Saturday, March 29, 2014

100 Finnish words in plural partitive

Here's a list of 100 (or more) everyday words in plural partitive. You can study the rules, or just memorize the most useful expressions and go by the ear. Don't hesitate to ask people to correct you! Here's a post about t-plural and plural partitive that you might find useful.

Nouns ending with o, u, y and ö:


  • talo > taloja - houses
  • johto > johtoja - (electric) chords
  • sisko > siskoja - sisters
  • muro > muroja - cereal
  • laatikko > laatikkoja / laatikoita - boxes, drawers
  • taulu > tauluja - paintings, pictures
  • cd-levy > cd-levyjä - cd's
  • pöllö > pöllöjä - owls

Nouns ending with a:


A) a becomes o:

  • sana > sanoja - words (Check out this post about the a-words!)
  • kirja > kirjoja - books
  • kissa > kissoja - cats
  • paita > paitoja - shirts
  • vessa > vessoja - toilets/bathrooms
  • mansikka > mansikoita - strawberries
  • mustikka > mustikoita - blueberries
  • peruna > perunoita - potatoes

B) a disappears before the plural i:

  • poika > poikia - boys, sons
  • ohjelma > ohjelmia - programmes
  • koira > koiria - dogs
  • sukka > sukkia - socks
  • kukka > kukkia - flowers
  • orava > oravia - squarrels
  • sarjakuva > sarjakuvia - comics
  • opettaja > opettajia - teachers


Nouns ending with ä:


  • metsä > metsiä - forests
  • pöytä > pöytiä - tables
  • kynä > kyniä - pens, pencils
  • ystävä > ystäviä - friends

Nouns ending with i:


A) i stays the same:

  • järvi > järviä - lakes
  • mäki > mäkiä - hills
  • pilvi > pilviä - clouds
  • tähti > tähtiä - stars
  • lehti > lehtiä - newspapers, magazines, leaves
  • käsi > käsiä - hands
  • lapsi > lapsia - children
  • veli > veljiä - brothers (an exception)

B) i becomes e:

  • lasi > laseja - glasses
  • tuoli > tuoleja - chairs
  • väri > värejä - colours
  • äiti > äitejä - moms
  • hali > haleja - hugs
  • tussi > tusseja - markers
  • kaappi > kaappeja - closets, cupboards
  • banaani > banaaneja - bananas
  • tyyppi > tyyppejä - types, dudes
  • muovipussi > muovipusseja - plastic bags

C) i become ei:

  • kaveri > kavereita - friends
  • paperi > papereita - papers
  • sipuli > sipuleita - onions
  • laturi > latureita - chargers

  • pyyhe > pyyhkeitä - towels
  • esine > esineitä - objects
  • tavoite > tavoitteita - goals
  • kone > koneita  - machines
  • vaate > vaatteita - clothes


Three-letter words:


  • puu > puita - trees
  • työ > töitä - works, jobs
  • maa > maita - coutries

Nouns ending with nen:


  • ihminen > ihmisiä - people
  • nainen > naisia - women

Nouns ending with s:


  • kerros > kerroksia - floors
  • kokous > kokouksia - meetings
  • tarjous > tarjouksia - offers
  • kysymys > kysymyksiä - questions
  • vastaus > vastauksia - answers
  • päätös > päätöksiä - decisions
  • mies > miehiä - men (an exception)


Nouns ending with in:


  • puhelin > puhelimia - phones
  • eläin > eläimiä - animals
  • avain > avaimia - keys

Adjectives


Finally a list of random adjectives in plural partitive. Remember that one of the situations when plural partitive is needed is when describing things that are in plural as in Mun kaverit on tosi kivoja. (My friends are really nice.) or Nämä ovat uusia. (These are new.) 

  • kiva > kivoja - nice
  • hullu > hulluja - crazy
  • helppo > helppoja - easy
  • vanha > vanhoja - old
  • halpa > halpoja - cheap
  • huono > huonoja - bad
  • koulutettu > koulutettuja - educated
  • suosittu > suosittuja - popular
  • kuuma > kuumia - hot
  • kylmä > kylmiä - cold
  • hyvä > hyviä - good
  • tylsä > tylsiä - boring
  • mukava > mukavia - nice
  • ihana> ihania - lovely
  • kamala > kamalia - horrible
  • rasittava > rasittavia - annoying
  • uusi > uusia - new
  • mahtava > mahtavia - great
  • työtön > työttömiä - unemployed
  • sokeriton > sokerittomia - sugar-free
  • onnellinen > onnellisia - happy
  • iloinen > iloisia - happy
  • rauhallinen > rauhallisia - peaceful, calm
  • hiljainen > hiljaisia - quiet
  • ystävällinen > ystävällisiä - friendly
  • suomalainen > suomalaisia - Finnish
  • vaikea > vaikeita - difficult
  • tärkeä > tärkeitä - important
  • kallis > kalliita - expensive
  • kohtelias > kohteliaita - polite
  • kaunis > kauniita - beautiful
  • komea > komeita - handsome
  • älykäs > älykkäitä - intelligent
  • väsynyt - väsyneitä - tired

So.. how to get these forms to stick in your memory? I'm not sure, but you might as well be doing something fun and butt-toning while reading them aloud. - Try to squat while studying Finnish!


Lue ja katso lisää:




About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Thursday, March 27, 2014

How to use the Finnish words 'edes', 'jopa', 'ainakin' and 'ainakaan'

My 4,5-year-old son says edes a lot, and usually in a place where it doesn't belong to. That's no wonder, because edes can be quite tricky.

  • Minulla ei ole edes kahta euroa.  - I don't have even two euros. 
  • Minulla on jopa kaksi euroa! - I have as much as two euros!
  • Minulla on ainakin kaksi euroa.  - I have at least two euros.
  • Minulla ei ainakaan ole kahta euroa. - I definitely don't have two euros.


In a negative sentence, edes is combined with ei and it means not even.


  • Mä en edes tunne sitä. - I don't even know him.
  • Sillä ei ole edes ajokorttia. - He doesn't even have a driver's licence. 
  • Se ei edes tiedä, kuka mä oon. - He doesn't even know who I am. 
  • Älä edes kuvittele! - Don't even imagine!


Even is jopa.


  • Tämä oli uusi asia jopa minulle. - This was a new thing even for me.
  • Jopa puolet suomalaisista ajattelee näin. - As many as half of the Finns think like this.

In an imperative sentence, edes is at least.


  • Maista edes vähän. - Taste at least a little bit. 
  • Tule edes puoleksi tunniksi. - Come at least for half an hour.

Usually, at least is ainakin or ainakaan.


  • Maista ainakin vähän. - Taste at least a little bit, 
  • Ostetaan ainakin maitoa ja leipää. - Let's buy at least milk and bread. 
  • Olen lähettänyt ainakin kaksikymmentä työhakemusta! - I've sent at least twenty job applications.

In a negative sentence, use ainakaan. The meaning might change a bit depending on the word order.

  • Ainakaan minä en tule mukaan. - At least I'm not coming along. 
  • Minä en ainakaan tule mukaan! - I'm definitely not coming along!
  • Mä en ole nähnyt sitä ainakaan viikkoon. - I haven't seen him at least for a week. 





About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.  

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

How to use the Finnish words 'kaukana', 'kaukaa', 'kauas' and 'kauan'

These words form quite a strange group. Whatever the basic form is, perhaps kauka, it is not used anymore.

Missä? Where?


  • Onko se kaukana? - Is it far away? 
  • Tukholma on kauempana kuin Pietari. - Stockholm is farther away than Saint Petersburg.
  • Kuka asuu kaikkein kauimpana? - Who lives the farthest away?

Mistä? From where?


  • Oletko varma, että näet noin kaukaa? - Are you sure that you can see from that far away?
  • Katso kauempaa. - Look from farther away.
  • Kuka on tullut kauimpaa? - Who has arrived from the farthest away?

Minne? To where?


  • Juokse niin kauas kuin voit! - Run as far as you can! (This historical case is actually called lative. Live and learn!)
  • Menkää kauemmas. - Go further away. 
  • Kuka heitti kännykän kauimmas? - Who threw the mobile phone to the farthest away?


Kuinka kauan? For how long?


Finally, these ones are strangely about time, not distance. I've noticed that  many foreigners say pitkä aika when the correct expression would be kauan. 



Here's how you can use pitkä aika:

  • En ole nähnyt häntä pitkään aikaan. - I haven't seen him for a long time. (negative sentence)
  • Oli kiva jutella pitkästä aikaa. - It was nice to talk, it had been a long time. (positive sentence)

About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.   

Monday, March 24, 2014

What to watch right now

Right now, there are several Finnish television series that I'd like to follow.

  • Toisen kanssa (With another) - A drama comedy about a couple who is supposedly not able to have children, but somehow the lady (played by the always wonderful Krista Kosonen) ends up pregnant with another man. 
  • Nymfit (The nymphs) - This is apparently a big international hit series about three ladies in Helsinki who are actually nymphs and need to kill men in order to stay alive. 
  • Mustat lesket - (Black widows) Three Finnish ladies murder their husbands and try to get away with it.

If possible, put on Finnish subtitles on the shows that you watching.

p.s. For a great music show, check out Tähdet, tähdet!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

How to use the Finnish words 'pian', 'kohta' and 'paikka'


Pian and kohta both mean soon.


  •  Mä tulen pian. - I'll come soon. 
  •  Mä lähden kohta. - I'll leave soon. 

Kohta can also be a noun:



Sometimes kohta is almost the same as paikka, but paikka has also other meanings.


  • Mikä paikka tämä oikein on? - What place is this, really?
  • Anteeksi, mutta tämä on mun paikka. - Excuse me, but this is my seat.
  • Onko teillä lasten leikkipaikkaa? - Do you have a children's play area?
  • Ei haittaa. Laitetaan siihen paikka! - It doesn't matter. Let's put a patch on it!

Oh, if you are talking to Finnish dogs and you want them to stay, the command is Paikka!





About the author of Random Finnish lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Past participle passive in Finnish

Past participle passive, or the TU-participle, is often used as an adjective. Something has been done, but it is not known or important who did it.

  • Ottaisin grillattua kanaa. - I'd take some grilled chicken.
  • Haluatteko keitettyjä kananmunia? -  Do you want to have boiled eggs?
  • Onko tuo tänään paistettua leipää? - Is that bread that was baked today?
  • Ihanaa - vastapuristettua mehua! - How lovely - freshly squeezed juice!

The form can be found in complex headlines such as Turussa heinäkuussa 8-vuotiaalta lapselta kesken ulkoilutuksen varastettu kissa on löytynyt. - A cat stolen from an 8-year-old child in the middle of a walk in Turku in July has been found. (I'm so happy for the cat and for the child!)


  • Tätä ei keitetty. - This wasn't boiled. 
  • Tämä on keitetty. - This has been boiled.
  • Tätä ei ole keitetty. - This has not been boiled. 
  • Tämä oli keitetty. - This had been boiled.
  • Tätä ei ollut keitetty. - This had not been boiled. 

Here's how to form the TU-participle in verb types 1 and 4:


  • kysyä > kysytty - asked (Did you know that FAQ in Finnish is UKK as in usein kysytyt kysymykset?)
  • paistaa > paistettu - baked, fried (a becomes e if the verb ends with a long a)
  • kääntää > käännetty - translated, turned (Same happens with ä. Remember the consonant change in verb type 1.)
  • grillata > grillattu - grilled
  • kuivata > kuivattu - dried


Verb types 2 and 3:


  • viipaloida > viipaloitu - sliced
  • marinoida > marinoitu - marinated
  • voidella > voideltu - buttered
  • koristella > koristeltu - decorated

Common signs and exclamations


This form is also quite common in different signs and enthusiastic exclamations. Whether it is an adjective or a part of the passive construction is not important as long as you can understand it.

  • Tupakointi kielletty - Smoking prohibited
  • Suljettu - Closed
  • Konsertti peruttu - The concert (is) cancelled
  • Hyvin tehty! - Well done!
  • Hienosti laulettu! - Well sung!
  • Hienosti puettu / syöty / pissattu / kakattu! - Well dressed / eaten / peed / pooped! (Sorry, I just had to add these since I actually say them a lot in my everyday life.:))

A temporal structure replacing a sentence with kun.


And here comes the crazy part: past participle passive is also used in a temporal structure that can replace a sentence with kunYou won't hear this structure in spoken language, but it is used in official language and literature.

  • Herättyään hän kävi suihkussa. = Kun hän oli herännyt, hän kävi suihkussa. - After he had woken up, he took a shower.
  • Monet säilyttävät oman sukunimensä mentyään naimisiin. = Monet säilyttävät oman sukunimensä, kun ovat menneet naimisiin.  - Many people keep their own last name after marrying.

So, you will need the past participle passive in partitive, and a possessive suffix, when the subject is the same in both sentences.  If there are two subjects, the one before the past participle passive has to be in genitive.

  • Soitin äidille elokuvan loputtua. = Soitin äidille, kun elokuva oli loppunut. - I called mom when the movie had ended.
  • Vieraiden lähdettyä kävin suihkussa. = Kävin suihkussa, kun vieraat olivat lähteneet. - I took a shower when the guests had left. 

You cannot use this structure for the minulla on sentence type or the elative + tulla sentence, but really, who would want to? I'd like to say that Finnish won't get any worse than this, but I'm not quite sure yet.


Check out the post participles in a nutshell to refresh your memory about the other participles.





About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.  

Friday, March 21, 2014

Present participle active in Finnish

Some of you might have noticed that I haven't posted anything about the participles, except for this post about the agent participle. Well, here we go. I'm trying to be as clear as possible and have example sentences that I'd actually use in my real life. This one is also known as the active VA-participle. (Update: You might want to take a look at Participles in a nutshell.)

1. The active present participle ends with -va, and it is used as an adjective. 


It is surprisingly easy to form: just drop the from the third person plural:

  • he asuvat > asuva 
  • puussa asuva mies - a man living in a tree (in the tree living man)

Of course, there has to be an exception, olla:

  • he ovat > oleva
  • raskaana oleva nainen - a pregnant woman (a woman being in heavy condition) 
  • alla oleva viesti - a message below (below being message)


You can always make a subclause with joka:

  • kiljuva lapsi > lapsi, joka kiljuu (a screaming child > a child who screams)

Behaving like an adjective, the participle can have all the possible case endings in singular and in plural.


  • Ravintolavaunu oli täynnä kiljuvia lapsia. - The restaurant car was full of screaming children.
  • Eikö noilla kiljuvilla kakaroilla ole vanhempia? - Don't those screaming brats have parents?
  • Onko tuo se viulua soittava tyttö? - Is that the girl who plays violin? (violing playing girl)
  • Tunnetko sä ketään venäjää puhuvaa henkilöä? - Do you know anyone who speaks Russian? (a Russian speaking person)
  • Tuo on se mun naapurissa asuva mies. - That's the man who lives next door to me. (in my neighbour living man)
  • Tuo sun rinnassa oleva patti pitää tutkia. - That lump in your breast has to be inspected. (in your breast being lump)
  • Alla olevassa viestissä on lisätietoja. - There is more information in the message below. (below being message)
  • Mun tulevalla aviomiehellä pitää olla hieno auto. - My future husband has to have a fancy car. (coming husband)
  • Käydään siinä Prisman vieressä olevassa Alkossa. - Let's go the Alko that is next to Prisma. (next to Prisma being Alko)

2. The active present participle can also be used in a structure that replaces the subclause with että, that.


Notice that both the pronoun (or a proper name) and the participle are in genitive.  These sentences are something that you would not hear in an everyday spoken language speech, yet they are common in literature. 

  • Luulen hänen asuvan Helsingissä. 
  • = Luulen, että hän asuu Helsingissä. - I think that he lives in Helsinki. 
  • Matti kertoi Liisan tulevan illalla.
  • = Matti kertoi, että Liisa tulee illalla. - Matti told that Liisa will come in the evening. 

If the subject is the same in both sentences, you'll need a possessive suffix after the participle.

  • Tiedän olevani oikeassa. = Tiedän, että olen oikeassa. - I know that I'm right.
  • Matti kertoi muuttavansa Tampereelle. = Matti kertoi, että hän muuttaa Tampereelle. - Matti told that he will move to Tampere.


3. If you have the VA participle in plural essive and add a possessive suffix, it means that you are pretending to do something:


  • Olin nukkuvinani, koska en jaksanut jutella. - I pretended to sleep because I was too tired to talk. 
  • Joku tulee. Ole siivoavinasi. - Someone's coming. Pretend that you are cleaning.
  • He olivat syövinään kakkua, vaikka todellisuudessa piilottivat sen käsilaukkuun. - They pretended  they were eating the cake, although in reality, they hid it in the purse. 




Notice that kiva, mukavakova and lihava are just a bunch of adjectives that end with va but have nothing to do with participles. Painava, heavy, on the other hand has become such a normal adjective that you don't even think that if comes from the verb painaa. Fascinating, isn't it?


About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

How to use the Finnish pronoun 'tuo'

Finally, a post about tuo! I have already published posts about tämä and se, but this one has taken a while. Notice that in spoken language, tuo is often toi, and the other forms have just o instead of uo. The spoken language forms are in parenthesis.

  • tuo (toi): Mikä tuo on? - What's that?
  • tuon (ton): Minä otan tuon. - I'll take that.
  • tuota (tota): Minulla ei ole tuota. - I don't have that.
  • tuossa (tossa): Mitä tuossa laukussa on? - What's in that bag?
  • tuosta (tosta): Minä en tykkää tuosta näyttelijästä. - I don't like that actor.
  • tuohon (tohon): Laita se tuohon laatikkoon. - Put it into that drawer.
  • tuolla (tolla): Mitä sinä tuolla teet? - What do you do with that?
  • tuolta (tolta): Minä sain tämän tuolta naiselta. - I got this from that woman.
  • tuolle (tolle):  Laita se tuolle tuolille. - Put it on that chair. 

The place adverbs:


tuossa, tuosta, tuohon (tossa, tosta, tohon) 

A small area that you can see and  point at.


  • Tuossa on kirjoitusvirhe. - There's a spelling mistake. 
  • Ota tuosta lisää paperia. - Take more paper from there. 
  • Allekirjoita tuohon.  Sign (to) there.

tuolla, tuolta, tuonne (tuolla, tuolta, tonne) 

A larger area that you can see and point at.


  • Mitä tuolla tapahtuu? - What's happening over there?
  • Mä ostin tuolta eilen uuden takin. - I bought a new jacket from there yesterday.
  • Laita se tuonne. - Put it over there.




Notice that the verb tuoda has nothing to do with tuo. And yes, the conversation filler tota is a partitive form of tuo.

  • Tuo tuo tuoli tänne! - Bring that chair here!
  • Tota niinku siis, tai ei sittenkään mitään. - Well, like, you know, or nothing after all. 


About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Monday, March 17, 2014

How to use the Finnish word 'kerta'

Kerta means a time. It's one of those nouns with a consonant change. Check if you caan understand these sentences: 

  1. Olen ollut siellä (yhden) kerran. 
  2. Olen ollut siellä kaksi kertaa. 
  3. Ole ensi kerralla varovaisempi. 
  4. Otin seuraavalla kerralla taskulampun mukaan. 
  5. Kuinka mones kerta tämä oli? 
  6. Kolmas kerta toden sanoo! 
  7. Mennään nyt kun meillä on kerrankin aikaa! 
  8. Jos tämä on sinulle kerran niin tärkeää, miksi et tee sitä itse? 


Translations:


  1. Olen ollut siellä (yhden) kerran. - I've been there once. 
  2. Olen ollut siellä kaksi kertaa. - I've been there twice. 
  3. Ole ensi kerralla varovaisempi. - Be more careful next time.
  4. Otin seuraavalla kerralla taskulampun mukaan. - The following time, I took a flashlight with me.
  5. Kuinka mones kerta tämä oli? - How many times has this happened before? ("How manyth time")
  6. Kolmas kerta toden sanoo! - Third time lucky! (Third time says the truth.)
  7. Mennään nyt kun meillä on kerrankin aikaa! - Let's go now since we have time. (We don't have time very often.)
  8. Jos tämä on sinulle kerran niin tärkeää, miksi et tee sitä itse? - If this is that imporant for you, why won't you do it yourself? (kerta in spoken language.)


Kerta in compound words and adjectives:


  • yläkerta - upstairs
  • alakerta - downstairs
  • yksinkertainen - simple
  • kaksinkertainen - double
  • moninkertainen - multiple times

p.s. You might want to check out my posts about aika and aika, melko and melkein. 


About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.  

Thursday, March 13, 2014

How to leave and send in Finnish (A post about lähteä ja lähettää)

Lähteä is to leave, lähettää is to send. People seem to mix these verbs a lot, but I hope that this post will help.





Notice that the d is often dropped in the spoken language. In some dialects, it becomes r, and they also say an extra vowel before that.

  • Mä lähin jo. - I left already.
  • Mä lähärin jo. - I left already.

To send: lähettää, lähetän, lähetin, lähettänyt


  • Mä lähetän sulle tekstiviestin, kun mä oon valmis. - I'll send you a text message when I'm ready. 
  • Milloin sä lähetit sen? - When did you send it?
  • Miksi sä et lähettänyt sitä aikaisemmin? - Why didn't you send it earlier?
  • Tämä on lähetetty kaksi viikkoa sitten. - This was sent (has been sent) two weeks ago.

Lue lisää: Causative verbs in Finnish



About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Sauna

Have you ever wondered what the common saunas in Finnish apartment buildings are like? Well, here's an informative video of it! The action starts around 3:35.

Here are some phrases that you might need in a sauna:

  • Onko sauna jo lämmin? - Is the sauna warm already?
  • Täällä on tilaa. - There's space in here. (A larger area, for example the whole top bench.)
  • Tässä on tilaa. - There's space in here. (A smaller area, perhaps enough for just one person right next to you.)
  • Voinko mä heittää lisää löylyä? - Can I throw more water on the rocks?
  • Voisitko tuoda lisää vettä? - Could you bring more water?
  • Onpa kuuma! - Man, it's hot!
  • Nyt riittää! - Now it's enough!
  • Minä käyn suihkussa. - I'll take a shower. 
  • Minä käyn avannossa. - I'll take a dip in the hole in the ice. 
  • Minä menen uimaan. - I'll go to swim. 
  • Voisitko pestä mun selän? - Could you wash my back?

Nowadays the new apartment buildings seem to have individual saunas instead of a common one in the basement or in the attic. That's kind of shame in my opinion, because having a sauna together is a fun way of getting to know your (same sex) neighbours, and not everyone takes a sauna every day anyway, so it's not very friendly to nature to have so many tiny saunas. Usually the saunas in the apartments are for 2-4 persons. The space is also handy for drying the laundry or letting pulla dough rise.

If you are ever in Helsinki, you might want to visit Kotiharjun sauna. In Tampere, Rajaportin sauna is the oldest public sauna in Finland.

There are a couple of sayings about sauna:


A lot of house parties and parties with sports teams, choirs etc. include a sauna activity at some point of the evening. In those cases, there  is often someone who suggests sekasauna, a mixed sauna. Just letting you know. Another thing that might surprise you is the fact that in swimming halls, it's totally ok for small children to go to the opposite sex shower room and saunas with their parents. I think the natural age limit for that is 6 or 7, when the kids go to school.

Finally, here's a tragic video about the Sauna World Championships, with subtitles.


Monday, March 10, 2014

Finnish notes, part 1

If you live in an apartment building in Finland, you might run into notes like this:


"Vintin varastot nro 12 ja 13 kehotetaan tyhjentämään ja siivoamaan 7.3. mennessä, sen jälkeen tyhjennys tapahtuu omistajan toimesta."

"The attic storages number 12 and 13 are asked to be emptied and cleaned by March 7. After that, the emptying will be done by the owner."


Saturday, March 8, 2014

How to say negative past tense in Finnish?

The negative past tense is quite a nightmare, mostly because it seems to be hard to remember. You wish it were logical, but it isn't.

There is this:
  • Minä olen. = I am. 
  • Minä en ole. = I am not

And then there is this:
  • Minä olin. = I was.
  • Minä en oli. = I was not. The correct one is Minä en ollut.

Negative past tense in standard Finnish:


  • Minä en sanonut mitään - I didn't say anything.
  • Sinä et sanonut mitään. - You didn't say anything. 
  • Hän ei sanonut mitään. - S/he didn't say anything.
  • Me emme sanoneet mitään. - We didn't say anything. 
  • Te ette sanoneet mitään. - You didn't say anything. 
  • He eivät sanoneet mitään. - They didn't say anything. 


Negative past tense in spoken Finnish:


  • Mä en sanonu mitään. - I didn't say anything.
  • Sä et sanonu mitään. - You didn't say anything. 
  • Se ei sanonu mitään. - S/he didn't say anything.
  • Me ei sanottu mitään. - We didn't say anything. (Hello, passive voice!)
  • Te ette sanonu mitään. - You didn't say anything. 
  • Ne ei sanonu mitään. -  They didn't say anything. 


Here's how to form the active past participle,
also know as the NUT / NYT form. It's very useful to know, because you also use the same form in perfect and pluperfect tenses.


Example sentences of what someone didn't do:


  1. nousta > En noussut sängystä. - I didn't get up from the bed. 
  2. haluta > En halunnut herätä. - I didn't want to wake up.
  3. syödä > En syönyt mitään. - I didn't eat anything. 
  4. juoda > En juonut mitään. - I didn't drink anything. 
  5. avata > En avannut ovea. - I didn't open the door. 
  6. pestä > En pessyt hampaita. - I didn't brush my teeth. 
  7. käydä > En käynyt suihkussa. - I didn't take a shower. 
  8. vaihtaa > En vaihtanut vaatteita. - I didn't change my clothes. 
  9. laittaa > En laittanut ruokaa. - I didn't cook. 
  10. katsoa > En katsonut telkkaria. - I didn't watch tv.
  11. lukea > En lukenut sähköpostia. - I didn't read email. 
  12. viedä > En vienyt roskia. - I didn't take the garbage out. 
  13. skypettää > En skypettänyt mun vanhempien kanssa. - I didn't skype with my parents. 
  14. jutella > En jutellut kenekään kanssa. - I didn't talk to anybody. 
  15. nauraa > En nauranut kertaakaan. - I didn't laugh even once. 
  16. itkeä > En itkenyt. - I didn't cry.
  17. puhua > En puhunut puhelimessa. - I didn't speak on the phone.
  18. mennä > En mennyt minnekään. - I didn't go anywhere. 
  19. siivota > En siivonnut keittiötä. - I didn't clean the kitchen. 
  20. vetää > En vetänyt vessaa. - I didn't flush the toilet. 
  21. imuroida > En imuroinut. - I didn't vacuum. 
  22. moikata > En moikannut naapureita.- I didn't say "Hi" to the neighbours. 
  23. hoitaa > En hoitanut yhtään työasiaa. - I didn't take care of a single work-related matter. 
  24. teettää > En teettänyt valokuvia. - I didn't get pictures printed. 
  25. järjestää > En järjestänyt vaatekaappia. - I didn't organize the clothes closet. 
  26. tehdä > En tehnyt kotitehtäviä. - I didn't do my homework.
  27. kirjoittaa > En kirjoittanut artikkelia.- I didn't write a paper.
  28. opiskella > En opiskellut suomea. - I didn't study Finnish. 
  29. jumpata > En jumpannut jumppapallolla. - I didn't exercise with an exercise ball. 
  30. ehtiä > En ehtinyt. - I didn't have time. 
  31. olla > Minulla ei ollut aikaa. - I didn't have time. 


Lue lisää - Read more




About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

How to use the Finnish words 'joku', 'eräs' ja 'yksi'


Joku is someone.  You don't really know joku that well, or it doesn't matter who she or he is.


  • Joku on varastanut mun pyörän! - Someone has stolen my bike!
  • Meneekö joku vielä saunaan? - Is someone still going to the sauna?
  • Ottaako joku vielä maksalaatikkoa? - Is someone still taking liver casserole?
  • Se oli vain joku puhelinmyyjä. - It was just some telemarketer. 
  • Tuolla rannalla makaa joku mies! - There's some guy lying on the beach!

(Notice that joku is also used in spoken language when talking about jokin, something. I have a whole post about those two.)

Eräs is actually not so common in everyday spoken language. It's much more formal and old-fashioned than yksi.


  • Eräänä päivänä Punahilkka lähti käymään isoäidin luona. - Once upon a time Little Red riding Hood went to visit her grandmother. 
  • Minulla on sinulle eräs mielenkiintoinen projekti. - I have an interesting project for you.

Eräs in plural can be used in an ironic tone of voice: 
  • Minä osaan sentään pukeutua, toisin kuin eräät. - At least I now how to dress, unlike a certain someone.

Finally, here are some everyday sentences with yksi. In spoken language, it's often just yks.


  • Se on vaan yks mun vanha tyttöystävä. - She's just an old girlfriend of mine.
  • Se on yks mun kurssikaveri. - S/he's a course friend of mine.
  • Me nähtiin eilen yks tosi hyvä elokuva. - We saw a really good movie yesterday. 
  • Mä olin eilen yhdessä uudessa ravintolassa. - I went to a new restaurant yesterday.




Read more: 



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About the author of this blog:

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. You can contact me through www.privatefinnishlessons.com. You can subscribe to this blog from the right-hand banner. 

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

The passive voice in different tenses

I've noticed that using the passive voice can sometimes be tricky. Many people seem to overuse the verb olla, probably because of the English passive construction, although in Finnish, that's only used when forming the perfect and pluperfect tenses. Minulla on nälkä, so all the examples are with syödä. (The translations are not ideal, but the whole point is to clarify this particular Finnish structure. I also have a post about how to form these passive forms.)

Present tense:


  • syödään = is eaten
  • ei syödä = is not eaten
  • Meidän perheessä päivällinen syödään neljältä. - In our family, the dinner is eaten at four o'clock.
  • Jälkiruokaa ei syödä joka päivä. - The dessert is not eaten every day. (Syödäänpäs! - Yes it is!)

Past tense:


  • syötiin = was eaten
  • ei syöty = was not eaten
  • Mitä koulussa syötiin tänään? - What was eaten in the school today?
  • Me ei syöty mitään. - We didn't eat anything. (Written language: Me emme syöneet mitään.)

Perfect tense:


  • on syöty = has been eaten
  • ei ole syöty = has not been eaten
  • Tämä kakku on syöty melkein kokonaan! -  This cake has been eaten almost completely!
  • Miksi tätä keittoa ei ole syöty? - Why hasn't this soup been eaten?

Pluperfect tense:


  • oli syöty = had been eaten
  • ei ollut syöty = had not been eaten
  • Kun tulin kotiin, kaikki laskiaispullat oli jo syöty. - When I came home, all the Shrove buns had already been eaten.
  • Löysin vain yhden surkean pullan, jota ei ollut syöty. - I found only one lousy bun that had not been eaten.

The confusing part:


 In spoken language, we use a double passive in the perfect and pluperfect tenses: 
  • Mä löysin vain yhen surkeen pullan, jota ei oltu syöty.  

Actually, here are all the forms in spoken language and written language.

Present tense:

  • Me syödään. = Me syömme. = We eat.
  • Me ei syödä. = Me emme syö. = We don't eat.

Past tense:

  • Me syötiin. = Me söimme. = We ate.
  • Me ei syöty. = Me emme syöneet. = We didn't eat.

Perfect tense:

  • Me on syöty. / Me ollaan syöty. = Me olemme syöneet. = We have eaten.
  • Me ei oo syöty. / Me ei olla syöty. = Me emme ole syöneet. = We haven't eaten.

Pluperfect tense:

  • Me oli syöty. / Me oltiin syöty. = Me olimme syöneet. = We had eaten.
  • Me ei oltu syöty. = Me emme olleet syöneet. = We hadn't eaten. 

(I can't help feeling that I should apologize this on behalf of all the Finns. Anteeksi.)


About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Saturday, March 1, 2014

How to use the Finnish word 'sitten'

Sitten can mean so many different things!



Then:


  • Sitten on sun vuoro. - Then it's your turn.
  • Sitten pestään kädet! - Then we'll wash hands.
  • Sitten se soitti mulle ja pyysi anteeksi. - Then he called me and said that he was sorry. 

When: 


  • Mä soitan sulle sitten, kun olen valmis. - I'll call you when I'm ready.
  • Sitten kun minulla on enemmän aikaa, alan harrastaa liikuntaa. - When I'll have more time, I'll start exercising. (This is a classic example of sitkuttelu, as in spoken language this is often shortened to "Sit ku..")
  • Sitku koulu on ohi, mä muutan Nykiin ja alan julkkikseks. - When the school is over, I'll move to New York City and become a celebrity.

Ago:




In that case:


  • No sitten mä en ainakaan tule! - Well in that case I definitely won't come!
  • Sitten minä olen väärässä. - In that case I'm wrong. 


Adding some emphasis:


  • Kenen se sitten on, jos ei sinun? - Whose is it then, if it's not yours?
  • Mitä sitten? - So what?
  • Se oli sitten siinä. - That was it, then. 


About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.