Literally, please do not say “Minä pidän kahvista.” Unless you want to sound like Hyacinth ‘Bucket’ from Keeping up appearances, but the Finnish version.*

*closest Finnish reference I could find is as show called “Pokka pitää” aired in late 90’s on YLE. Some of you might need to google this, I mean ask ChatGPT, nobody googles things anymore, or so I’ve heard.  

Basically, I can say with 99.99% certainty that I have never used the phrase “Minä pidän..(something)”

When talking to a Finnish person and trying to express that I like something, just never! 

“Why, why do they teach us that then?”, I hear you cry. It is not an unusual question, I get it all the time, and my only answer is “I don’t know my dear, I don’t know.”

Why teach learners something we, the Finns, do not use…I don’t know. I only know what I teach. 

So back to pitää..

Depending on the sentence, it can mean to like, to hold, or to have to.

Fortunately, context normally makes it much less mysterious than it first appears.

1. Pitää = to like

This is often one of the first meanings learners are taught.

Pidän kahvista.
I like coffee.

This is completely correct Finnish. But in everyday spoken Finnish, you are much more likely to hear tykätä:

Mä tykkään kahvista.
I like coffee.

So its not that your textbook, or whatever, is lying to you, it’s just not a real human. And it was probably written in year ‘pekka ja paavo’* along with the teaching methods from that era. 

*do google that, it is funny and widely used by Finnish speakers. 

You should recognise pidän, of course, as it will come up when chatting with other learners 🙂 for sure, they know it too.

You may also read a story or two where it may come up, but that’s about it.

That is the extent of the use of the word ‘pitää’ when it comes to expressing ‘like’ in Finnish.

2. Pitää = to hold or keep

Here pitää has a completely different function.

Pidä tästä kiinni.
Hold on to this. (as an instruction).

Pidän ovea auki.
I hold / keep the door open.

Here, pitää means to hold, keep, or keep something in a certain state or position.

And this meaning, it appears in quite a few very useful expressions:

Pitää kiinni
To hold on / keep closed

Pidä kiinni!
Hold on!

Pitää huolta
To take care of

Pidän huolta koirasta.
I take care of the dog.

Pitää mielessä
To keep in mind

Pidä se mielessä.
Keep it in mind (as a request).

Pitää päällä
To keep / wear something on

Pidän takkia päällä.
I keep a jacket on.

You might also see pitää in things such as pitää kokous, to hold a meeting.

So the basic idea of holding or keeping stretches quite naturally into lots of everyday expressions. If you bear that in mind, you will not be surprised when you start seeing it everywhere. 

3. Pitää = to have to

This time meaning to have to do something.

Minun pitää mennä.
I have to go.

Minun pitää käydä ensin kaupassa.
I have to go to the shop first.

If you have already learnt täytyy, this meaning may look familiar.

Minun pitää mennä.
I have to go.

Minun täytyy mennä.
I have to go.

Both express the same basic idea: something needs to be done.

And pitää is extremely common in everyday Finnish, so this is definitely one meaning worth knowing quickly.

So there it is: one pitää likes things, one holds things, and one tells you what you have to do.

Mystery solved.

If you have any other mysteries you would like solved, please let me know. Happy to help.

This, and many more basic expressions, that are ACTUALLY used, also appear throughout my Beginner Plus Finnish and Everyday Finnish Conversation courses.