Useful phrases in Karelian

A collection of useful phrases in Karelian (Karjalan kieli), a Finnic language spoken mainly in the Russian Republic of Karelia, and also in Finland. These phrases are in fact in Livvi-Karelian (Livvin kieli), a dialect of Karelian, or a closely related language.

Jump to phrases

See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.

Key to abbreviations: frm = formal, inf = informal, sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person).

Phrase	Karjalan kieli (Karelian)
Welcome
Hello (General greeting)	Terveh
Hello (on phone)
How are you?	Kuibo dielot?
Reply to 'How are you?'	Ylen hyvin
Long time no see
What's your name?	Kuibo on sinun nimi?
My name is ...
Where are you from?	Kuspäi työ tulitto?
I'm from ...	Minä tulin ...
Pleased to meet you	Mieleh on tuttavuo
Good morning (Morning greeting)	Hyviä huondestu
Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting)	Hyviä päiviä
Good evening (Evening greeting)	Hyviä ildua
Good night	Hyviä yödy
Goodbye (Parting phrases)	Jiägiä tervehekse
Good luck!
Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking)	Teijän tervehyökse!
Have a nice day
Bon appetit / Have a nice meal	Hyviä syöndyhimuo!
Bon voyage / Have a good journey
Yes	Da
No	Ei
Maybe
I don't know
Do you understand?
I understand	Minä ellendän
I don't understand	Minä en ellendä
Please speak more slowly	Ole hyvä, pagize hillembäh
Please say that again
Please write it down
Do you speak English?	Pagizetko sinä Angliekse?
Do you speak Karelian?
Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?')
Do you speak a language other than Karelian?
Speak to me in Karelian
How do you say ... in Karelian?	Kui sanuo ... Karjalakse?
Excuse me	Prostikkua
How much is this?	Äijängo tämä maksau?
Sorry	Minul on žiäli (I'm sorry) Andiekse? (Sorry? Pardon?)
Please	Ole hyvä
Thank you	Passibo
Reply to thank you	Ole hyvä
Where's the toilet / bathroom?
This gentleman will pay for everything
This lady will pay for everything
Would you like to dance with me?
Do you come here often?
I miss you
I love you	Mie šilma šuvačen
Get well soon
Go away!
Leave me alone!
Help!	Avvutakkua!
Fire!
Stop!
Call the police!
Christmas greetings	Раставанке синун (Rastavanke sinun)
New Year greetings	Уввен вувенке синун (Uvven vuvenke sinun)
Easter greetings
Birthday greetings
Congratulations!
One language is never enough
My hovercraft is full of eels

Phrases provided by Mazzaruli

Hear some phrases in Livvi-Karelian

If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.

Information about Livvi-Karelian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livvi-Karelian_language
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/olo

Information about Karelian | Phrases | Numbers

Links

Other collections of Karelian phrases
https://www.digitaldialects.com/Karelian.htm
https://app.memrise.com/course/1185790/karelian-basic-phrases-vocabulary/

Phrases in Finnic languages

Estonian, Finnish, Karelian, Kven, Livonian, Veps, Võro

Phrases in other languages

[top]

Why not share this page:

Learn languages for free on Duolingo

If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.

Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site.

[top]