# hämillä



## Gavril

What does _hämilläni _mean below?

_[J]oku ihminen tulee ja sanoo, että "tykkäsin viime kolumnistasi". Sitten  minä vähän punastun ja sanon kiitos ja hymyilen hämilläni ja jatkan  matkaani hieman pörhistyneenä.
_
"Someone comes up and says, "I really liked your last column". Then, I blush a little and say thanks and smile [??] and continue on my way with my head held high."

Is "head held high" a good translation of _pörhistyneenä_, by the way? The dictionary definition I found for _pörhistyä _was "rise, stand on end, bristle (up)".

Kiitos ja hyvää joulukuuta


----------



## sakvaka

_hämillään_ = hölmistyneenä = confused, staring

_Pörhistyä_, I would say it's the reflex that animals do when they are placed in a hostile environment: some of their fur will stand up. However, it seems that here it has been used to refer to "holding head up high". And in some Google results, it is used in the sense of "get thicker" (of fur, as a result of natural growing).


----------



## Gavril

sakvaka said:


> _hämillään_ = hölmistyneenä = confused, staring
> 
> _Pörhistyä_, I would say it's the reflex that animals do when they are placed in a hostile environment: some of their fur will stand up. However, it seems that here it has been used to refer to "holding head up high". And in some Google results, it is used in the sense of "get thicker" (of fur, as a result of natural growing).



If _hämillään_ means "confused" in this case, maybe a better translation for _pörhistyneenä_ would be "shocked" (which would fit with an animal's hair standing up). Do you think that translation would be appropriate here?


----------



## sakvaka

Shocked, or even the same as "varuillaan" (I don't have my dictionary beside me). That would also suit the context.


----------



## hui

> _[J]oku ihminen tulee ja sanoo, että "tykkäsin viime kolumnistasi". Sitten  minä vähän punastun ja sanon kiitos ja hymyilen hämilläni ja jatkan  matkaani hieman pörhistyneenä._


_hämillään = hämmennyksissään, ymmällään, neuvottomana, nolona_ = "feeling (a bit) awkward and (slightly) embarrassed".


----------



## Hakro

Gavril said:


> If _hämillään_ means "confused" in this case, maybe a better translation for _pörhistyneenä_ would be "shocked" (which would fit with an animal's hair standing up). Do you think that translation would be appropriate here?


In this case _hämillään_ could also be translated "shyly". 

_Pörhistynyt _or rather _pörhistelevä_ usually means "pompous, conceited, set up (with one's success), puffed up". _

Pörhistynyt_ is not a well-chosen word here as its primary meaning is, as you said, "an animal's hair standing up" which can be caused as well by fear as by proud.


----------

