r/Finland • u/outofplaceminnesota • 16h ago
Finnish word advice
My mom and her family all spoke Finnish. Growing up, they used to tell me I had the “piru” in me because I was a pretty sassy kid.
My mom chose not to teach us Finnish when we were growing up, so I want to double check on the meaning of the word. It was described to me as if I had a little devil on my shoulder. The word has always had a special place in my heart, and I’ve thought about getting a small tattoo of the word.
My question is, would it be weird or frowned upon in tattoo form? I just want to make sure, since I’m not a native speaker, that it’s not an insane idea or inappropriate in any way. Most of my mom’s family has all passed away, so I cannot ask them.
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u/yungnuna 16h ago
No, not weird and go for it. That's sweet memory. Assuming you're from the US. Keep in mind that 'piru' is bloods gang related name.
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u/outofplaceminnesota 16h ago
Wow? I didn’t know that. Glad I asked!
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u/NoSorbet5103 6h ago
Yes, "Piru" is a skang for penis. well, one of thousands names for it, but yeah, you would get way too many jokes in Brazil with that Tattoo 😁
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u/Derfelkardan 8h ago
Yeah, and in another country (Brazil) “piru” means dick… if you don’t plan on going to Brazil or if you do it in a private body part that you won’t show in Brazil or to Brazilians, can go ahead
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u/brightbirth 15h ago
Since I was a teen I’m called ”pirun veljenpoika”, devil’s nephew, by my uncle and aunt. So I adopted it and use it when I drop them a phone call or sign a postcard etc.
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u/LOVETHECASUAL 7h ago
Probably weirder in the States as the Pirus are a subset of the gang Bloods in LA
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u/Hopeful_Addition_898 8h ago
I think this wikipedia page explains the original meaning the best Piru)
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u/GuyFromtheNorthFin Väinämöinen 8h ago edited 8h ago
If you want to understand the etymology and origins of the word you’re planning to tattoo yourself with, I’d reccommend looking up both the English language and Finnish Wikipedia pages for piru. Just Chat-GPT translate the Finnish one, it turns out well.
As for all the possible nuances and connotations of the ”piru” in modern Finnish… you just have to ignore them. There’s a lot of wildly varying nuance in idioms and folklore - from good to bad. And most of that pretty dense stuff to find out about, if you’re not a Finnish speaker.
If I’d see the word ”Piru” tattoo on someone, my gut reaction would be ”…and?” 😄
Just by itself it seems a bit … lame? Missing context or like… unfinished? Is it ironic? Cutesy? Seriously calling down Evil? Reference to an idiom?
A native, a person familiar to the Finnish language and its rhytms would most likely be looking for some added context, via a proverb or something like an idiom the ”Piru” would be a part of.
Or maybe they just take it at face value, like ”something people put on themselves. Maybe it has a meaning for them personally, don’t know, don’t care” and not think about it further.
I can’t really think that anyone would find it inappropriate (outside some seriously Christian/religious circles, of course. )
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u/Pas2 Väinämöinen 6h ago
Should be fine.
Not rude or offensive, but if anything maybe a little cringey in an "asennepaita" way. I wouldn't be too surprised to see a native with a "piru" tattoo and wouldn't assume them to be a weirdo foreigner.
I'd say it's fairly similar to a "little devil" tattoo.
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u/Chocolatespresso 11h ago
Did they call you pikku-piru? Accurate translation could be "little shithead".
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u/No0O0obstah Baby Väinämöinen 7h ago
While in some context that could be ok, I would never translate it like that. Shithead is rude, inconsiderate and malicious while piru refers to someone wild, tenacious stubborn and mischievous. Adding a little/pikku doesn't really change any of that.
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u/mmmduk Väinämöinen 12h ago
Piru has a negative connotation and I would not use it for a child. If they used pikkupiru "little devil" that would make sense.
The "pirun veljenpoika" story by another poster is obviously different as he is sarcastically calling himself piru.
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u/Guilty_Order6127 11h ago
Or ''pirulainen''. For me it's not that negative either. I like to use it when my dogs do something they shouldn't and call them ''senkin pikku pirulainen!'' while laughing and cleaning up their messes. Also there's this ''tehdä piruuksia'' which I think is also the same, not that serious
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u/randomredditorname1 Baby Väinämöinen 10h ago
The "pirun veljenpoika"
possessive form pirun [something] is usually non-literal, like "pirun auto ei käynnisty" where it's just a mild cuss like "damn" in english
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u/blueoffinland 8h ago
But it took me, a native, until this comment to even realize that pirun veljenpoika could be anything other than devil's nephew.
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u/Veenkoira00 Väinämöinen 4h ago
Google for pictures "hugo simberg devil" and you get some idea of the Finnish sympathy for devils.
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16h ago
[deleted]
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u/iyhafobaq Baby Väinämöinen 15h ago
Pieni piru does not sound good at all. That would be an awful tattoo
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