potku

Potku is a Finnish noun meaning a kick, the act of striking with the foot. It can refer to a single kick or to kicking in general. The word derives from the verb potkaista, “to kick,” and is used in ordinary speech as well as in sports contexts.

The plural form potkut can denote several kicks, but it is also a common term for dismissal from a job; to get the potkut is to be fired. Both senses are widely used in Finnish.

In sports terminology, potku is used for different kinds of kicks, often in compounds: rangaistuspotku (penalty kick), vapaa potku (free kick), kulmapotku (corner kick). These terms are standard in Finnish football and other kicking-based sports.

Beyond sports, potkut as dismissal is a standard workplace term. It can be used in formal or informal contexts, as in “Hän sai potkut,” meaning “He was fired.” The word thus covers both a physical action and a figurative move related to termination or abrupt change, depending on context.