# Hyvää päivää in email opening line



## DiegoAlatriste

Hello,

Please let me know could i use Hyvää päivää as a general greeting in an email message?

Thank you, 

Diego


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## Gavril

Hyvää päivää ("good day") is a very normal greeting in Finnish.

The only problem that occurs to me is that, since it means "good day", it might sound inappropriate during the evening or night. However, this seems like less of a problem when it comes to e-mail, since you have no idea exactly when the other person is going to read your message.


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## DiegoAlatriste

Thank you Gavril,
Since G'day is a very popular greeting does under, I will be glad to use its Finnish form.
Brgrds, Diego
PS Gavril is an interesting nickname.


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## etrade

Usually when people meet, it is day time. Face to face.

God day is fine. Email it sounds odd.


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## DiegoAlatriste

I can use moi, but we are not that close. Is terve face to face also? I have heard it at sauna entrance.


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## Grumpy Old Man

Your best choice might be _Hei! _It used to be quite informal, and I was a little surprised when a total stranger first said it to me about 25 or 30 years ago. Nowadays, however, it has become perhaps the most common greeting you'll hear when you walk into a shop in Helsinki. I don't know how common it is in other parts of Finland, though. Finnish companies and stores use it when they send me e-mails.


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## Gavril

So "hyvää päivää" (or shortened "päivää") aren't normal in an e-mail?

What if it is daytime when you send the e-mail, and you expect the other person to read it relatively soon?

(The same question applies to "iltaa", etc.)


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## Grumpy Old Man

Finnish isn't nearly as rigid a language as English. _Hyvää päivää _and _hyvää iltaa _are not common in e-mails, but that doesn't mean it would be wrong or even unnatural to use them as an e-mail greeting, especially if you know the recipient will read your message soon. Not everybody uses the same expressions and phrases as everybody else does.


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## Gavril

Thanks, I'm pretty sure I have sent some e-mails beginning with "päivää" in the past, and hoped I hadn't been making a mistake all this time.


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## DiegoAlatriste

Terve as a greeting is fine to a stranger, meeting him face to face, but not in correspondence, correct?


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## etrade

Terve (healthy), moi, hei, moro, morjens, moi mitä kuuluu, *etc*... are not depending of daytime.

Official email contacts you must reply officially. For example: "Kiitos yhteydenotostanne", etc...


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## Finnfranglaise

I must say that I am strongly in favour of _Hei_ as a greeting in a neutral / semi-formal e-mail message. _Hyvää päivää, Hyvää iltaa_... or the like... would sound extremely dated and bizarre to me... In my opinion, hardly *any* native speaker of Finnish would begin an e-mail with such a greeting. (Nowadays, these greetings *are* still used when *meeting *- i.e. face-to-face - people you don't know well or - especially - who are clearly senior to you - in age and/or social rank.)

But as for _hei_ as a greeting (beginning an e-mail), you should be aware that there are subtle nuances related to the punctuation used with it. In a context formal to at least some degree, I would *strongly* advise you to begin your message with _Hei,_ (i.e. _Hei_ + *comma*). _Hei!_ (_Hei_ + *exclamation mark*) is already much less formal; I would only use it (if not _Moi!_) when addressing friends or people I know fairly well.


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## TomiH

I usually start my emails with Huomenta and I recommend you do the same


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## Finnfranglaise

The problem with _huomenta_ is that it only works as an opening line if you're writing your email in the morning (before 12 o'clock). At other times of the day, it would be out of the question.


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## DiegoAlatriste

While we are debating Moi and Hei (Kiitos, Finnfranlaise, I will abide the comma), I came to the yhteistyöterveisin. A deep one as the first part translates a oo-operation and the second as regards (but actually a health wish), and together it is best regards.
…and I hope the moderator is not going to banish this post to a new or old thread.
DA


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## DiegoAlatriste

BTW, I feeel I am getting (more) clever learning Finnish. It is a nuanced language. Love it.


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## Hakro

If I send an e-mail to a *friend*, I usually start with _Hei (+ name + comma)_.

If I send a *business e-mail* to a person that I don't know I usually skip all greetings and salutations. I start simply by explaining what's my affair. So do also most of the business persons sending e-mails to me.

I know that _Hei(!)_ is often used also in business e-mails but I find it strange, even offensive.


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