Sisu
Encyclopedia
Sisu is a Finnish
term loosely translated into English
as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. However, the word is widely considered to lack a proper translation into any language. Sisu has been described as being integral to understanding Finnish culture. The literal meaning is equivalent in English to "having guts", and the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However sisu is defined by a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage
, but the ability to sustain an action against the odds. Deciding on a course of action and then sticking to that decision against repeated failures is sisu. The English phrase "tenacity of purpose" is often used to describe this aspect of sisu. It is similar to equanimity
, except the forbearance of sisu has a grimmer quality of stress management
than the latter. The noun sisu is related to the adjective sisukas, one having the quality of sisu.
of 1939–1940, the Finnish perseverance in the face of the invasion by the Soviet Union
popularized this word in English for a generation.
In what might have been the first use of sisu in the English language, on January 8, 1940, Time
magazine reported:
Singled out for kudos
for this attribute was "Finland's wiry old peasant
President, Kyösti Kallio
—73 years old and full of sisu (courage)—last week thought up a new scheme to get supplies for his country." It was also used to describe the Finnish stubbornness in sticking to its loose alliance from 1940 to 1943 with The Third Reich:
During the 1952 Summer Olympics
, sisu was further described in the context of the continuing Cold War
looming over the Finnish capital city of Helsinki
:
Well into the 1960s
, sisu was used to describe the Finnish resistance to the invasion of 20 to 30 years prior and its continuing discontents. In 1960, Austin Goodrich's book, Study in Sisu: Finland's Fight for Independence, was published by Ballantine
. Also in 1960, a notable reviewer of Griffin Taylor's novel, Mortlake, wrote:
Even in 2009, sisu is so important to being Finnish that "to be a real Finn" you must have it: "willpower, tenacity, persistency."
. For example, there are Sisu brand cars
(and Sisu armored vehicles), icebreaker
MS Sisu, a brand of strong-tasting pastille
s manufactured by Leaf
, and a Finnish nationalist organisation Suomen Sisu
.
Sisu is not always a positive Finnish term: "pahansisuinen" literally translated means "one possessing bad sisu", a description of a hostile and malignant person.
Mount Sisu
is the name of a mountain first ascended by mountain climbers Veikka Gustafsson
and Patrick Degerman in the Antarctic.
In 2004, Jorma Ollila
, CEO of Nokia
, described his company's "guts" by using the word sisu:
Sisu is, like sauna
, one of the few Finnish words lent to the English language.
In 21st century Sisu has more and more commonly become a given name
to Finnish boys.
In Robert A. Heinlein
's "juvenile" novel, Citizen of the Galaxy
, the protagonist was adopted by the captain of an interstellar trading ship which was named, "Sisu". This reflected Heinlein's admiration of the Finnish stand against the Soviets, Heinlein himself being ardently anti-communist. The interstellar trading "family" of which this ship was but a part, is described as being fiercely proud and independent, preferring battle and death to being taken prisoner by raiding pirates.
In the British TV programme Top Gear, Mika Häkkinen
explains sisu to James May
as a driving trait particular to the Finnish people.
toughness. It is widely understood in the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan
, which is home to a large concentration of Americans of Finnish descent. This has extended to include a popular bumper sticker saying simply "Sisu". By analogy, the term has picked up new meanings. Depending on context, sisu can refer to spunk
, attitude, self-confidence
, and so on. However, sisu is not bravery, nor strength. It is distinguished from courage
, especially when talking about the military. Sisu is an ability to finish a task successfully, as defined by Roman Schatz
in his book From Finland with Love (2005), and decisiveness. Usually sisu means the will and decisiveness to surmount challenges against impossible odds.
In 2010, a 63-year-old Yooper
named Joe Paquette Jr. of Munising, Michigan
walked 425 miles to the Detroit Lions
training facility to bring the spirit of sisu to the team.
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
term loosely translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. However, the word is widely considered to lack a proper translation into any language. Sisu has been described as being integral to understanding Finnish culture. The literal meaning is equivalent in English to "having guts", and the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However sisu is defined by a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage
Courage
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation...
, but the ability to sustain an action against the odds. Deciding on a course of action and then sticking to that decision against repeated failures is sisu. The English phrase "tenacity of purpose" is often used to describe this aspect of sisu. It is similar to equanimity
Equanimity
Equanimity is a state of mental or emotional stability or composure arising from a deep awareness and acceptance of the present moment. Equanimity is promoted by several major religious groups.-Stoicism:...
, except the forbearance of sisu has a grimmer quality of stress management
Stress management
Stress management is the alteration of stress and especially chronic stress often for the purpose of improving everyday functioning.Stress produces numerous symptoms which vary according to persons, situations, and severity. These can include physical health decline as well as depression. According...
than the latter. The noun sisu is related to the adjective sisukas, one having the quality of sisu.
Cultural significance
Sisu has been described by The New York Times as "the word that explains Finland", and the Finns' "favorite word"—"the most wonderful of all their words." During the famous Winter WarWinter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
of 1939–1940, the Finnish perseverance in the face of the invasion by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
popularized this word in English for a generation.
In what might have been the first use of sisu in the English language, on January 8, 1940, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine reported:
Singled out for kudos
Kudos
Kudos is an English word meaning acclaim or praise for exceptional achievement.Kudos may also refer to:* KUDOS, a vocational-counseling computer program* Kudos , a chocolate-covered cereal bar...
for this attribute was "Finland's wiry old peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
President, Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio was the fourth President of Finland . He was a prominent leader of the Agrarian League, and served as Prime Minister four times and Speaker of the Parliament six times.-Early life:...
—73 years old and full of sisu (courage)—last week thought up a new scheme to get supplies for his country." It was also used to describe the Finnish stubbornness in sticking to its loose alliance from 1940 to 1943 with The Third Reich:
During the 1952 Summer Olympics
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...
, sisu was further described in the context of the continuing Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
looming over the Finnish capital city of Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
:
Well into the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, sisu was used to describe the Finnish resistance to the invasion of 20 to 30 years prior and its continuing discontents. In 1960, Austin Goodrich's book, Study in Sisu: Finland's Fight for Independence, was published by Ballantine
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
. Also in 1960, a notable reviewer of Griffin Taylor's novel, Mortlake, wrote:
Even in 2009, sisu is so important to being Finnish that "to be a real Finn" you must have it: "willpower, tenacity, persistency."
Other uses
Due to its cultural significance, "sisu" is a common element of brand names in FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. For example, there are Sisu brand cars
Sisu Auto
Sisu Auto is a Finnish truck company. Its name comes from the Finnish word sisu meaning guts, grit and determination.Sisu Auto subsidiary company SISU Defence produces high mobility tactical vehicles for military use.-History:*Sisu established in 1931...
(and Sisu armored vehicles), icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
MS Sisu, a brand of strong-tasting pastille
Pastille
Pastilles are a type of candy or medicinal pill made of a thick liquid that has been solidified and is meant to be consumed by light chewing and allowing it to dissolve in the mouth...
s manufactured by Leaf
, and a Finnish nationalist organisation Suomen Sisu
Suomen Sisu
Suomen Sisu is a Finnish association that defines itself as nationalist and patriotic, criticizing unlimited immigration and multiculturalism. Suomen Sisu proclaims to support the idea of independent national states, that govern themselves sovereignly, and opposes supranational co-operation,...
.
Sisu is not always a positive Finnish term: "pahansisuinen" literally translated means "one possessing bad sisu", a description of a hostile and malignant person.
Mount Sisu
Mount Sisu
Mount Sisu is a mountain in the Antarctic. Finnish mountaineer Veikka Gustafsson and Patrick Degerman were the first people to ascend it, in 1997. It was named after the Finnish concept of sisu, meaning a sense of steadfast, rugged perseverance...
is the name of a mountain first ascended by mountain climbers Veikka Gustafsson
Veikka Gustafsson
Eero Veikka Juhani Gustafsson, known as Veikka Gustafsson is a Finnish mountaineer. He was born in Espoo and he has three siblings, Elina, Erkki and Esa. His family bought a cabin in Tuupovaara and they moved there in 1976. In 1993 Veikka became the first Finnish person to have reached the top of...
and Patrick Degerman in the Antarctic.
In 2004, Jorma Ollila
Jorma Ollila
Jorma Jaakko Ollila is the Chairman and former CEO of the Nokia Corporation and a Member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company , UPM-Kymmene , and Otava Books and Magazines Group Ltd...
, CEO of Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, described his company's "guts" by using the word sisu:
Sisu is, like sauna
Sauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
, one of the few Finnish words lent to the English language.
In 21st century Sisu has more and more commonly become a given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
to Finnish boys.
In popular culture
A Finnish heavy metal rock singer injured himself, without noticing, at a concert, to which a reviewer wrote:In Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's "juvenile" novel, Citizen of the Galaxy
Citizen of the Galaxy
Citizen of the Galaxy is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction and published in hardcover in 1957 as one of the Heinlein juveniles by Scribner's...
, the protagonist was adopted by the captain of an interstellar trading ship which was named, "Sisu". This reflected Heinlein's admiration of the Finnish stand against the Soviets, Heinlein himself being ardently anti-communist. The interstellar trading "family" of which this ship was but a part, is described as being fiercely proud and independent, preferring battle and death to being taken prisoner by raiding pirates.
In the British TV programme Top Gear, Mika Häkkinen
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion...
explains sisu to James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
as a driving trait particular to the Finnish people.
Use in the Upper Peninsula
The term is commonly used in everyday speech to describe stoicSTOIC
STOIC was a variant of Forth.It started out at the MIT and Harvard Biomedical Engineering Centre in Boston, and was written in the mid 1970s by Jonathan Sachs...
toughness. It is widely understood in the Upper Peninsula
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, which is home to a large concentration of Americans of Finnish descent. This has extended to include a popular bumper sticker saying simply "Sisu". By analogy, the term has picked up new meanings. Depending on context, sisu can refer to spunk
Spunk
The term Spunk may refer to:* courage or spirit, pluck* Australian slang, meaning hot, sexy, referring to the person with an x-factor* quality of mind showing enthusiasm, boldness, energy, courage, determination and motivation...
, attitude, self-confidence
Self-confidence
The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.Being confident in yourself is infectious if you present yourself well, others will want to follow in your foot steps towards...
, and so on. However, sisu is not bravery, nor strength. It is distinguished from courage
Courage
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation...
, especially when talking about the military. Sisu is an ability to finish a task successfully, as defined by Roman Schatz
Roman Schatz
Roman Schatz is a German-born Finnish TV show host and an author. He was born in Western Germany in 1960 and has been living in Helsinki, Finland since 1986. He has appeared on TV in various programs, including his own show Toisten-TV, in international movies Better Than Andy and he has written...
in his book From Finland with Love (2005), and decisiveness. Usually sisu means the will and decisiveness to surmount challenges against impossible odds.
In 2010, a 63-year-old Yooper
Yooper
Yooper may refer to:* Yoopers, people from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan * Yooper dialect: The dialect of English speech used by the inhabitants of the Upper Peninsula* Da Yoopers: A comedy–musical group from the area of the Upper Peninsula...
named Joe Paquette Jr. of Munising, Michigan
Munising, Michigan
Munising is a city on the southern shore of Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,539. It is the county seat of Alger County...
walked 425 miles to the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
training facility to bring the spirit of sisu to the team.
See also
- Finnish AmericanFinnish AmericanFinnish Americans are Americans of Finnish descent, who currently number about 700,000.-History:Some Finns, like the ancestors of John Morton, came to the Swedish colony of New Sweden, that existed in mid-17th century....
- Intention (criminal law)
- Psychological resiliencePsychological resilienceResilience in psychology refers to the idea of an individual's tendency to cope with stress and adversity. This coping may result in the individual “bouncing back” to a previous state of normal functioning, or using the experience of exposure to adversity to produce a “steeling effect” and function...
- SananmuunnosSananmuunnosSananmuunnos is a sort of verbal play in the Finnish language, similar to spoonerisms in English.Special to Finnish is a narrow phoneme inventory and vowel harmony. As Finnish is a mora-divided language, it is morae that are exchanged, not syllables...
- SISU (abbreviations)Sisu (disambiguation)Sisu is a Finnish concept, described as will, determination, perseverance. The word may also refer to:*Mount Sisu, a mountain on Antarctica*A type of candy manufactured by Leaf International*Sisu 1A, the first sailplane ever to fly over 1000 km...
- SumudSumudSumud meaning "steadfastness" or "steadfast perseverance" is an ideological theme and political strategy that first emerged among the Palestinian people through the experience of the dialectic of oppression and resistance in the wake of the Six-day war...
- VelleityVelleityVelleity is the lowest degree of volition, a slight wish or tendency, inclination.Author Bill Bryson defined it as that "which describes a mild desire, a wish or urge too slight to lead to action."-Examples of usage:...
External links
- Washington Post: "The Finnish Line", about Finnish fortitude and resilience
- UP SISU: "The Finns of Northern Michigan", about Finnish culture in Northern Michigan
- a Youtube video where Mika Häkkinen explains what sisu is (starts at 4:32)
- a Youtube video which captures the essence of sisu