Why does Finnish sound so completely different from Swedish, Norwegian, or Russian?

In this episode of Nasta Suomi, we explore the fascinating story of the Finnish language — and why it doesn’t fit in with its neighbors. You’ll learn about the Uralic language family, the migration from the Ural Mountains, and how Finnish ended up alongside Indo-European giants like Russian and Swedish while staying totally unique.

We’ll talk about Finnish relatives like Estonian and Hungarian, the famous 15 cases, agglutination, and why Finnish shares surprising similarities with Turkish. Plus, we’ll look at how this linguistic difference shaped Finland’s cultural identity.

Whether you’re learning Finnish or just curious about languages, this episode will help you understand why Finnish is truly the outsider language of Europe.

I’ve created a Telegram channel called Nasta Suomi, where you can find all podcast materials in written form, ask questions, and connect with other Finnish learners:

https://t.me/nastasuomi

Got a question about Finnish?

Write me an email! The most interesting questions might become full episodes of this podcast: info@edukos.online

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To celebrate the launch of this podcast, I’m giving away a little thank-you gift to 10 listeners.

All you need to do is:

1. Subscribe to the podcast

2. Leave a rating

That’s it!

Before Christmas 2025, I’ll randomly select 10 people to receive my practical guide:

“A Simple Communication Guide for Small Business Owners” — written in plain English for entrepreneurs in Finland.

No jargon. Just useful stuff.

If you’re running a business — or thinking about starting one — this might help more than you expect!

I’ll announce the winners on my Telegram channel.