Q 01/05

In Finnic languages other than Finnish and Estonian, the word "sauna" and its cognates can also simply mean what?

A) A grove of birch trees

B) A natural hot spring

C) A small cabin or cottage

D) A small fishing boat

Answer · why

C) A small cabin or cottage

In Finnish itself the word covers both the bath and the bathhouse, and it is the best-known Finnicism in many languages.

Q 02/05

What is the Finnish word for the steam and heat produced when water is thrown on the hot stones?

A) Kiuas

B) Löyly

C) Savu

D) Vihta

Answer · why

B) Löyly

The Estonian equivalent is leili; a Helsinki public sauna opened in 2016 borrowed the word as its name.

Q 03/05

In sauna vocabulary, what is the kiuas?

A) The bucket and ladle set

B) The changing room

C) The stove and its rock pile

D) The upper bench platform

Answer · why

C) The stove and its rock pile

Modern versions are wood-burning metal stoves with a chimney, or electric heaters.

Q 04/05

The bundle of leafy birch twigs used to gently beat the skin in a Finnish sauna is called a vihta or what?

A) Viht

B) Vasta

C) Vanta

D) Venik

Answer · why

B) Vasta

Vihta is the western Finnish word; venik is the Russian, viht the Estonian and vanta the Lithuanian.

Q 05/05

The earliest Finnish saunas were of which type, heated for hours with no chimney and then aired before bathing?

A) Electric sauna

B) Smoke sauna

C) Infrared sauna

D) Steam sauna

Answer · why

B) Smoke sauna

The savusauna tradition nearly died out but was revived by enthusiasts in the 1980s.