What does the Finnish verb “tulla” mean (and the joke about it)?
Ujo-Anselmi lääkärissä: liian aikaisin tulemisesta
C1 Finnish listening practice · Standard Finnish · Picked for people who know a lot
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?
How common in written Finnish
How common in spoken Finnish
Harder words in this video
These words are harder than C1. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸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)