Friday, May 26, 2017

How to use the Finnish words 'niin', 'näin', 'noin' and 'nain'

Just a small about niin, nain, näin and noin:

I have a separate posts about these two:



Näin is like this, so, and I saw:


  • Tee näin. - Do like this.
  • Ai se on näin kallis! - Oh it's so expensive! (Whatever you're talking about is kind of close to you.)
  • Minä näin sinut eilen. - I saw you yesterday.

Noin is like that or so, and it is used what you can point at something:


  • Ei noin! - Not like that!
  • Ai se on noin kallis. - Oh it's so expensive. 

Related posts and links:



About the author of this 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 your want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Monday, May 22, 2017

20 Finnish proverbs

Do you know the meaning of these proverbs?

Scroll down for the clumsy translations.:)

  1. Sitä saa mitä tilaa. 
  2. Ei savua ilman tulta.
  3. Aika parantaa haavat.
  4. Ei haukkuva koira pure.  
  5. Ei kukko käskien laula. 
  6. Jos se ei tapa, se vahvistaa.
  7. Kolmas kerta toden sanoo.
  8. Aikainen lintu nappaa madon.
  9. Suutarin lapsilla ei ole kenkiä.
  10. Ryhmässä tyhmyys tiivistyy. 
  11. Kauneus on katsojan silmässä. 
  12. Kukaan ei ole seppä syntyessään.
  13. Kenen leipää syöt, sen lauluja laulat. 
  14. Ei kannata mennä merta edemmäs kalaan.
  15. Kun kissa on poissa, hiiret tanssivat pöydillä
  16. Kun on lusikalla annettu, ei voi kauhalla vaatia.
  17. Ei se ole hullu, joka pyytäävaan se, joka maksaa. 
  18. Joka viimeksi nauraa, se parhaiten nauraa. 
  19. Parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan.
  20. Loppu hyvinkaikki hyvin. 

Sananlaskujen eläimiä - Animals from the proverbs: 

  • hiiri - a mouse
  • lintu - a bird
  • mato - a worm
  • kissa - a cat
  • koira - a dog
  • kukko - a rooster



  1. Sitä saa mitä tilaa. - You get what (it) you order.
  2. Ei savua ilman tulta. - No smoke without fire. 
  3. Aika parantaa haavat. - Time heals the wounds.
  4. Ei haukkuva koira pure.  - A barking dog doesn't bite.
  5. Ei kukko käskien laula.  - A rooster doesn't sing when told so.
  6. Jos se ei tapa, se vahvistaa. - If it doesn't kill, it makes stronger. 
  7. Kolmas kerta toden sanoo. - The third time says the truth.
  8. Aikainen lintu nappaa madon. - An early bird catches the worm.
  9. Suutarin lapsilla ei ole kenkiä. - Shoemaker's children don't have shoes. 
  10. Ryhmässä tyhmyys tiivistyy.  - Stupidity condenses in a group.
  11. Kauneus on katsojan silmässä.  - Beauty is in the eye of a beholder.
  12. Kukaan ei ole seppä syntyessään. - Nobody is a blacksmith when they're born.
  13. Kenen leipää syöt, sen lauluja laulat.  - You sing the songs of the person whose bread you're eating.
  14. Ei kannata mennä merta edemmäs kalaan. - There's no point in going to catch fish further than the sea.
  15. Kun kissa on poissa, hiiret tanssivat pöydillä.  - When the cat is gone, the mice dance on the tables.
  16. Kun on lusikalla annettu, ei voi kauhalla vaatia.  - If (someone) has been given (intelligence) with a spoon, you cannot expect (him to give back) with a ladle. 
  17. Ei se ole hullu, joka pyytäävaan se, joka maksaa.  - The crazy person is not the one who asks but the one who pays.
  18. Joka viimeksi nauraa, se parhaiten nauraa. - The one who laughs the last laughs the hardest. 
  19. Parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan. - Better late than never.
  20. Loppu hyvinkaikki hyvin. - The end is well, all is well.

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. 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, May 19, 2017

Funny things to read in Finnish

Here's a small post about funny things in Finnish. If these links are still too difficult, you could try out the YouTube channel Learn Finnish with Comedy.


If you like to read funny short stories, you might like these ones:





p.s. Mikä on sinun mielestäsi paras suomalainen komediaelokuva?
What is your favourite Finnish comedy movie?



Monday, May 15, 2017

Signing up for swimming lessons and language classes (for kids)

Over the years, I have learned so many things from my private students. For example, I know a lot more about inbound marketingcat cafés and medicine than I did five years ago. Whenever I have a question about this blog or my website or anything related to internet and applications, I can ask Omid, and he has an answer to everything. One student has also affected the life of my kids, as a couple of years ago I signed them up for swimming lessons after talking so much about swimming during the Finnish tutoring. And that is the main topic of this post.:)

So, if you want to start a new hobby in the fall, now is the time to act. Usually those who have already participated in the groups get to sign up first. If there are any places left, they are given to the new swimmers (or dancers etc, depending on the hobby), and that's why it's very important to sign up as soon as the registration period starts.

Google the name of your city and uimakoulut. Notice that some Finnish towns also offer rantauimakoulut, swimming lessons in a local lake, but the water is very likely very cold until the middle of July, so I wouldn't really recommend those to anyone unless you want to wear märkäpuku (a wet suit). 

Another thing that you might be interested is oman äidinkielen opetus, mother tongue / native language classes for bilingual and multilingual kids.  Again, google the name of your town and oman äidinkielen opetus. Usually the classes are held once a week for 90 minutes, between 14.00 and 18.00.

Related posts:


Sunday, May 14, 2017

How to say 'with' in Finnish

The English with can be either kanssa, mukanaluona, or the ending lla in Finnish:

  1. olin sen kanssa koko päivän. - I spent the whole day with her. (Kanssa is actually very often kans or kaa in colloquial Finnish. If you want to speak super correct Finnish, say Vietin hänen kanssaan koko päivän.)
  2. Onko sinulla passi mukana? - Do you have the passport with you? 
  3. Aina kun mä olen Helsingissä, mä asun Minnan luona. - Whenever I'm in Helsinki, I'm staying with Minna. 
  4. Kirjoita kuulakärkikynällä. - Write with a ballpoint pen.



Related posts:



Now I'm curious to hear how you would say the same sentences in other languages. Please leave a comment in your mother tongue! :)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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. 


Saturday, May 13, 2017

Finnish words beginning with 'jo'

What's the thing with all the words with jo? is a question I hear a lot from my students.

Some of the jo-words are nice and never change:



These are some common nouns, pronouns adjectives and verbs that also start with jo:


  • jojo - a yoyo
  • johtaja - a manager
  • johto - a chord
  • jokainen - everyone
  • joka - which, that, who
  • joki  - a river
  • jokin - something
  • joku - someone (a person)
  • jonkinlainen - some kind
  • joulu - christmas
  • joustava - flexible
  • jossitella - to hypothesize
  • joutua - to be forced somewhere

Indeed, sorry about joku, jokin and joka I'd say that the best way to practice is to read and listen to something that you like and pay attention to the jo-words. Learn expressions that are useful for you and don't worry about the crazy ones like joiksikuiksi. If you like to study with a text book, for example Suomen mestari 2 has exercises on joku and jokin.

Joku, jokin and joka in eleven cases, singular and plural:  


JOKU
(singular)
JOTKUT
(plural)
JOKIN
(singular)
JOTKIN
(plural)
JOKA
(singular)
JOTKA
(plural)
jonka
joidenkuiden
jonkin
joidenkin
jonka
joiden
jota
joitakuita
jotakin
joitakin
jota
joita
jossakussa
joissakuissa
jossakin
joissakin
jossa
joissa
jostakusta
joistakuista
jostakin
joistakin
josta
joista
johonkuhun
joihinkuihin
johonkin
joihinkin
johon
joihin
jollakulla
joillakuilla
jollakin
joillakin
jolla
joilla
joltakulta
joiltakuilta
joltakin
joiltakin
jolta
joilta
jollekulle
joillekuille
jollekin
joillekin
jolle
joille
jonakuna
joinakuina
jonakin
joinakin
jona
joina
joksikuksi
joiksikuiksi
joksikin
joiksikin
joksi
joiksi

There are also some alternative forms, so do check Wikisanakirja, if you want to know more.



Related posts:




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, May 12, 2017

Two good radio shows + Norppalive

Here are two radio shows that I would really like to recommend for you:


Both shows are quite easy to listen because the hosts are really good and friendly, and they have only one guest at a time. Click Näytä lisää - Show more on the bottom of the page to see more episodes and guests such as Antti Tuisku or Maija Vilkkumaa. If normal radio is still too fast for you, you could try out my easy Finnish podcasts. If you are looking for something to read, check out my post What to read in easy Finnish.

p.s. Here's something super Finnish to watch: Norppalive! It's a live video about the exciting life of a Saimaa ringed seal. If you notice that people are posting Norppa kivellä! on social media, they're talking about this seal on this rock.

Hyvää viikonloppua! If you have a radio show that you like a lot, please share it in the comments.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Spring in Finland

I'm sure that most of you have already seen this video, but now there's also one with English subtitles:


(Yay, this was the first time I embedded a video from Facebook to my blog. Se oli helppoa!)

Here's my top 5 things to wear (or at least have ready for use) ALL YEAR ROUND in Finland:

  1. pipo -  a beanie / a winter hat
  2. villasukat - wool socks
  3. pitkät kalsarit - long underwear 
  4. kauluri - a neckwarmer
  5. toppahousut - quilted pants / thick outside pants

Also kind of related: