What does the Finnish verb “tulla” mean (and the joke about it)?

Ujo-Anselmi lääkärissä: liian aikaisin tulemisesta

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C1 Finnish listening practice · Standard Finnish · Picked for people who know a lot

💡 Did you know?
tulla
verb
To come / to arrive; and yes, the same cheeky double meaning as English 'to come'

This Putous sketch is one long innuendo, and the joke only lands if you hear both meanings of tulla. Literally tulla is “to come, to arrive,” so poor Ujo-Anselmi’s complaint about “tuun aina liian aikaisin” (“I always come too early”) reads as chronic punctuality. But Finnish tulla, like English “to come,” doubles as the bedroom verb, and the doctor’s siniset pillerit (little blue pills) make the subtext unmistakable.

Tulla is also one of Finnish’s most fundamental verbs, used for becoming, too: tulla iloiseksi (to become happy), tulla sairaaksi (to fall ill). Catching the wordplay is a real C1 moment: you’re now decoding humour, not just sentences.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this C1 Finnish listening practice video?

89.2%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common Finnish words
Most of the words in this video are common Finnish words.

How common in written Finnish

81%
Top 1,000
89.2%
Top 2,000
97%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken Finnish

94.6%
Top 1,000
100%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in Finnish.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than C1. Here is what they mean.

nahkanen
2×
Not in top 5,000
Nahkanen
yrittäny
2×
Not in top 5,000
(slang) tried
ennenaikaisesti
1×
Not in top 5,000
prematurely
herkkään
1×
Not in top 5,000
sensitive
antaa palaa
1×
to give in and let loose

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

★Where you hear this
  • ▸In Finnish sketch comedy like Putous on MTV Katsomo
  • ▸In Finnish stand-up and adult humour that mines double meanings
  • ▸In completely innocent everyday use: “Tuun kohta” (“I’m coming soon”)
  • ▸In the “become” sense: tulla iloiseksi, tulla valmiiksi
  • ▸Any time Finns share a knowing laugh over a kaksimielisyys (double entendre)

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