Breakdown of Hyvää päivänjatkoa!
päivänjatko
rest of the day (hyvää päivänjatkoa! = have a nice day!)
Questions & Answers about Hyvää päivänjatkoa!
Why do both words end in partitive endings (-ä and -a)?
In Finnish, when you wish someone well, the words are put into the partitive case. You are essentially saying '[I wish you some amount of] good continuation of the day.' This is the exact same reason we say hyvää huomenta (good morning) instead of just hyvä huomen.
How does the word päivänjatkoa translate to 'rest of your day'?
It is a compound word made of two parts. Päivän is the genitive (possessive) form of päivä (day), meaning 'of the day'. Jatkoa comes from jatko, meaning 'continuation'. So literally, you are wishing them a 'good continuation of the day'.
Why doesn't the Finnish sentence have a verb like 'Have'?
Standard greetings and wishes in Finnish drop the verb, much like saying 'Good morning' in English instead of 'I wish you a good morning'. If you wanted to say the full sentence, it would be Toivotan sinulle hyvää päivänjatkoa (I wish you a good rest of the day), but native speakers just use the short version!
When is the right time to use this phrase?
This is a very common parting phrase used when you leave, rather than when you arrive. You will hear it constantly from cashiers when you leave a store, or from colleagues when you part ways in the middle of the day.
Learn Hyvää päivänjatkoa and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free