You met sinä and te in Unit 1. At work, Finland is one of the most informal countries in Europe: colleagues, bosses and clients nearly all say sinä to one another and use first names. This is sinuttelu.

Formal te for one person — teitittely — is now rare. You'll still meet it:

• with elderly people you don't know;
• in upmarket service — a smart restaurant, a hotel reception;
• with some older professionals, especially at a first meeting;
• in very formal letters and speeches.

Formal Finnish is two things you already know, stacked: the te endings + the conditional -isi-.

Informal (sinä)	Formal (te)	English
Voitko auttaa?	Voisitteko auttaa?	Can / could you help?
Mitä haluat?	Mitä saisi olla?	What would you like?
Kerro itsestäsi.	Kertoisitteko itsestänne?	Tell me / could you tell us about yourself?
Kiitos viestistäsi.	Kiitos viestistänne.	Thank you for your message.