this bit of Finland as much as I am excited to do so. New subscriber :)

I'm English and I think No 8 applies to us too. We are actually very good at laughing at ourselves, not taking ourselves too seriously and criticising the country. But it's OK if we do it. I don't like it so much if other people do it. I get a bit defensive.

I would personally say that the 8th point indeed applies here in Czechia as well... The personal space in public transportation goes by the same rules here too. 😅

Thank you for these details. I have only been to Finland once. When I can return, I will understand more.

love your channel

I may be from Canada but listening to this video, I'm pretty sure I was Finnish in another life 😅

My wife's parents are both from Finland and you got just about all of it correct. Very stoic and after 44 yrs. of marriage she doesn't say much anymore. She is very quiet and shy. I still really love her, but sometimes it would be nice to have some company with her in our old age.

I love this chanel & i love your style

Lovely vid. Those tiny things make a perfect sense, especially sauna things. Leaving door open so heat would escape simply disturbs other visitors, not only in Finland. Pouring too much water and then escaping the sauna is simply ridiculous. Also I have noticed that casual meaningless small talks among strangers is very much not a Finnish thing. In Finland if you have nothing to say you better stay quiet. Is it true?

Yes joulupukki is in Rovaniemi! I’ve met him! 😂

You have described my Mothers family as they all grew up only speaking Finnish in a northern Minnesota farming area. I find that even being a half breed Finn born in America I have some of the same tendencies. Must be in my DNA!

you can find other people's salary in Norway too, though it's on a website. I've also sometimes noticed in online Norwegian news there is sometimes a thing you can use to see what people in your area earn the most.

I appreciate your video! I believe I would love to visit Finland.

The personal space thing is not unique. It happens here in the UK, just the distances between people are smaller because of the greater population density. It also applies especially in men’s urinals. There are unwritten rules about where you can stand. Never next to anyone else until other spaces are occupied. And a refinement is “don’t leave a two person gap because that means you reduce the ‘usable’ space for other people” 😂

Finland sounds absolutely heavenly. 🙂

What an amusing list!

Thank you for your videos! I don’t know how, but I feel so comfortable with the things that Finnish people like and dislike. Thins is how I like to live my life in my country in which I end up feeling like an outcast most of the time (I am greek) I respect so much personal space and silence and nature and and waiting in line and many other things that look unknown ever weird to my fellow citizens! So much so I believe I would like try living in Finland so much!🙏🏽👏🤍

"Finland is such a small country" being 4 times larger than mine :)

As someone from Kouvola, my experience is that Finns are very happy to criticize towns that they haven't even visited.

For some reason I ended up in this video and watched to see if I agree (I'm finnish). And this sounds about right. Although personally I don't often think it's crowded when there's more than few people present in the same space. But that's because I used to work in South-Korea and I studied in Seoul. I got used to those huge crowds and when I came back to Finland it was like a paradise of personal space.

Thank you for validating my pronunciation of "sauna" - I use one rgularly as part of my exercise routine but nobody here (New Zealand) knows what I'm referring to, because everyone here says it "sawwne".

Hi. I’m French and live in Belgium and I screwed up my first and only date with a Finnish girl, because I fixed the date in a bar-restaurant and she never dared enter it, waiting for me at the door outside in freezing cold (by my standards…) while I was waiting for her inside, as I never had the mere idea to wait outside in the cold instead of feeling cosy inside while sipping my glass of wine. Eventually she went away and thought that I was a rude person 🤷‍♂️

Oh that coffee thing 😅😅 new subscriber here 🇵🇭🇫🇮

Your accent is so adorable!

I am continually surprised how many things about myself, that my family and friends don't share, is like the Finnish culture. I live in the US, my Finnish father died when I was a child, and I have had no contact with his family. No one else in my family is Finnish. My family and community isn't like me. I am in my 50s and never found a community that I felt comfortable in. Finland sounds perfect!

I live in a small apartment house, there is a Cuban immigrant who likes to stand in the PUBLIC areas, put her phone on SPEAKER, and have very LOUD conversations in SPANISH, at all hours of the day AND night. I'm talking in the hallways, in the parking lot, etc . . . but never just outside her OWN window, or by her doorway, just in the public areas. The other day it was 1 AM on a WEEKNIGHT and both my daughter and I were awakened (could hear her clearly through TWO heavy Finnish doors!) by the loud yammering. 1 . . . bloody AM and she's in the HALLWAY talking very loudly on SPEAKER? That was the final straw for me. She's awakened us many times before, (we rise at 330 for WORK) but I'd had enough and emailed the house manager to put an end to this. Oddly enough, she lives ALONE, so it's not like she would be disturbing anyone if she behaved this way INSIDE her own apartment . . . but no, it has to be PUBLIC. It's been quiet now for a week. Thank God.

Thanks you for your video. On criticism: In the US you can criticize your own group, such as a career group, or a racial group, or a political group and it's more ok for you, but less ok for others. But location criticism is less of a problem. That may be because we move around a lot, so we usually feel less tied to our location. However, this may be less true for those who grew up in rural areas and never left there.

Being quiet and mindful of your surroundings is something we should be doing here in the US, but there's usually some people who take that as a suggestion or just don't care. 90% of the time everyone is quiet and minds their own business, but the other 10% I've seen people having loud chats, playing music from a crappy phone speaker, or worst of all, getting in a shouting fight. If I get a phone call from someone I know I always quietly say "I'm on a bus/train, let me ring you back".

In America, I'd say it's okay to criticize another town--as long as you're not in that town. For example, it's okay to criticize New York if you're in Boston or Philadelphia, regardless of where you're from. But if you're in New York, don't criticize New York--unless you happen to be from New York. Also, if you're in Boston or Philadelphia (for example) and you're talking to a New Yorker, don't criticize New York--unless you're looking for a fight.

I am a third generation Finnish American immigrant. Althought I have not yet been able to travel to Finnland (yet), it is on my list. I have never enjoyed loud/abrasive noises/yelling. I did not realize it was a finish custom. Coffee is certainly part of my daily diet and I would not be at home without it. My grandfather build his own sauna (rocks and all) and I remember enjoying it as a child - always take the time to enjoy it.

In regards to the seating arrangements on public transport , on the chance you do have to share a seat , how would you approach asking the right person who to sit next to ? I am asking as someone who is wanting to visit the country but is absolutely terrified of scaring the locals as I am a chatty oversharer !!

I love my Finnish friends (known since jr. high school age) ! I would like apartments and public transportation to be quiet here in the US too , but alas, we can't always control what others do. As for criticism I am cautious and why bother if it doesn't bring any kind of growth. It sounds like Finns are polite and practical , maybe a little standoffish at first, but then become great friends. We keep a little less personal space between us here but that can be cultural too, many people like to hug their friends and talk to strangers at the store etc. or say "hi" to everyone. My background has Finnish (Turkuu) Swedish (Vastarnorland), Russian, German, Irish, Scottish, English and French - so my family had a certain quietness about it and we had lots of Swedish food too

I can relate with the needing space as a person from America. Though it may not be something everyone cares so much about, it’s nice being able to try to distance yourself from others when you get the chance. I say this as a person living in the city who then moved to the suburbs and then back to the city. I personally find it disrespectful for a person/stranger to go out of their way to get any closer to yourself than they need to. People need to respect space. But sadly some people from where I’m from don’t seem to understand(Creeps, wanting to get into other’s business). Even with the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic!

All 4 of my grandparents came to the USA from Finland. I wanted to give a Finnish name to my new cat. A Finnish relative suggested "Kulta". It is her name now. Was it a good choice? Searches give the word many different meanings.

Hyvää päivää, Varpu. I think there is a bit of a Finn in everybody. I hate people sitting beside me on a tram when more space is available elsewhere on the tram. I appreciate silence and wish more people could be silent (I come from a country of wold-class chatterboxes). I have to agree with the insistence of having mustard with sausages and finally I am trying to persuade my wife to lose weight in order to enter the wife-carrying competition. (She is resisting this big time!) Hyvästi!

I agree with quite a few items on the list of things that annoy Finnish people. I wonder if these things were brought over to America when our ancestors arrived. Saunas are big with us and in fact we were naked and the whole thing all together in the sauna. Being too close in proximity to others is another and the bus thing where you sit in your own spot until the bus is full and there is no choice but to sit next to someone else. There are many more that I don't know if they are from Finland or from the lutheran church.

Ok, I'm definitely Finn... The quiet sounds amazing. Can't stand how everyone is so noisy here!

Yes, I'm sure you were always social distancing world champions. But I hear that people also don't like small talk there. They say you should never talk to somebody in public if you don't know them. Over here (in the US), strangers chat with each other like old friends.

Seems like a dreamland for me!

I’m in the US, I can say yes to almost all of these. Small elevators. The older I get, give me quiet. Large family. I finally get to live alone. Me and my cat. Personal space! Build the sauna first, then the house. My grandparents came over in the late 1800’s. Boy, it’s so nice that someone understands me.😂 Finnish was my mother’s first language. Thank you.😊

I am 40 years old and was born and raised Finish American (my great grandparents immigrated). Most of what you shared in the video are applicable to my family and the Lutheran church i grew up in. There in alot of comfort in shared silence. If we can avoid lines we will. Talking bad about communities outside of our own is considered gossip. Sauna should be respected, coffee at many points of the day, and if you have a visitor coffee will ALWAYS be part of the visit.

Noisy people on mass transit drive me up a wall! I don’t want to hear another person’s music. He or she needs to get headphones!

wow here in the USA none of things would annoy us at all. New sub here...would love to see a video about Finland becoming NATO's newest member. Has it changed its culture in anyway? Wikll they change in the future?

Being aware of your surroundings, not making noises, avoiding crowds ... seems like my dream place to live. I have this colleague at work who always walks around whistling, and I can't stand it, and even less when he does it early in the morning. Have I confronted him about it? No. You just don't do that around here in cases like that, unless you want to appear misanthropic. Do I yearn for a workplace where people respect other people's need for silence which is essential (to me) to be productive? Yes!

Hola. A mi me resulta raro lo del transporte. Aquí en Argentina la gente tiende a sentarse en cualquier lugar. Incluso es común que te hablen para conversar. Sería ofensivo si alguien se sienta al lado tuyo y de pronto esa persona se para y se sienta en otro lugar. Muchas gracias por tus videos me resulta muy interesante conocer de un país ta lejano.

Remember seeing the phone cupboard icon on Finnish trains and wishing we had that in the UK too.

I think I'm in love - words chosen carefully :)

I love your videos from 🇹🇷 Can u make some videos about traditional and cultural celebrations in Suomi? or Finns religion before Christianity?

Such helpful insight, I've also noticed that as a stranger in Finland it's better not to greet people in public spaces (we easily greet strangers in South Africa). Is this correct? However, when approaching a sales person or waitress a greeting is acceptable.

Thank you for this list! I have may Finnish friends, and it is so fun to annoy them!

Definitely agree about no mustard with sausage is a faus pax, US midwesterner.

Off-topic but maybe you can help me: Last week I was in Helsinki and in the hotelroom on TV I heard a version of "Help yourself" from Tom Jones in Finnish which sounded absolutely gorgeous. I don't know who sang it, I reckon it wasn't Tom Jones but a finnish singer. Unfortunately my internet search came to no result. Maybe you know the answer?

Sounds like all common sense to me. Must be a great place to live. Thank you.

We have the personal space thing in Norway too

I should've been born a Finn! I am very eager to visit Suomi - love and respect from the USA!

The quiet reminds me of my visit with family in Alabama. They talk slowly with long pauses between replies. I grew up in big cities and they told me I sound crazy because I talk fast and frequently. This gave me anxiety.

Hei Varpu.. love the details of Finnish annoyance; I find it difficult not to speak to people on the bus - in UK, it depends where you are from about talking to other people.. in Nottingham yes, in London no. Planing my next visit in March - t. Rick

Word you say is like bullet, you can not take it back. Finnish wisdom.

Interesting about Scandinavia. We were taught in elementary school (USA)- many decades ago - that Scandinavia was Norway, Sweden. and Finland. I've been to Finland several times, and luckily have never mentioned that.

There were 5 Finnish families on the country road where we lived. Most came from the part that Russia took from Finland during the wars. They were such nice people and I still remember them fondly.

quiet and personal space is my thing. I'm not an introvert I'm Finnish (Part). My maternal grandmother was half Norwegian and half Finnish(mother.) Both her parents were first-generation Americans.

Hi there from germany. it seems my own psyche comes pretty close to the finnish one. especially the missing mustard when it comes to sausages.

thank you 😊🇫🇮

I was not aware of all of the things that Finns do not like. I was born in Finland and have lived in Australia since 1959. I will be very interested in following more information from your channel, as Finland is still my homeland. Pirkko from Queensland Australia

Hola! creo que todo lo que comentas me resulta absolutamente razonable. Para mi son normas básicas de educación. En España, cuando entras a un bus, intentas no sentarte al lado de otra persona si existe algún hueco vacío. La gran virtud específicamente finlandesa desde mi punto de vista es el respeto a las otras personas, respeto que se aprecia, sobre todo, en el silencio. Creo que hay pocos países tan respetuosos. En los países más cálidos, existe muchísimo ruido y la gente habla con un volumen de voz excesivo hasta el punto de que en determinadas ocasiones, la vida se hace imposible: hace unos años estuve a punto de cambiarme de casa por el excesivo ruido de mis vecinos. Una cosa que no has comentado y que, pienso, molesta a los finlandeses es que se les considere "vikingos"; según me comentaron, ese tipo de confusión es una confusión importante. Muchas gracias por estos videos, tengo amigos en Finlandia y este mes de febrero iré a hacer una visita a ese maravilloso país. Kiitos!

I agree 100% with you. Greetings from Näätämö

I moved to Finland two years ago and from my experience, the rule about being silent in trains doesn’t apply to young people. They don’t usually talk, that’s right, BUT. They don’t use headphones and are listening to whatever on their phones out loud. And I’m not talking about teenagers only, people up to 30s do that commonly. I’m talking about commuter trains, maybe it’s something special in this kind of public transportation 😂

I like most of your rules or near all, specially about give value to silence, don't get sit close to another person in public transport or don't enjoy crowded places I wonder if I'd have been more happy if had born in Finland,

I noticed when my dad and uncle were having a conversation they stood side by side facing the same way.

About the first one, I was told to put water on the rocks right before leaving the sauna for the saunatonttu 🤔

Is there anywhere people don't look for an unoccupied seat on public transport? If the bus is filling up, I do sometimes sit next to someone else, just so that if a pair get on they can sit next to each other...annoy one, please two...

I live in a big American city. We would love to have a bus or train seat to ourselves, but our public transportation is very crowded. Usually many people have to stand and we are packed in there like sardines. Our buses and trains are also very noisy with people gabbing on their cell phones. It's very annoying to me, a non-Finn.

I’m Nordic myself - Swedish and Norwegian American. But this list makes Finland round really high maintenance.