finnish
n. uncountablen. the language that people speak in Finland. It is also used to describe the people who come from that country.
n. the Uralic language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland. When used to refer to the people of Finland, it functions as a collective plural.
I am learning Finnish because I want to move to Helsinki.
Although many people in the capital speak English, learning Finnish helps you understand the local culture much better.
The linguistic structure of Finnish is notably different from its Scandinavian neighbors, as it belongs to the Finno-Ugric family rather than the Germanic branch.
From Finn + -ish.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Uncountable when referring to the language; used with a definite article ('the Finnish') when referring to the people as a group.
Last updated May 3, 2026