This article lists vocabulary for a large number of types of houses and buildings. It’s a good way to widen your vocabulary once you know the basic types of buildings and businesses. If you’re a beginner, you could start by learning basic vocabulary of places in the city.

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1. Residential buildings
   1. Basic words
   2. Different shapes and heights
   3. Different materials
   4. Houses and buildings in nature
   5. Temporary housing
   6. Housing for specific people
   7. Small buildings
2. Agricultural buildings
3. Historical buildings
4. Commercial buildings
5. Public buildings
6. Industrial buildings
7. Buildings that provide shelter
8. Small buildings
9. A closer look at some words
   1. Maja
   2. Tupa

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1. Residential Buildings

1.1. Basic Words

– Missä sinä olet? – Olen kotona. “Where are you? I’m at home.”
– Rakennuksessa on hissi. “There’s an elevator in the building.”
– Asunnossani on iso keittiö. “There is a large kitchen in my apartment.”

1.2. Houses of Different Shapes and Heights

– Millaisessa talossa sinä asut? “In what type of a house do you live?”
– Asun kerrostalossa. “I live in an apartment building.”
– Me asumme omakotitalossa. “We live in a detached house.”

1.3. Houses of Different Materials

– Asun vanhassa puutalossa. “I live in an old wooden house.”
– Asumme modernissa elementtitalossa. “We live in a modern prefab building.”
– Tässä tiilitalossa on kuumaa kesällä. “It’s hot in the brick house in summer.”

1.4. Houses and Buildings in Nature

– Missä käyt lomalla? “Where do you go on vacation?”
– Käyn aina kesämökillä. “I always go to the summer cottage.”
– Rakensin puumajan lähimetsään. “I built a tree house in the forest nearby.”

1.5. Housing for Temporary Stays

– Missä yövyit lomalla? “Where did you spend the night on vacation?”
– Yövyin halvassa hostellissa. “I stayed in a cheap hostel.”
– Vietimme 3 päivää kylpylähotellissa. “We spent three days in the spa hotel.”

1.6. Housing for Specific People

– Isoäitini asuu vanhainkodissa. “My grandmother lives in a home for the elderly.”
– Asuin 3 vuotta sisäoppilaitoksessa. “I lived in a boarding school for 3 years.”
– Asun vastaanottokeskuksessa. “I live in an immigration detention center.”

2. Agricultural Buildings

– Tytöt nukkuivat kesällä heinäladossa. “The girls slept in the hay barn in the summer.”
– Vanha mylly jauhaa edelleen viljaa. “The old mill is still grinding grain. ”
– Tässä kasvihuoneessa viljellään salaattia. “Lettuce is cultivated in this greenhouse.”

3. Historical Buildings

– Prinsessa asui linnan tornissa. “The princess lived in the castle tower.”
– Häitä vietettiin vanhassa kartanossa. “The wedding was held in an old mansion.”
– Vierailin Buckinghamin palatsissa. “I visited Buckingham Palace.”

4. Commercial Buildings

– Kävin ostoskeskuksessa ostamassa vaatteita. “I went to the shopping center to buy clothes.”
– Käyn nopeasti lähikaupassa. “I’ll quickly go to the convenience store.”
– Ostin vaniljajäätelöä jäätelökioskilta. “I bought vanilla ice cream from the ice cream kiosk.”

5. Public Buildings

– Museorakennuksessa on 3 näyttelyä. “There are 3 exhibitions in the museum building.”
– Kirjamessut järjestetään messukeskuksessa. “The book fair is held at the exhibition center.”
– Vierailin äitini luona sairaalassa. “I visited my mother at the hospital.”

6. Industrial Buildings

– Olen töissä autotehtaassa. “I work in a car factory.”
– Työskentelen jätteenkäsittelylaitoksessa. “I work in a waste treatment plant.”
– Suomessa on useita ydinvoimaloita. “There are several nuclear power plants in Finland.”

7. Buildings that Provide Shelter

– Meillä ei ole autotallia vaan pelkkä autokatos. “We do not have a garage but just a carport.”
– Mökillä grillataan grillikatoksen alla. “We barbecue under the barbecue shelter at the cottage.”
– Lähin väestönsuoja on Kangasalantien väestönsuoja. “The nearest air-raid shelter is the civil shelter at Kangasalantie.”

8. Small buildings

– Muusikko asui tässä kopissa kolme vuotta. “The musician lived in this tiny home for three years.”
– Mökillä oli pelkästään huussi eikä sisävessaa ollenkaan. “The cottage had only an outhouse and no indoor toilet at all.”
– Miljoonat elävät pelkissä hökkeleissä. “Millions live in mere hovels.”

9. A closer look at some words

9.1. Maja

The word maja in its most neutral meaning refers to a small, simple place to live or stay protected from the weather. In spoken language, people sometimes use maja to refer to their home. You might hear the phrase “Tervetuloa matalaan majaani” (Welcome to my humble home).

Maja is also used to refer to the type of pillow fort children like to build: Rakennetaan maja! (Let’s build a pillow fort!). In fact, maja can refer to several different types of self-built temporary structures:

• Havumaja: made with spruce twigs
• Lumimaja: made with snow (can be an igloo, but also something kids build in winter)

When used in a compound word, maja can also refer to larger accommodation shelters:

• Alppimaja: chalet, native to the Alpine region
• Tunturimaja (vuoristomaja): mountain lodge
• Hiihtomaja: ski lodge
• Kalastusmaja (kalamaja): fishing lodge
• Retkeilymaja: hostel

9.2. Tupa

The word tupa generally has two main meanings: it’s either a shared utility room or a one-room cottage.

Historically, tupa was used to refer to the common living room of the owners of a farm and their workers. Usually there was a large oven in this room and benches. This was the largest room in a farmhouse where people could spend time together.

Alternatively, tupa also could refer to a one-room cottage. In present times, that’s what people usually refer to when using the word. Above, I mentioned tunturimaja, which is a larger type of accommodation in the mountains. We can compare this word to tunturitupa, which is a small (often one-room) building in the mountains.

Very common compound words you will run into are pesutupa or pyykkitupa (“laundry room”, ie. a common room in an apartment complex where people can do their laundry).

Which words related to houses and buildings did you know before reading this article? Hopefully you learned some new ones today!