Finnish for busy people

Kakka Pissa Pieru ja Hiki – Finnish Bodily Functions Vocabulary

Bodily functions are normal. However, people usually don’t like to think too much about them, with the exception of children. Poop jokes (pissa- ja kakkahuumori) are incredibly funny to kids at a certain age, and this includes kakka, pissa, pieru ja hiki.

In this article, we’ll go over some vocabulary related to bodily functions. No jokes here though! Not surprisingly, there are many spoken language synonyms and euphemisms for these.

Finnish English
keho body
elintoiminnot bodily functions
lima slime, phlegm
haju smell, stink
pahanhajuinen bad-smelling
haista (pahalta) to smell bad
erite, eritteet secretion(s)
vessa toilet
vessanpönttö toilet bowl
vessaistuin toilet seat
huussi (outside) toilet
peppu, pylly bum, butt (kids’ words)
takapuoli read end, ass (official term)
pimppi pee-pee, vagina (kids’ word)
pippeli, kikkeli pee-pee, willy (kids’ words)
penis penis
emätin, vagina vagina
peräaukko anus
ruoansulatus digestion
ruoansulatushäiriö indigestion
suoli intestine
suolisto intestinal system
paksusuoli colon

Uloste Kakka Paska – Excrement Poop Shit

The body gets rid of unneccessary waste (jäte) through poop (kakka). A healthy person will defecate (ulostaa) every day. Your stool (ulosteet) can tell you a lot about your health (terveys), like for example if you drink enough water.

Finnish English
ulostus bowel movement
uloste excrement
ulosteet feces, stool
kakka poop, poo
kova kakka hard stool
löysä kakka loose stool
pökäle, kikkare turd
paska shit
papanoita pebble poop
kakata to poop
ulostaa to defecate
olla paskalla to take a shit
ummetus constipation
ripuli diarrhea

Pieru – Fart

Flatulence (ilmavaiva) means that intestinal gases (suolistokaasut) exit your body through you anus (peräaukko). Farts (pierut) can be really smelly! They’re caused by what you’re eating. Some foods like beans (papu, pavut) are hard to digest (sulattaa) for the body.

Finnish English
piereskely farting
pieru fart
haiseva pieru smelly fart
hiljainen pieru quiet fart
ilmavaiva flatulence
suolistokaasu intestinal gas
päästää pieru to fart
pierrä to fart
pieraista to break wind
löyhkä stench

Virtsa Pissa Kusi – Urine Pee Piss

Your body (keho) gets rid of toxic substances (myrkyllinen aine) through urinating (virtsaaminen). Pee (pissa) is made up of about 95% water and 5% of e.g. hormones, white blood cells, and chemicals.

Finnish English
virtsaaminen urinating
kusi piss
pissa pee
virtsa urine
virtsata to urinate
pissata to pee
kusta to piss
käydä kusella to go for a pee
virtsankarkailu incontinence
virtsarakko urine bladder
vessahätä call of nature
pissavahinko an accident
vaippa diaper
potta potty

Hiki – Sweat

When you exercise, your body will be producing sweat (hiki). Sweat itself doesn’t smell like anything (ei haise miltään), but the bacteria (bakteerit) in it do. Sweating (hikoilu) helps to keep your body cool (viilentää ihoa). Just make sure you drink enough to make up for the dehydration (nestehukka)!

Finnish English
hikoilu sweating
hiki sweat
hikoilla to sweat
haista hieltä to smell sweaty
kylmä hiki cold sweat
yöhikoilu nightly sweats
haisevat kainalot smelly armpits

Röyhtäisy – Burp

Burping (röyhtäily) is a way for the body to expell gas (päästää kaasu) from the stomach (maha) through the mouth (suu). Especially soda (limsa) will cause you to burp (röyhtäillä) because it contains carbon dioxide.

Finnish English
röyhtäily belching
röyhtäisy belch
röyhtäillä to burp

Oksennus Yrjö – Vomit Puke

When you’ve eating something bad, you’re likely to vomit (oksentaa). This is the body’s way of evicting bacteria or spoiled food (pilaantunut ruoka) from your stomach (maha). People can also suffer from sea sickness (matkapahoinvointi). That’s what the vomit bag (oksennuspussi) in airplanes is for!

Finnish English
oksennus vomit
oksentaa to vomit
yrjö puke (spoken)
yrjöä to puke (spoken)
pahoinvointi nausea

Kuola Sylki – Spittle Saliva

Your mouth produces (tuottaa) a lot of saliva (sylki) all day long, especially when you’re thinking or eating something delicious (herkullinen). The enzymes (entsyymit) in saliva help break down food and protect your teeth (hampaat).

Finnish English
kuola spittle
sylki saliva
sylkirauhaset salivary glands
erittyä sylkeä to secrete saliva
sylkeä to spit
kuolata to drool

Räkä – Snot

Snot catches bacteria (bakteeri, pöpö) when you breathe in (hengittää sisään). The color of your snot (räkä) can tell you something about both your health and the quality of the air around you. Sneezing (aivastaa) and blowing your nose (niistää) clean out your nose. Picking your nose (kaivaa nenää) is something that’s definitely frowned upon.

Finnish English
räkä snot
vihreä räkä green snot
aivastus sneeze
aivastaa to sneeze
niistää to blow your nose
kaivaa nenäänsä to pick one’s nose
nenä vuotaa nose is running
nenä on tukossa nose is blocked

Veri – Blood

Picking scabs (rupi, ruvet) is something that can be hard to resist (vastustaa), but it negates the work your body does to repear your skin (iho). Blood transports oxygen (happi) into your system and waste (jäte) out of your system. Women will have to deal with their period (kuukautiset) once a month, while the body cleans up the mucous membrane (limakalvo) from the womb (kohtu).

Finnish English
veri, verta blood
rupi scab
haava wound
naarmu scratch
arpi scar
nyppiä rupea to pick a scab
raapia rupea to scratch a scab
kuukautiset period

Now you know what kakka, pissa, pieru ja hiki mean! Very useful vocabulary, right? 😉

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