Genshin Impact's Latest Fascination with Finnish Words, and What Some of Them Mean

Genshin Impact’s latest expansion is finally here, and with the Song of the Welkin Moon update, eager adventurers can now set foot onto the lands of Nod-Krai. I don’t know much about the series, but I do write the occasional piece on it and enjoy listening to my wife gush about the new characters and events.

It was during the former that I spotted something odd: I was suddenly recognising a lot of Finnish terms and names intermingled in the texts, pointing them out to my colleagues and eagerly explaining why something was funny or fitting! One made the point that others may enjoy the same, so here we are: a few of the terms found in Nod-Krai and what their Finnish meanings are.

Lauma, Evermoon's Sacrament Song

Oh dear, oh deer

The name of the newest Dendro character took me a while to process, as I had mainly heard it said instead of seeing it written down; I'll admit to having a little chuckle when I finally got a glimpse. You see, lauma in the Finnish language means herd (as in a herd of deer). The fact that Lauma employs the use of a summoned deer and has a generally druidic motif makes the name a good pick, though a bit on the nose. At least it’s not peura, the actual word for deer.

Funnily enough, her attacks follow the same naming theme, though they depart somewhat from her aesthetic: her standard strikes take us on a linguistic trip to the darkness of space, whereas her elemental skill finds its origins in ancient funeral customs!

 

Lauma’s normal attack is called Peregrination of Linnunrata, which is a bit of a mouthful. If you’re like me and have misplaced your book of fancy words, peregrination basically means an especially long and meandering journey, while Linnunrata is the Finnish term for the Milky Way (directly translating into “Route of the Bird”). Put all of that together, and Lauma’s basic combo is “The long, meandering journey of the Milky Way”, which is lovely and poetic!

I am slightly unsure how this all ties into her turning into a faun centaur.

Her elemental attack, Runo: Dawnless Rest of Karsikko, similarly has an interesting combination of terms, and it may be the closest thing to anime gibberish in this article — I’ll do my best to interpret the meaning.

The opening word is runo, which is Finnish for poem, though I'll note it seems a bit strange to translate this one. Being comprised of two words in Finnish and three in English, I wonder if MiHoYo would've just been better off translating all of it or none.

The second term, Karsikko, on the other hand, is harder to translate. It refers to an old tradition where the family of the departed carved a mark on one or multiple trees between the home of a recently deceased person and their final resting place. This carved sign was supposed to dissuade the departed soul from haunting their previous domicile during the night. Cobbling all of that together, the result would be something like Poem: Dawnless Rest of the Warded Tree, but that’s taking a lot of liberties.

 

Aino, Parent of the Clink-Clank Krumkake Craftshop

Tiny Prodigy, Big Robot

Continuing on the character front, the diminutive Hydro Claymore user, Aino, could be me making assumptions, as it definitely could have different roots. However, the facts that Nod-Krai seems to be full of Finnish, and it being both a very common Finnish feminine name and a part of Finland’s national epic, the Kalevala, give credence to my claims.

In the tale, her name is derived from her being the only (ainoa) sister of a major character. Promised to an old man after a competition, she throws herself into a river to escape, choosing a quick death over seeming servitude. Considering Genshin’s Aino is an orphan tech genius, it remains to be seen how well she lives up to her mythological namesake.

 

Kuuvahki, Elemental Energy Enthused

MOON POWER

One of the more interesting features of the land of Nod-Krai is the elemental force of Kuuvahki. This ethereal energy is everywhere, empowering Moon Wheels and allowing those with the skill to fortify creatures or operate machines.

The name used for this lunar energy is, again, a bit on the nose, as it can be directly translated into moon (kuu) power (väki). The latter half, väki, is a bit on the archaic side, and in modern language it is more often used to refer to a crowd of people. So, you will be using moon people in your adventures; you’re welcome. As an aside, the elemental form players can take, Kuuhenki, means moon (kuu) spirit (henki).

Hiisi Island, home of the Frostmoon Scions

The Water Goblin Hisses in the Lift - Finnish Tongue Twister

This is a bit of a strange one, as I don’t immediately see the reason for the name. The mountainous island is the home base for the Frostmoon Scions (of which Lauma is a member) and seems to house a plethora of ruins and magic. The thing is, hiisi can have a few different meanings depending on how you look at it.

In the language’s history, hiisi was used to denote a holy place, and I believe this is what they were going for. The term has, however, evolved quite a bit after the introduction of Christianity and has since been used to refer to a few different mythological beings, ranging from giants to ogres. In modern lingo, at least to me, hiisi is basically the same thing as a Goblin.

So, yes. They will now, forevermore, live on Goblin Island.

As a final, short translation, the Moon Goddess, Kuutar, the Frost Scions worship? Basically, a way to indicate a feminine moon with a suffix. The Kalevala also had a moon goddess of the same name. Moon Ma’am.

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There you have it! A few fun translations that add some context to characters, and possibly ruin a few locations. I personally love finding these things out, and I hope you got a kick out of it too! What other translations do you know? Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments!