Taskusanakirja: A local, blazing fast Finnish-English dictionary on Taskusanakirja

The Etymology of 'Taskusanakirja': A Pocket-Sized Journey

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The word taskusanakirja exemplifies the elegant compound nature of Finnish vocabulary. Breaking it down: tasku (pocket) + sanakirja (dictionary), it literally translates to “pocket dictionary” - a fitting name for a tool designed to be as quick and accessible as reaching into one’s coat.

The Components

Tasku derives from the Proto-Finnic *tasku, likely borrowed from an early Germanic source (compare Swedish *taska*, “bag”). The semantic shift from “bag” to “pocket” reflects the evolution of clothing technology itself.

About Taskusanakirja

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My name is Andrew Quinn. I’m a software developer and Finnish language learner living in Tampere, Finland. I do software consulting under Siilikuin.

Our Origin Story

I created the first version of Taskusanakirja out of personal desire. I grew frustrated with constantly switching to a web browser every time I needed to look up a Finnish word (and I was looking up a lot of words in the first few years). I wanted a dictionary that could search as fast as I could type. I also wanted it totally portable - a single file that would work on any system I found myself dancing on.

Data Sources

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Data Sources

Our Lexical Foundation: Wiktionary

Taskusanakirja’s comprehensive Finnish-English dictionary is built upon data sourced from Wiktionary, the collaborative multilingual dictionary project. According to Wiktionary’s own copyright policy, the original text of its entries is dual-licensed to the public under both the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL), Version 1.1 or any later version.

This dual-license framework ensures that the data will remain free forever and can be used by anyone, subject to the conditions of those licenses. As a user of Taskusanakirja’s derived dictionary data, you must comply with the terms of both licenses, which primarily require that you attribute the source and share any derivative works under the same licenses.

Details

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Example text.

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Taskusanakirja offers both an interactive Terminal User Interface (TUI) and powerful command-line tools for Finnish language exploration. Whether you prefer the immersive TUI experience or quick command-line lookups, every feature is designed with the scholarly linguist in mind.

Interactive TUI Mode

By default, running Taskusanakirja without any arguments launches the beautiful, responsive Terminal User Interface:

Downloads

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Quick Installation Guide

After downloading Taskusanakirja, you can start using it immediately!

Simple Installation (No Terminal Required)

Windows:

Just double-click the downloaded .exe file to run Taskusanakirja
That’s it! The program will open and you can start looking up Finnish words

macOS:

Double-click the downloaded file to run Taskusanakirja
If you see a security warning, go to System Preferences → Security & Privacy and click “Open Anyway”
The program will open and you’re ready to go

Linux:

End User License Agreement

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End User License Agreement

Effective Date: August 16, 2025

This End User License Agreement (“Agreement”) is between you (“User”, “you”) and the developers of Taskusanakirja (“we”, “us”, “our”) for the use of the Taskusanakirja software application and associated services (the “Software”).

1. License Grant

1.1 Free Edition

We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Free Edition of Taskusanakirja for personal, non-commercial purposes only, subject to the terms of this Agreement. The Free Edition includes, but is not limited to, the following features:

Frequently Asked Questions

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Taskusanakirja FAQ

Quick Fixes for Common Issues

Problem	Solution
Won’t start	Check security settings, make executable, or “Run anyway”
Can’t find a word	Try the base form or check spelling
License won’t activate	Wait a few minutes, check internet, try 2-3 times, verify key
Download interrupted	Just run `download-inflections` again
TUI looks broken	Use a modern terminal with UTF-8 support (Alacritty recommended)
Slow performance	Check disk space (need 3GB for Pro)

What is Taskusanakirja?

Taskusanakirja (literally “pocket dictionary” in Finnish) is a fast, offline-first Finnish-English dictionary designed for the command line. But don’t let that scare you off! It’s a single, portable file that just works – no installation wizardry required. Think of it as your Finnish language sidekick that provides instant search-as-you-type, handles inflected words, shows example sentences, and more. Learn more about the full feature set.

Privacy Policy

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TL;DR

Taskusanakirja is designed to protect your privacy. The Free Edition works completely offline and collects no data whatsoever. The Pro Edition only connects to the internet to validate your license, collecting just your license key and a hashed machine identifier for license enforcement - we never see your dictionary searches or usage patterns. We don’t track you, sell your data, or share it with anyone except essential service providers like Gumroad for payment processing. All dictionary data and searches stay on your device. We don’t use analytics in the app, send crash reports, or auto-update. You have full rights to access, correct, or delete any personal data we hold by contacting andrew@siilikuin.com. We’re fully GDPR compliant with clear lawful bases for any data processing we do. For complete details, please read the full policy below.

Terms of Service

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Terms of Service

Effective Date: August 16, 2025

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the Taskusanakirja software, website, and related services (collectively, the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to these Terms.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, or using Taskusanakirja, you agree to be bound by these Terms and the End User License Agreement (EULA). If you do not agree, do not use the Service.