My YKI Test Journey — Part 6F
Everything about preparing for the YKI test felt difficult in one way or another.
The Finnish language itself is difficult.
There were words to memorize, grammar rules to understand, sentences to form, conversations to follow, and so many unfamiliar expressions to learn.
Then there was speaking.
Listening.
Reading.
Writing.
Each one brought its own challenges.
But when I think back to the two YKI tests I took in 2025, I realized that the most difficult part wasn’t actually grammar.
It wasn’t vocabulary either.
And surprisingly, it wasn’t even listening – although listening was definitely the most difficult of the four subtests for me. 😅
The biggest challenge for me during the YKI test was something much simpler:
FOCUS.
And after that?
Patience and consistency.
These three things became just as important to me as learning Finnish itself.
Focus Was Probably My Biggest Challenge
During the exam, staying focused wasn’t always easy.
Sometimes, while answering one question, my mind was already thinking about the questions I had answered before.
Did I answer that correctly?
What if I misunderstood the question?
I think I made a mistake.
Why did I choose that answer?
And sometimes:
I think I’ve already failed this test.
That kind of thinking can easily take your attention away from the question in front of you.
Instead of concentrating on the next task, your brain starts replaying everything that has already happened.
And the problem is…
you can’t go back and change everything.
You still have more questions waiting for you.
When You Feel Like You’ve Already Made Too Many Mistakes
There were moments during the YKI test when I felt like I had already made a lot of mistakes.
Some questions I wasn’t sure about.
Some answers felt like guesses.
During listening, there were things I simply didn’t understand.
There were moments when I thought:
That’s it. I probably got that wrong.
And when several difficult questions come one after another, it’s easy to start thinking that the whole test is already ruined.
But that’s exactly when focus becomes even more important.
One difficult question is only one question.
One answer you’re unsure about doesn’t automatically mean you’ve failed the entire test.
I had to remind myself:
It’s done. Move on.
That became one of the most important lessons I learned from YKI.
Focusing While Other People Are Around You
Another challenge was being aware of the other test takers.
During the speaking test, I could hear other people talking.
While I was trying to think about my own answer, someone beside me might already be speaking confidently.
And naturally, my brain wanted to listen.
Oh, that’s what they’re saying.
Maybe my answer is wrong.
Maybe they understood the task better than I did.
But listening to somebody else’s answer wasn’t going to help me.
If anything, it could make me forget what I wanted to say.
The same thing happened during the written parts of the exam.
Sometimes I noticed another student already writing quickly while I was still staring at the question.
And suddenly I would think:
Why are they already writing? I haven’t even started! 😅
But everyone works differently.
Maybe they understood the question faster.
Maybe they were writing something completely different.
Maybe their answer wasn’t even correct.
I had to keep reminding myself that their test had nothing to do with mine.
My job was simply to concentrate on:
my question,
my answer,
and my time.
Focusing When the Clock Is Running
Time pressure can make everything feel more difficult.
You know you only have a certain amount of time.
You want to answer properly.
You want to remember the right vocabulary.
You want your grammar to make sense.
You want to understand the question correctly.
But at the same time, the clock keeps moving.
Sometimes, knowing that I only had a little time left actually made it harder to think.
It’s funny because there were things I had studied many times before.
Words I knew.
Grammar I had practised.
Expressions I had memorized.
But suddenly, during the test, I would think:
I studied this already… so why can’t I remember it now?
Have you ever studied something so many times, but when you actually need it, your brain suddenly says:
Sorry, not available right now. 😂
That happened to me too.
I Even Questioned Whether I Was Ready
There were moments when I questioned myself.
Maybe I’m not ready yet.
Maybe this isn’t the right time for me to pass.
Maybe I should have studied longer.
Maybe my Finnish still isn’t good enough.
Those thoughts can easily come when you’re sitting inside an examination room and struggling with a difficult task.
But the exam doesn’t stop while you’re questioning yourself.
You still have to continue.
So even when I wasn’t confident, I tried to answer.
Even when I wasn’t sure about the grammar, I continued writing.
Even when I couldn’t find the perfect word, I used another one.
Even when I didn’t completely understand something in listening, I tried to catch whatever information I could.
And during speaking?
I spoke anyway.
That’s something I’ve mentioned many times throughout this YKI series:
Don’t wait for perfect Finnish.
Listen.
Focus.
And speak anyway.
Then Comes PATIENCE
If focus was the biggest challenge during the test, patience was one of the biggest challenges throughout the whole journey.
You need patience while learning Finnish.
You need patience while preparing for YKI.
And you definitely need patience during the examination itself.
There will be words you forget.
There will be grammar rules that still confuse you.
There will be days when you feel like your Finnish is improving.
And then there will be other days when someone speaks to you quickly and you suddenly wonder whether you’ve learned Finnish at all. 😂
Language learning takes time.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a shortcut where we study Finnish for one week and suddenly wake up speaking fluently.
I wish there were. 😅
For me, preparation happened little by little.
I studied.
I practised.
I forgot things.
Then I studied them again.
Sometimes I understood something immediately.
Sometimes I needed to repeat it many times.
That required a lot of patience.
And Then There Is CONSISTENCY
Patience and consistency go together.
Because preparing for YKI isn’t only about studying hard for one day.
It’s about continuing.
Again.
And again.
And again.
There were days when I could study properly.
There were also days when I was tired after work.
Sometimes family responsibilities came first.
Sometimes I had only a small amount of time available.
Like many people preparing for YKI, I wasn’t studying Finnish in a completely quiet life where my only responsibility was learning the language.
I was working.
I had a family.
I had a child to take care of.
I had other studies and responsibilities.
And somewhere between all of those things, I still needed to practise Finnish.
I know many YKI test takers are doing the same.
We work while learning the language.
We take care of our families while trying to remember Finnish grammar.
We cook dinner, work shifts, bring children to daycare, do household chores…
and somehow try to fit Finnish vocabulary into the middle of everything. 😅
That’s why consistency doesn’t always mean studying for several hours every single day.
Sometimes it simply means:
doing something.
Listening to Finnish.
Reading something.
Practising vocabulary.
Writing a few sentences.
Speaking with someone.
Answering one exercise.
Even small amounts of practice can become meaningful when you keep doing them.
There Were Times When Giving Up Sounded Easier
Of course, there were difficult days.
Sometimes giving up sounds like the easiest option.
Especially when you’ve been studying for a long time and still feel like you’re making mistakes.
You might think:
Why am I doing this?
Will I ever learn this language?
Will I actually pass YKI?
I had moments like that too.
But then I remembered why I was doing it.
For me, learning Finnish and taking the YKI test were connected to something much bigger.
My studies.
My career.
Our life in Finland.
And our future as a family.
Passing the YKI test was one of the important steps in the direction I wanted my life to go.
So although giving up might sometimes cross our minds…
giving up was never really an option.
I had already come too far.
Difficult Does Not Mean Impossible
Finnish is difficult.
YKI is difficult.
Trying to study while working and raising a family is difficult.
Trying to stay focused during an examination when your brain is already tired is difficult.
But difficult and impossible are two completely different things.
I didn’t go into YKI with perfect Finnish.
Far from it.
I still made grammatical mistakes.
I still forgot words.
I still misunderstood things.
I still had moments when I had no idea what I had just heard during listening. 😂
But I continued.
That is probably one of the biggest things YKI taught me.
You don’t need to feel completely ready before you try.
Sometimes you simply prepare as much as you can…
show up…
focus…
and give it your best.
What Helped Me Keep Going
Looking back, these became some of the most important reminders during my YKI journey:
Focus on the question in front of you.
Don’t keep replaying mistakes you may have made.
Be patient with yourself.
Learning another language takes time.
Be consistent.
Small amounts of regular practice still count.
Don’t compare yourself with the person sitting beside you.
Their journey is different from yours.
Don’t expect perfect Finnish.
Use the Finnish you already know.
And most importantly:
Don’t give up because one part of the journey feels difficult.
Follow My YKI Test Journey
This article is part of my My YKI Test Journey series, where I share my personal experience preparing for and taking the Finnish YKI test.
Main Article – My YKI Test Journey
Part 6A – What Is the YKI Test?
Part 6B – How I Prepared for the YKI Test
Part 6C – YKI Speaking Test
Part 6D – YKI Writing Test
Part 6E – YKI Reading and Listening Test
Part 6F – What I Found Most Difficult About YKI
Part 6G – My YKI Test Results
Part 6H – 5 Things I Would Do Differently
You can also follow the Finnish-learning journey that came before YKI:
→ Learning Finnish: The Beginning of My Language Journey
→ My Finnish Language Journey Series
Final Thoughts
When I first thought about what was most difficult about the YKI test, I could have easily answered:
Listening.
Grammar.
Vocabulary.
Speaking.
And yes, all of those things were challenging.
But looking back, I think the biggest battle often happened inside my own head.
Staying focused when I thought I had made mistakes.
Continuing when I wasn’t confident about my answers.
Being patient with myself when I couldn’t remember something I had studied many times.
And staying consistent even when balancing Finnish studies with work and family life wasn’t easy.
YKI taught me much more than Finnish.
It reminded me that sometimes progress doesn’t feel like progress while you’re going through it.
Sometimes you’re sitting inside an exam thinking you’ve failed…
when in reality, you’re still moving forward.
So if you’re preparing for YKI now, remember:
Focus on what you can do.
Be patient with the process.
Stay consistent.
And when the test becomes difficult?
Keep going.
Because yes…
YKI is difficult.
But it is not impossible. 💚
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”
- Robert Collier
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
- Galatians 6:9 (KJV)
Important: This article shares my personal experience of preparing for and taking the Finnish YKI examination in 2025. Everyone’s language-learning journey and test experience can be different. Test arrangements and official requirements may also change, so always check the latest information from the Finnish National Agency for Education before registering for or taking the YKI test.
Sources
- Finnish National Agency for Education – National Certificates of Language Proficiency (YKI) – Official information about the YKI test, levels, registration and current test arrangements.
- University of Jyväskylä / Centre for Applied Language Studies – YKI Practice Materials – Official practice materials for the different YKI subtests.
