Similar Words in Japanese and Finnish

A long while ago I used to have a list of similar-sounding words in Japanese and Finnish on my web page. I happened to be looking at it and thought that I'd post it here with some additions.

Even if the romanized forms are the same as the Finnish words, the pronunciation (and intonation) often differs to some extent. I have included such words despite the fact.
R, u, and ei in particular are pronounced differently. The Japanese /u/ [ɯᵝ] is somewhere between Finnish /u/ and /y/ and the Japanese /r/ between the Finnish /r/ and /l/. Ei in Japanese is pronounced /ee/.

I've used romanized Japanese as the headword. When needed, I've put the correct Finnish spelling inside curly brackets.

Some may be a bit forced. :)
I've marked with (?) questionable expressions and words that make little sense.



aho
JP:  阿呆 idiot
FI:  glade (also used as a surname)

ai
JP:  愛 love / 藍 indigo
FI:  ouch!

aino
JP:  愛の love's / 愛野 Aino (place name) / アイノ Ainu
FI:  a forename (female)

aika
JP:  哀歌 elegy
FI:  time

aina
JP:  あいな unworthiness, inconvenience (obscure)
FI:  always

ainame
JP:  鮎魚女 greenling (a type of fish)
FI:  {aina me} "it's always us"

aisa
JP:  秋沙 merganser (a type of duck)
FI:  shaft; pole

aita
JP:  開いた opened / 愛他(主義) altruism
FI:  fence, hurdle

aki
JP:  秋 autumn / 空き gap, vacancy
FI:  a forename (male)

akka
JP:  悪化 a change for the worse, deterioration
FI:  hag, crone

akku
JP:  悪口 speaking ill of sb (obscure, Buddhist term)
FI:  accumulator, battery

aku
JP:  悪 evil / 灰汁 lye
FI:  a forename (male) (Donald Duck = Aku Ankka)

anna
JP:  あんな such
FI:  a forename (female) / give (imperative)

ane
JP:  姉 big sister
FI:  indulgence (as in "a promise of freedom from punishment by God")

ano
JP:  あの that
FI:  beg (imperative)

ano yana
JP:  あの簗 that weir
FI:  {anojana} as a petitioner

arasu
JP:  荒らす to devastate
FI:  {alas} down

are
JP:  あれ that
FI:  {ale} sale

ari
JP:  蟻 ant
FI:  a forename (male)

ase
JP:  汗 sweat
FI:  weapon

aseta
JP:  褪せた faded
FI:  place (imperative)

asu
JP:  明日 tomorrow
FI:  appearance; dress

au
JP:  会う to meet
FI:  ouch!

awata
JP:  粟田 Awata (place name)
FI:  {avata} to open

ayaya
JP:  あやや nickname of Matsuura Aya
FI:  {ajaja} driver

basara
JP:  婆娑羅 self-indulgence; coxcombry
FI:  {vasara} hammer

enoki
JP:  榎 hackberry
FI:  even an uncle (colloquial contraction of "enokin")

futari
JP:  二人 two people
FI:  footballer (coll.)

hai
JP:  はい yes / 杯 cup / 肺 lungs
FI:  shark

haisen
JP:  敗戦 defeat / 配線 wiring
FI:  I smell

hake
JP:  刷毛 paint brush / 捌け drainage; sale
FI:  wood chips

hakku
JP:  八苦 the eight pains (of Buddhism) / ハック hack (i.e. hacking)
FI:  pickaxe

hame
JP:  羽目 wainscoting; plight, predicament
FI:  skirt

hana
JP:  花 flower / 鼻 nose
FI:  faucet

hanki
JP:  半期 half term / 反旗 standard of revolt
FI:  snowdrift

heihei
JP:  平々 level, ordinary
FI:  {hei hei} bye bye

hiki
JP:  匹 counter for small animals / 悲喜 joy and sorrow / 引き patronage; pull
FI:  sweat

hikka
JP:  筆禍 troubles brought on by what one has written
FI:  hiccup

hire
JP:  鰭 fin
FI:  {hile} glitter

himo
JP:  紐 string, cord; pimp
FI:  lust, craving

hisshi
JP:  必死 frantic
FI:  {hissi} elevator

iida
JP:  飯田 place name, surname
FI:  a forename (female)

imi
JP:  意味 meaning
FI:  (he/she) sucked

imin
JP:  移民 emigration
FI:  I sucked

imu
JP:  医務 medical affairs
FI:  suction

iro
JP:  色 color; sensuality
FI:  {ilo} joy

iso
JP:  磯 seashore
FI:  big

isona
JP:  磯菜 edible herbs that grow by the sea (rare)
FI:  when big; as a grownup

iwata
JP:  岩田 a surname / 磐田 a place name
FI:  {ivata} to ridicule

kai
JP:  貝 shellfish
FI:  maybe

kaita
JP:  書いた wrote / 描いた drew / 海田, 頴田 place names
FI:  narrow

kakka
JP:  閣下 Your Excellency / 核果 drupe
FI:  shit

kama
JP:  釜 kettle
FI:  one's stuff / drugs

kamu
JP:  咬む to bite
FI:  pal

kana
JP:  仮名 Japanese syllabary
FI:  chicken

kanan
JP:  火難 fire calamity
FI:  chicken's

kanoya
JP:  鹿屋 a place name
FI:  {kanoja} chickens (partitive case)

kani
JP:  蟹 crab
FI:  rabbit

kannu
JP:  官奴 government-owned slave (obscure)
FI:  jug, ewer

kappa
JP:  合羽 raincoat / 河童 kappa, river sprite
FI:  cloak / valance

kara
JP:  から from / 空 emptiness / 殻 shell, husk
FI:  {kala} fish / {kara} spindle

kasa
JP:  傘 umbrella
FI:  pile, stack

katto
JP:  かっと flaring up;  flying into a rage / カット cut
FI:  roof, ceiling

koi
JP:  恋 love / 鯉 carp / 故意 intention
FI:  moth

kokki
JP:  国旗 national flag / 克己 self-restrain
FI:  cook, chef

konna
JP:  こんな such, like this
FI:  crook, villain

kimi
JP:  君 you / 気味 feeling; a tinge
FI:  a forename (male)

kinma
JP:  蒟醤 betel / 木馬 wood sledge (rare)
FI:  {kimma} gal (coll.)

kippari
JP:  きっぱり clearly; flatly
FI:  skipper (Popeye the Sailorman = Kippari Kalle)

kiri
JP:  霧 fog
FI:  {kili} goatling, kid / {kiri} spurt

kissa
JP:  喫茶 tea drinking
FI:  cat

kisu
JP:  キス kiss / 鱚 sillago (a fish)
FI:  kitty

kishikaisei
JP:  起死回生 revival, recovering from a hopeless situation
FI:  {kiskaisee} wrenches

kiwa
JP:  際 edge, brink
FI:  {kiva} nice

konna
JP:  こんな such, like this
FI:  crook, scoundrel / toad

kori
JP:  凝り stiffness / 梱 bale, package / 狐狸 foxes and badgers
FI:  basket

kumi
JP:  組 class, group
FI:  rubber; gum

kuppa
JP:  クッパ Bowser (SMB character)
FI:  syphilis

kura
JP:  蔵 warehouse / 鞍 saddle
FI:  mud

kuri
JP:  栗 chestnut
FI:  {kuri} discipline / {kuli} coolie

kuuri
JP:  空理 impractical theory
FI:  {kuuri} regimen / {kuuli} cool (coll.)

maa
JP:  まあ Dear me!
FI:  land, country

manma
JP:  飯 cooked rice
FI:  {mamma} mama; older woman

mami
JP:  目見 look / 魔魅 deceiving spirit / 眉 eyebrow (rare)
FI:  mom (coll.)

mato
JP:  的 target
FI:  worm

matoya
JP:  的矢 arrow and target
FI:  {matoja} worms (partitive case)

matto
JP:  マット (gym) mat
FI:  carpet

me
JP:  目 eye
FI:  we

meno
JP:  目野 a surname / 目の of eyes
FI:  course; expense

meri
JP:  めり lowering the pitch (rare)
FI:  sea, ocean

mika
JP:  a forename (female)
FI:  a forename (male)

minna
JP:  皆 everyone
FI:  a forename (female)

mono
JP:  者 person / 物 thing
FI:  ski boot

motto
JP:  もっと more
FI:  motto

muki
JP:  向き direction
FI:  mug, cup

muna
JP:  胸 chest (used in compounds)
FI:  egg

muni
JP:  無二 peerless
FI:  laid an egg

muroya
JP:  室屋 a surname, place name
FI:  {muroja} breakfast cerials (partitive case)

muri na
JP:  無理な impossible
FI:  {murina} growl

musa
JP:  武者 warrior (rare)
FI:  music (coll.)

naida
JP:  凪いだ becalmed
FI:  to marry / to fuck

nai
JP:  無い not being / 内 inside
FI:  marries / fucks

naku
JP:  泣く to cry
FI:  naked

nami
JP:  波 wave / 並み common
FI:  candy

naminami
JP:  並並 ordinary
FI:  {nami nami} yum yum

nainen
JP:  内燃 internal combustion / ないねん! it's not here!; there is none! (Kansai dialect)
FI:  woman

naru
JP:  成る become
FI:  cord, line

nasu
JP:  茄子 eggplant
FI:  pig, piglet

ne
JP:  根 root / 値 price / 音 sound
FI:  they; those

neito
JP:  寝糸 an old, dull-sounding string on a koto or shamisen (obscure)
FI:  maiden

niihama
JP:  新居浜 a place name
FI:  a place name (an area of the city of Tampere)

noki
JP:  軒 eaves
FI:  soot

oma
JP:  牡馬 male horse (rare)
FI:  own (adj.)

omana
JP:  御真魚 fish (obscure)
FI:  as one's own

onko
JP:  恩顧 favor
FI:  is it...?

oota
JP:  大田, 太田 place name, surname
FI:  wait (imperative, coll.)

ori
JP:  檻 cage / 折 occasion
FI:  {ori} stallion / {oli} was

oriko
JP:  織り子 weaver
FI:  {oliko} was it...?

osa
JP:  長 chief, elder
FI:  part

osara
JP:  お皿 plate (polite)
FI:  a place name

ota
JP:  ヲタ nerd / 織田 a place name
FI:  take (imperative)

otosu
JP:  落とす to drop
FI:  {otos} sample

pantsu
JP:  パンツ underpants, panties
FI:  a surname (rare)

rakki
JP:  落暉 setting sun (obscure)
FI:  {lakki} cap / {rakki} mongrel, cur

rakko
JP:  猟虎 sea otter
FI:  {rakko} bladder / {lakko} strike

ranka
JP:  爛柯 (absorbed in playing) go (obscure) / ラン科 Orchidaceae
FI:  {ranka} spine / {lanka} yarn, thread; wire

rika
JP:  理科 science
FI:  {lika} dirt

rinne
JP:  輪廻 transmigration of the soul
FI:  slope, hillside

risa
JP:  a forename (female)
FI:  broken / tonsil

risu
JP:   栗鼠 squirrel
FI:  twig

rokka
JP:  六花 snow (rare) / 漉過 filtering
FI:  (pea) soup

roppu
JP:  六腑 "the six internal organs"
FI:  {loppu} end

saa
JP:  さあ come on; well
FI:  gets

saari
JP:  然有り it is as such (archaic)
FI:  island

saatto
JP:  さあっと quite suddenly
FI:  escort

saita
JP:  最多 most / 咲いた bloomed
FI:  stingy

sakka
JP:  作家 writer
FI:  dregs; lees

sakki
JP:  さっき a little while ago / 殺気 thirst for blood
FI:  crowd, gang

sara ni mi
JP:  皿に実 fruit on a plate / 更に箕 furthermore a winnowing basket / etc. (?)
FI:  {salanimi} pseudonym

sana
JP:  a forename (female)
FI:  word

sama
JP:  様 polite mr/mrs; appearance
FI:  same, identical

sano
JP:  佐野 a place name, surname
FI:  say (imperative)

sata
JP:  沙汰 instructions; news; affair
FI:  hundred

shokki
JP:  織機 loom / 食器 tableware
FI:  shock

son ni naru
JP:  損になる to prove a loss
FI:  {sonninaru} bull-cord (?)

sori
JP:  轌 sleigh, sled
FI:  sorry (coll.)

suru
JP:  する to do
FI:  sadness

tai
JP:  鯛 sea bream / 他意 ulterior motive / 対 versus
FI:  or

taika
JP:  対価 value, compensation / 大家 great expert / 大火 conflagration
FI:  magic

taito
JP:  泰斗 leading authority
FI:  skill

tasan
JP:  多産 fertility
FI:  equal; evenly

taso
JP:  誰そ who (archaic)
FI:  level, plane

tawara
JP:  俵 sack
FI:  {tavara} goods, ware

te
JP:  手 hand
FI:  you (plural)

tenpu
JP:  添付 attachment / 天賦 natural talent / 天父 Heavenly Father
FI:  {temppu} trick

tero
JP:  テロ terrorism
FI:  a forename (male)

toi
JP:  問い inquiry / 樋 gutter, trough
FI:  that over there (coll.)

toka
JP:  とか such things as
FI:  second (coll.)

toki
JP:  時 time
FI:  sure, certainly

tomi
JP:  富 riches, wealth
FI:  a forename (male)

ton ni
JP:  頓に suddenly (rare)
FI:  {tonni} a metric ton

tora
JP:  虎 tiger
FI:  {tora} quarrel / {tola} state of affairs

tori
JP:  鳥 bird
FI:  marketplace

tossa
JP:  咄嗟 moment, instant
FI:  there (coll.)

totta
JP:  取った took
FI:  true

totta hantoki
JP:  取った半時 "a short time that (I) took" (?)
FI: {tottahan toki} "sure, of course"

ui
JP:  憂い sad / 有為  vicissitudes of life
FI:  swim (imperative)

uimakura
JP:  初枕 a man and a woman sharing the bed for the first time (obscure)
FI:  swimming-mud (?)

ukki
JP:  鬱気 melancholy
FI:  grandpa

uni
JP:  雲丹 sea urchin
FI:  dream

ura
JP:  浦 inlet; beach / 裏 back; behind; opposite
FI:  {ura} track, rut / {ula} VHF radio waves

ya
JP:  や and / 矢 arrow
FI:  {ja} and

yako
JP:  野狐 wild fox; fox spirit (archaic)
FI:  {jako} dividing, sharing

yama
JP:  山 mountain
FI:  {jama} situation

yano
JP:  矢野 a surname
FI:  {jano} thirst

yō
JP:  用 business; use / 要 main point
FI:  {joo} yes, yeah

yōyō
JP:  揚揚 triumphant / 洋洋 vast
FI:  {joo joo} "yeah, yeah"

yōkai
JP:  妖怪 monstrous creature / 溶解 melting; solution
FI:  {joo, kai} "yes, probably"

yoki
JP:  予期 expectation
FI:  {joki} river

yoko
JP:  横 side
FI:  {joko} already? / either

yokohiki
JP:  夜興引 hunting with a dog late at night in the winter (obscure)
FI:  {joko hiki} "sweat already?"

yota
JP:  与太 idle gossip
FI:  {jota} who, which

yuna
JP:  湯女 women who assist bathers at hot-springs resorts
FI:  {juna} train