The Finnish Art of Swearing

Even research says it is good for you!

🔥 WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AND INAPPROPRIATE EXRESSIONS. IF THIS OFFENDS OR UPSETS YOU, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM READING 🔥

In the cartoon South Park, Kyle`s mother, Sheila Broflovski, has enough of Canadian comedy duo Terrance and Philip for their bad language and toilet humour that poison the minds of American kids.

She forms an organisation, Mothers Against Canada and eventually mobilises a war against the neighbouring country because in her motherly eyes, killing is a lesser evil than dirty words.

I am a great fan of South Park. I also swear a lot.

Luckily, I speak a language with a rich variety of swear words. There are 5,721 to be exact.

Finland is a "swearing nation", says Jari Tammi, who has written a book called Suuri kirosanakirja (the literal translation of which would probably be The Great Book of Curses, if translated into English) and has studied the art of swearing for over twenty years.

When you consider Finland's geopolitical location and climate, it's no wonder that we are swearers.

There is an iconic character etched in the nation’s soul, of a man trying to make something grow in a snowy, stony field, in blistering cold weather, wearing but rags, holding a hoe in one hand and fighting bears and wolves with another - and swearing out loud.

All Finns can relate.

Finns have lived under both Swedish and Russian rule. We've endured a few brutal wars. And - again - surviving in this harsh climate has always been a constant battle—something vividly depicted in the 1893 painting Under the Yoke (Burning the Brushwood) by Eero Järnefelt, where people are burning forest to clear land for farming.

So, no wonder we are a swearing nation, right?

In the current global situation, swearing is, again, an important survival tool for us.

Swearing is an efficient way of letting off steam. Even research says it is healthy.

In her book Swearing Is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language, Emma Byrne writes about how, for example, cursing together is a sign of trust between people. Swearing also builds stamina. In a study at a British university, subjects were asked to keep their hands in ice-cold water for as long as possible. Those who cursed lasted twice as long as those who didn't. Even chimpanzees, who are taught sign language, learn to swear. They use the poop sign to express their anger.

Let it go - the Finnish way

The top three Finnish bad words are Vittu, Perkele and Saatana.

Vittu is an ancient Finnish word for female genitals. Used as a swearword, it is perhaps our closest equivalent to the English expression Fuck!. Both have the same sharpness and sting, and both deal with genitalia. It is used both to express frustration and to emphasize a sentence, the same way the English speakers use “fuck”. It can also have positive connotation, the same way something can be “fucking” awesome.

The most potent of Finnish swearwords is Perkele. This is a word with mighty force. Try it out! Try screaming PERRRRRKELE like the Finns do, and find yourself empowered.

In Finnish mythology, Perkele was one of the main gods in The Kalevala, Finland’s national epic, which poetically tells the story of our pre-Christian past. When Christian missionaries arrived, they began calling the Devil Perkele in an effort to stamp out paganism—turning things upside down, much like they did with ancient Roman daemons, which originally referred to divine spirits but were later rebranded as evil entities.

Over time, Perkele became a swear word - or as we say, a power word - and today, it is commonly used as another name for the Devil.

Saatana, the Finnish word for “Satan”, has only ever meant the Devil. Why would a person yell the devil´s name in distress, you might ask. Are you asking Beelzebub himself for help?

No. It is just that repeating potent and loaded words helps release pressure. You know those words are off limits, and as Byrne shows in her book, sometimes going off limits is liberating.

Another swearword of biblical origins we use a lot is helvetti, meaning hell. It probably needs no explanation.

Weird words

To make things even more confusing for foreigners, we have a peculiar swear word meaning God help me (Jumalauta). This is a serious swearword, a power word on steroids, and a lot worse than any of the above-mentioned. When uttering it, we are not asking God for help. On the contrary, we are cursing.

Go figure that one out because I cannot. The only explanation I can think of is that the Bible warns us not to take the name of the Lord in vain, so we utter it because we know we should not, which is the whole point of swearing to begin with, I guess.

And then there is Jestas, a twist on the name Jesus. It is used in the same way the English speakers exclaim “Jesus” (or Geez) when unpleasantly surprised or astonished.

Jestas a bit old-fashioned and mostly used by elderly ladies, but I like it. It has a nostalgic vibe, and also, it is probably not exactly a swearword. It is rather mild, like the English expression Good grief or Blimey, which, I just learned, originates from the saying God blind (or blame) me!

Back to Vittu

I want to close this post with a tribute to the Finnish concept of vittu.

While it’s commonly used as a swearword today, it originally had a very different connotation.

Vittu means female genitals, and in pre-Christian times, Finns held them in high regard. They were believed to possess enough power to ward off bears.

There was even a profession called pyllyttäminen (the closest translation I can think of is “assing,” as it comes from pylly, a colloquial word for “rear”). Women practicing this ancient art would lift their skirts, exposing their lady parts to either scare away wild animals or send protective magic to their cattle, ensuring their safety and productivity.

Interestingly, flashing female genitalia at men’s weapons was thought to strip them of their power, as feminine energy was considered stronger than masculine.

In modern times, vittu has lost its magical significance and become just another crude swearword—perhaps a fitting reflection of the shifting role of women in an ever-modernizing Western society.

Curse creatively

The writer Anni Saastamoinen, who proudly calls herself a "creative curser," has said, “I’m so impressed that we have so many (swear words). It’s pretty admirable. It gives me great pride in being Finnish.”

I feel the same. One has to make do with what one has.

Thank you for reading this short essay on the Finnish art of swearing. Please feel free to use these powerful words in moments of stress or anger—but only when you’re alone! There’s no need to burden others with them.

But when you are alone, by all means, let the steam out. Say the bad word out loud. And then take a deep breath, let go, and release it all. You’ll find yourself calmer and better equipped to handle whatever life throws at you.

I believe that, in God’s eyes, swearing is a much lesser evil than killing, spreading hate, or being greedy, selfish, or cruel. Don’t you think? Words are just words. And if you swear in private, it’s only between you and God.

The Image above: “Kullervo curses.” A painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Kullervo, a mythic figure in our national epos Kalevala, cursing here after breaking his knife to a bread inside which an evil woman had hidden a stone.