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FINNISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

perkele.

A swear word.

7 characters3 syllables approx.Suomi language

Meaning & usage

intj/ˈperkeleˣ/[ˈpe̞rk̟e̞le̞(ʔ)]

  1. A swear word.

    vulgar
    Perkele, se on hidas!

  2. Used to express joy upon greeting someone familiar, especially when the person didn't expect them to be there, or after a long time; usually preceded by the name; used especially among male friends.

    colloquial · vulgar
    Juho perkele! Mitä jätkä?
Where this word comes from

From Proto-Finnic *perkeleh, which derives from the name of the Baltic deity of thunder; compare Lithuanian Perkūnas and Proto-Slavic *Perunъ (“god of thunder”). After Finland's conquest (c. 1250) and subsequent Christianization, its meaning changed to a profanity and a euphemism for Satan at least partly due to the influence of the clergy. Erzya пурьгине (puŕgine, “thunder”) is from the same Baltic source.

adj/ˈperkeleˣ/[ˈpe̞rk̟e̞le̞(ʔ)]

  1. bloody, goddamn, fucking (intensifier)

    not-comparable · vulgar
    Se on perkeleen ruma.
Where this word comes from

From Proto-Finnic *perkeleh, which derives from the name of the Baltic deity of thunder; compare Lithuanian Perkūnas and Proto-Slavic *Perunъ (“god of thunder”). After Finland's conquest (c. 1250) and subsequent Christianization, its meaning changed to a profanity and a euphemism for Satan at least partly due to the influence of the clergy. Erzya пурьгине (puŕgine, “thunder”) is from the same Baltic source.

noun/ˈperkeleˣ/[ˈpe̞rk̟e̞le̞(ʔ)]

  1. alternative letter-case form of Perkele (“the Devil, Satan”)

    alt-of · vulgar

  2. devil

    vulgar
Where this word comes from

From Proto-Finnic *perkeleh, which derives from the name of the Baltic deity of thunder; compare Lithuanian Perkūnas and Proto-Slavic *Perunъ (“god of thunder”). After Finland's conquest (c. 1250) and subsequent Christianization, its meaning changed to a profanity and a euphemism for Satan at least partly due to the influence of the clergy. Erzya пурьгине (puŕgine, “thunder”) is from the same Baltic source.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.