WiO Dictionary
Learning Finnish is hard enough without all of these new university and osakunta-related terms being thrown into the mix! Have no fear, most of these terms are new to Finnish-speaking fuksit (see below!) as well. Below is a nifty (but by no means exhaustive) dictionary of terms you might hear thrown around the osakunta and surrounds.
If you have any trouble following what’s going on with all of the Finnish around you, please get in touch with the Ulkoasianneuvos/Ulkoasiansihteeri
A
ABI-INFO – A yearly tour organised in January to visit South Karelian high schools. Its purpose is to attract ‘abeja’ (plural of ‘abi’ – slang for ‘abiturientti’ = students in their last year of high school in Finland) to come and study in Helsinki.
AINEJÄRJESTÖ – Subject association (an association of students related to your major/study programme)
AKVAARIOTENTTI – An exam organised in the program ‘Examinarium’, which occurs in a specific room at the university with a computer and surveillance.
APPRO – Bar crawl
AYY – (Aalto-yliopiston ylioppilaskunta) Aalto University Student Union
B
BOTTA – The rooms home to osakunnat Etelä-Pohjalaisen Osakunta, Pohjois-Pohjalaisen Osakunta and Vasa Nation. Real name Ostrobotnia, found behind the eduskuntatalo building.
C
CASA ACADEMICA – Better known as just ‘Casa.’ Rooms home to Keskisuomalaisen Osakunta, just around the corner from Domus Gaudium.
CIVIS – Term for student member of the osakunta who is no longer a fuksi. Term is bestowed along with your osakuntanauha at the Wiipurin Pamaus event.
D
DAAMARIT – daamispäivälliset dinner party held in autumn. An opportunity for the ‘women’ of the osakunta (anyone can sign up as a ‘woman’ for the purpose of Daamarit) to dress up and arrive at the osakunta ready to arrive an evening of activity and a three-course meal prepared by the ‘men’ of the osakunta (anyone can sign up as a ‘man’ for the purpose of Daamarit).
DGO – Domus Gaudiumin Osakunnat: Collective term for Wiipurilainen Osakunta, Kymenlaakson Osakunta (‘kymäläiset’) and Karjalainen Osakunta (‘karjalaiset’).
DOMUS ACADEMICA – Building right next to Domus Gaudium in Kamppi containing a few fuksi apartments.
DOMUS GAUDIUM – Often shortened to DG. Home of the Domus Gaudiumin Osakunnat.
E
EMÄNNISTÖ – The group of osakunta members in charge of preparing food for the events. Includes emännät (singular = emäntä) who are in charge and helper apuemännät (singular = apuemäntä). Term comes from the Finnish term for ‘hostess’, but the role is not limited to any gender.
EPO – Etelä-Pohjalainen Osakunta, can be found in Botta (see above)
ESO – Etelä-Suomalainen Osakunta, based in Uusi ylioppilastalo.
EXCURSIO – excursion. An osakunta trip to some culture- or sport-related activity.
F
FUKSI – you! First year student and/or osakunta members.
FUKSIAISET – An exciting event for new osakunta members to get to know each other, usually organised together with Kymenlaakson Osakunta and Karjalainen Osakunta.
FUKSINEUVOS (plural NEUOVOKSET) – Take care of fuksi matters together with the koulutustoimikunta.
G
GRADU – master’s thesis.
GT-KANNU – Gin and tonic cocktail jug.
H
HAALARIT – University student overalls/boilersuit
HERRIKSET – Herrapäivälliset, or Herrikset, are like Daamarit but opposite. An opportunity for the ‘men’ of the osakunta (anyone can sign up as a ‘man’ for the purpose of Herrikset) to dress up and arrive at the osakunta ready to arrive an evening of activity and a three-course meal prepared by the ‘women’ of the osakunta (anyone can sign up as a ‘woman’ for the purpose of Herrikset).
HOLILLINEN – alkoholillinen. A thing which contains alcohol or a person who drinks it.
HOLITON – alkoholiton. A thing which does NOT contain alcohol or a person who does not drink it.
HTK – Huoneistotoimikunta, DGO’s collective working group, who take care of our shared rooms.
HYY – Helsingin Yliopiston Ylioppilaskunta, Student Union of the University of Helsinki.
HÄMIS – Hämäläis-Osakunta, found next to Tavastia club in Kamppi.
I
INSPEHTORI – or ‘inspi’. University professor tasked with ‘supervising’ the osakunta. Largely a symbolic role.
ISÄNNISTÖ –The group of osakunta members in charge of serving food and drinks at events. Includes isännät (singular = isäntä) who are in charge and helper apuisännät (singular = apuisäntä). Term comes from the Finnish term for ‘host’, but the role is not limited to any gender.
ITÄSUOMALAISET KESÄJUHLAT – Summer party organised by the five Eastern Finnish osakunnat: Wiipurilainen Osakunta, Karjalaisen Osakunta, Kymenlaakson Osakunta, Savolaisen Osakunta and Östra Finlands Nation.
ITSENÄISYYSPÄIVÄ – Finnish Independence day. Celebrated 6.12. It is tradition for Helsinki students to form a torchlight procession from Hietaniemi cemetery to Senaatintori.
J
JÄSENMAKSU – membership fee. WiO’s yearly fee is 12 euros, and it is most easily paid alongside university registration.
K
KAISA – Helsingin University’s main library in Kaisa-talo in Kaisaniemi.
KESKIVIIKKOKAHVIT – Weekly DGO event including coffee and relaxed hanging out at Domus Gaudium.
KESKUSTAKAMPUS – University of Helsinki City Centre campus. Home of humanities, behavioural scientists, theologians and political sciences, among others. In the middle of the city in the oldest and most traditional university buildings.
KESÄRETKI – Summer trip. In summer osakunta members travel to a town in the home region of Southern Karelia and enjoy a weekend as guests of the town.
KO – Karjalainen osakunta, one of our roommates in DGO. Formerly a part of Wiipurilainen Osakunta, with a home region of Northern Karelia.
KOKOUS – Wiipurilainen Osakunta meet every two to three weeks, always on Tuesdays at 19:00. At the kokous meeting we make decisions in a serious but relaxed manner, whilst enjoying coffee and a delicious light dinner prepared by the emännät and apuemännät. Everyone is welcome to join in and have their say.
KUMPULA – University of Helsinki maths and physical sciences campus.
KYO – Kymenlaakson Osakunta, who split from WiO in the 1930s.These days one of our osakunta friends and roommates in DGO.
KYYKKÄ – A traditional Karelian lawn game that looks a lot like mölkky but is its own beast.
L
LASKIAINEN – A big student event that rounds up the end of spring towards the festivities of Vappu.
LAULUKIRJA – A little red book holding the words to all of WiO’s songs
LEHTIHUONE – The magazine room in the DGO rooms. Perfect for hanging out and work.
LIISANKATU – “Silloin kun oltiin vielä Liisankadulla…” (“Back when we were still on Liisankatu…”). The address of the former home of WiO, from which we moved more than a decade ago.
LENKKIKERHO – A group of osakunta members who meet up to go for runs. Everyone welcome!
M
Mie – me (singular, plural = myö). Karelian dialect form of the Finnish pronoun ‘minä’.
MATRIKKELI – A fancy old book into which every osakunta member writes their name as well as a few details and in doing so officials register themselves as a member of the Wiipurilainen Osakunta.
MEILAHTI – University of Helsinki medical campus in on the north end of Töölö. Also called Meikku.
MÄKIS – A shortening of the area Mäkelänrinne, where WiO owns several apartments. Active osakunta members can apply to rent them for a very reasonable price.
N
NATION – The Swedish word for ‘osakunta.’ Term used by Swedish-speaking osakunnat in Finland as well as osakunnat in Sweden.
NAUHA (OSAKUNTANAUHA, plural = NAUHAT) – Osakunta member’s sash, which marks their membership and which they receive when they transform from a fuksi to a civis. The WiO nauha is red-yellow-blue, with the blue line on the bottom. You can earn the nauhat of other osakunnat by actively participating in their events.
NOPPA – A term for the ‘opintopisteet’, the study credits earned from taking courses at the university.
NORPPA (SAIMAANNORPPA) – The saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis). A subspecies of ringed seal that is among the most endangered in the world and only found in Lake Saimaa in Eastern Finland.
NYLLE – Nylands Nation, the largest of the Swedish-speaking osakunnat. Their rooms ‘Natsa’ are located near Esplanadi.
O
OSAKUNTA (plural OSAKUNNAT) – Student society in Finland with a cultural connection to a certain region of the country. Often called ‘nations’ in English. Originally, osakunnat were founded to maintain order and keep an eye on ‘lively students’. Wiipurilainen Osakunta is Finland’s oldest Finnish-speaking osakunta.
OSAKUNTA-APPRO – An ‘Osakunta crawl’, first organised in 2019, where people visit different osakunta rooms over an evening.
OYV – Combined Osakunta Delegation, an organisation promoting collaboration between Helsinki’s osakunnat. Takes care of joint matters and organises events to which members of different osakunnat can participate.
P
PAMAUS – WiO’s officially secondary – but truly primary – yearly event, celebrated on 30.11. A fun and beloved dinner party, which you need to experience for yourself.
PPO – Pohjois-Pohjalainen Osakunta, one of the three osakunnat found in Botta.
Q
Q – The nickname of the osakunta kuraattori (plural = kuraatorit), whose job is to lead the osakunta and represent it at many events as well as work with other kuraatorit.
R
RINKELI – A traditional sweet pretzel originating from Viipuri.
REVYY – A (these days in video form) revue, which forms a key part of Pamaus.
RUDI – The stuffed toy in the lehtihuone that most resembles a bear.
S
SIE – you (singular, plural = työ). Karelian dialect form of the Finnish pronoun ‘sinä.’
SÄHLY – Salibandy, called floorball in English, is a type of indoor floor hockey. You can join in and learn the rules at WiO’s weekly sähly sessions at Kumpula Unisport on Wednesdays at 21:00.
SATO – Satakuntalainen Osakunta, which is based in Lapinrinne.
SAUNAILLAT – Sauna rooms found at the top of Domus Gaudium. Domus Gaudium osakunnat organise group sauna nights every year.
SAVO – Savolainen Osakunta. Live in ‘Vinni’, the top floor of Uusi Ylioppilastalo along with Varsinaissuomalainen Osakunta.
SENNUT (singular SENNU) – aka seniorit (singular seniori). The term for WiO’s graduated former members.
SILLIS – A legendary brunch, which is served for example after vuosijuhlat and osakunta secondary yearly events such as Pamaus.
SISU – Infamous study registration programme, which you will come to know well.
SITSIT – The common name for an academic dinner party where a three course meal is enjoyed, often along with a lot of drinks. If alcohol isn’t your thing then have no fear, you can always register as ‘holiton’ (alkoholiton = without alcohol) and enjoy a series of interesting non-alcoholic food pairings. The meal is accompanied by group singing and other fun activities.
STIPPARI – Wiipurilaisen Osakunnan stipendisäätiö, who give out stipends/scholarships to active osakunta members.
T
TEINILAULU – A beloved osakunta sung, usually sung at the end of a dinner party while standing and with strong emotion.
U
ULKOJÄSEN – A member who studies somewhere other than the University of Helsinki. Seen by many as an unnecessary division of members, WiO have worked to change the rules around ulkojäsens so that they can have similar rights and responsibilities as members studying at University of Helsinki.
ULLIS – Ullanlinnanmäki, a charming hill in Kaivopuisto where students go to have fun on vappu morning (vappuaamu).
UNIONI – Osakuntalainen Unioni. A cooperation of Finnish-speaking osakunta representatives who work as a link between osakunnat and HYY.
UUSI – Uusi Ylioppilastalo building on Mannerheimintie. Houses many student societies and HYY’s central office.
V
VANHA – Vanha Ylioppilastalo on Mannerheimintie. Central hub for students before Uusi Ylioppilastalo came into being. Now used as a meeting place/celebration venue.0
VIIKKI – University of Helsinki campus for Biology, Environmental Science, Veterinary, Pharmaceutical, Agriculture and Forestry studies.
VIRKAILIJANVAIHTOKARONKKA – shortened to VVK. A sitsit organised at the start of the year to celebrate changeover of office bearers at the osakunta.
VSO – Varsinaissuomalainen Osakunta, roommates of Savolainen Osakunta in Uusi.
VUJUT – or vuosijuhlat. A fancy anniversary evening ball, which for many osakunnat (including WiO) happens to take place in spring.
W
(note: W tends not to be used much in Finnish, but can occur as an archaic variant of V, as it is here in these words. They are nonetheless pronounced with a ‘V’ sound)
WAPPU (or VAPPU) – The biggest student party of the year. A necessary chance to let loose after a tough semester.
WIIPURIPÄIVÄT – An event organised with students from LUT (Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology), which kicks of Vappu celebrations.
WILLI – Wiipurilainen Osakunta magazine, published five times a year.
WIOL – Despite its name, Wiipurilaisen Osakunnan Laulajat is the combined choir of Wiipurilainen Osakunta, Kymenlaakson Osakunta and Karjalainen Osakunta. A rather independent group from the osakunta, you can have the chance to hear WiOL perform at Pamaus and Vuosijuhla as well as their own breathtaking concerts.
Y
YLIOPPILASLEHTI – The University of Helsinki student magazine.
Å
ÅN – Åbo Nation – Swedish-speaking osakunta from the Varsinais Suomi region. Lives in Uusi in the same rooms as Östra Finlands Nation.
Ä
ÄNNÄNNEN VUODEN OPISKELIJA – (= student from year N) A dinosaur, a fossil, simply put: old. A student with so many study years behind them, that they too have lost count. The hope of one day finally graduating burns deep in their soul.
Ö
ÖFN – Östra Finlands Nation, a swedish-speaking Eastern Finnish osakunta, which split from WiO in the 1920s. Based in Uusi in the same rooms as Åbo Nation.
Written by Sonja Repetti. Adapted from Willi-lehti articles ‘Fuksiaakkoset’ (In FuksiWilli 2021, FuksiWilli 2020, and FuksiWilli 2019 [by Vilja Antikainen and Vilma Väliketo]).