perkele
What does “perkele” mean in English?
It’s a strong exclamation of anger or determination, often used to express frustration or resolve. Literally, it means 'devil.'
Literally “devil”
Similar to shouting 'damn' or 'hell' in English, it's typically used as an exclamation and can carry a comic undertone, especially in casual contexts.
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Related Finnish words
vittu
4/5 · StrongThis is a strong exclamation that can also function as a versatile swear-word root. Literally, it means 'vulva', but that's not how it's commonly used.
haista vittu
4/5 · StrongThis phrase is a strong way to dismiss someone, essentially telling them to fuck off. Literally, it translates to 'smell a vulva,' which adds a layer of sexual insult.
kyrpä
4/5 · StrongThis is a strong, vulgar term for 'penis' in Finnish. It's not used in polite conversation and is definitely not medical terminology.
helvetisti
3/5 · VulgarIt means a lot or extremely, used as an intensifier. The literal translation is 'hellishly.'
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About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via LDNOOBW (CC-BY-4.0). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.