The Eurovision Song Contest is taking over our social media feeds once again! Have you heard the Finnish eurovision entry for 2023? It’s Käärijä with the song Cha Cha Cha. I can’t wait to see what his show will be like in Liverpool!
One of the most exciting things about this year’s entry is that it’s in Finnish. You can easily get Google to translate the lyrics for you (I won’t write them here because of copyright) but I noticed there were a couple of Finnish words and expressions that Google had trouble understanding. I will translate and explain them to you in this blog post.
Here’s a few expressions from Cha Cha Cha that Google Translate may not “get”:
rata = a party place, a party evening, a night club, a bar
- Rata actually means “track” – train track, race track or similar. And when someone is radalla (“on the track”), they’re out partying.
kaksin käsin = with both hands, two-handed
- When you hold something kaksin käsin, you are using both of your hands, two-handed.
kumota = to drink excessively
- The verb kumota can mean “reverse” or “tip over”. In Cha Cha Cha, the verb kumota means “to drink lots of drinks”.
pysyä tuolissa = to manage to sit on the chair
- This could be pysyä tuolilla, too.
naamataulu = a face
- This is a colloquial, not-so-elegant word for “face”. Not the word to use when you tell someone they have a beautiful face!
parketti = a dance floor
olla lukossa = to be or feel awkward, to feel restrained or uncomfortable (in a social situation, for example)
Need a few more Eurovision related words and expressions? Check out this list!
| Euroviisut | the Eurovision Song Contest |
| laulukilpailu | a song contest |
| osallistujamaat | the participating countries |
| Suomen kappale | the Finnish entry |
| edustaa Suomea | to represent Finland |
| semifinaali | the semi-final |
| finaali | the final |
| isäntämaa | the hosting country |
| juontaja | a presenter |
| piste | a point |
| kaksitoista pistettä | twelve points |
| kilpailla | to compete |
| esitys | a performance |
| voittaja | the winner |
| laulaja | a singer |
| kappale / laulu | a song |
| laulaa | to sing |
| tuomaristo | the jury |
| äänestää | to vote |
| pisteidenlasku | scoring |