Helsinki

American  

[hel-sing-kee, hel-sing-] / ˈhɛl sɪŋ ki, hɛlˈsɪŋ- /

noun

1. a seaport in and the capital of Finland, on the S coast.

---

Helsinki British  

/ hɛlˈsɪŋ-, ˈhɛlsɪŋkɪ /

noun

1. Swedish name: Helsingfors.  the capital of Finland, a port in the south on the Gulf of Finland: founded by Gustavus I of Sweden in 1550; replaced Turku as capital in 1812, while under Russian rule; university. Pop: 559 330 (2003 est)

---

Helsinki Cultural  

1. Capital of Finland and largest city in the country; located in southern Finland on the Gulf of Finland; one of the nation's chief ports, as well as its commercial and cultural center.

---

Discover More

Helsinki is the site of many international conferences.

The Helsinki Accords were signed in 1975; their goal was to increase cooperation between eastern and western Europe in hopes of reducing tensions resulting from World War II and the cold war.

Example Sentences

"When something happens I will be told what to do," he says over a cup of coffee in a café in Helsinki.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Earlier work from the University of Helsinki has also shown that oxygen plays an important role in activating wound healing in plants.

From Science Daily • Mar. 9, 2026

At 18, Stasevska entered the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, which is named after Finland’s most famous composer, Jean Sibelius.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Long, the Helsinki videogame developer, cautioned that Chinese developers were held back by U.S. controls on AI chips, which could make further advances more difficult.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

By 2005 Ranzi was co-leading a research team with Martti Parssinen of the University of Helsinki and Denise Schaan of the Goeldi Museum in Belem, near the mouth of the Amazon.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann