Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Syke

I have a feeling that Syke is going to be an excellent hospital drama series! Syke means a pulse or a heartbeat. The show starts on October 29 at 21.00 and is viewable in Yle Areena after that. The storyline focuses on four nurses who work in a trauma center of a large hospital.  You can read more about the show and the characters in Finnish on this Yle website. Remember to click on the Finnish subtitles when watching the show!

Elämä. Kuolema. Draama. - Life. Death. Drama.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Venäjä

Book2 and its 50 Languages Android application are my favourite ways to study a new language or brush up a language that I should know better, in this case Russian. I used to study Russian in highshool 20 years (!!!) ago, and I've tried to continue studying it on my own ever since. Russian is a super useful language for a Finnish teacher, so I've decided to start taking it seriously. I listen to the Book 2 audio material, watch the Yle Novosti news, and study my text book daily. I also enjoy these Youtube videos. (The author of the Russian lessons has also great Finnish lessons on Youtube!) My next step is to ask a Russian speaking friend for a walk in the woods in Finnish and in Russian. And to continue studying every day, not just today.:)

  • Puhutaan venäjää! - Let's speak Russian!
  • Kuinka tämä sanotaan venäjäksi? - How do you say this in Russian?
  • Oletko ollut Venäjällä? - Have you been to Russia?
  • Ooksä venäläinen? - Are you Russian?
  • Mä oon kotoisin Venäjältä. - I'm from Russia. 
  • Mitä mun pitäsi ottaa mukaan Venäjälle? - What should I bring with me to Russia?
  • Ville Haapasalo on kuuluisampi Venäjällä kuin Suomessa. - Ville Haapasalo is more famous in Russia than in Finland.
  • Lappeenrannassa on paljon venäläisiä. - There are a lot of Russians in Lappeenranta. 
  • Miksei Suomen televisiossa näytetä venäläisiä elokuvia? - Why don't they show Russian movies on Finnish tv?
  • Voi Venäjä! - Oh, Russia! 

Friday, October 17, 2014

Asking ko-questions in spoken Finnish

Asking questions with the question ending ko or can be a bit different in spoken language. Some people don't really say the ko or , but instead, there's a ks between the verb and the personal pronoun.

  • Onko sinulla rahaa? > Onks sul rahaa? - Do you have money?


Examples with syödä, to eat.


First the written language version, then the same question in spoken language:

  • Syönkö minä? > Syönks mä? - Do I eat?
  • Syötkö sinä? > Syöks sä? / Syöt sä? - Do you eat? (Yes, two variations!)
  • Syökö hän? > Syöks se? - Does s/he eat?
  • Syömmekö me? > Syödäänks me? - Do we eat?
  • Syöttekö te? > Syötteks te? - Do you eat?
  • Syövätkö he? > Syöks ne? - Do they eat?

In a negative question, the ks ending is added to ei.


  • Enkö minä syö? > Enks mä syö? - Don't I eat?
  • Etkö sinä syö? > Eksä / Etsä syö? - Don't you eat?
  • Eikö hän syö? > Eiks se syö? - Doesn't s/he eat?
  • Emmekö me syö? > Eiks me syödä? - Don't we eat?
  • Ettekö te syö? > Etteks te syö? - Don't you eat?
  • Eivätkö he syö? > Eiks ne syö? - Don't they eat?

10 random eating-related questions in spoken language:


  1. Onks teillä mitään syötävää? - Do you have anything to eat?
  2. Syöksä lihaa? - Do you eat meat? 
  3. Syötteks te meidän pöydässä? - Will you eat at our table?
  4. Saanks mä syödä loput? - May I eat the rest?
  5. Söitteks te jo? - Did you eat already?
  6. Etteks te syö mitään? - Won't you eat anything?
  7. Eksä syöny mitää? - Didn't you eat anything?
  8. Eiks sulla oo nälkä? - Aren't you hungry?
  9. Oliks hyvää? - Was (it) good?
  10. Otaksä lisää? - Will you take some more?

Notice that not everybody uses all of these forms, and especially the forms of the personal pronouns depend on the dialect. If you have Finnish friends, ask how they would say these sentences.:)

If you liked this, you might also like my post about spoken language tips.






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, October 11, 2014

Viski

There was a small episode about the word whiskey that inspired me to write this post. If you are in Finland in October 24 and like beer and whiskey, go here.

  • Tykkäätkö sä viskistä? - Do you like whiskey?
  • Juotko sä viskiä? - Do you drink whiskey?
  • Kuka haluaa viskiä? - Who wants whiskey? 
  • Oletko sä taas juonut viskiä? - Have you been drinking whiskey again?
  • Sä haiset viskiltä.  - You smell like whiskey.
  • Ostetaan viskiä! - Let's buy some whiskey!
  • Otetaan viskiä!  - Let's take some whiskey!
  • Kenellä on viskiä? - Who has whiskey?
  • Jee, viskiä! - Yay,  whiskey!

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

How to use the Finnish words 'toinen', 'seuraava' and 'ensi'

I've noticed that many people are kind of confused with these three words. I hope that this post is helpful, not confusing.



Toinen is second, else, other or another.


  • Kuka tuli toiseksi? - Who came second? 
  • Onko sinulla joku toinen? - Do you have someone else?
  • Joku toinen kerta sitten. - Some other time then.
  • Lue joku toinen kirja. - Read some other book.
  • Meitä oli neljätoista. - There were fourteen of us. (Yes, you can think of neljätoista being four of the second set of tens.)

Seuraava is next or following. (From the verb seurata, to follow.)


  • Kuka oli jonossa seuraavana? - Who was the next in line?
  • muutin seuraavana vuonna Ruotsiin. - I moved to Sweden the following year.
  • Seuraavana päivänä hän haki avioeroa. - The following day she filed for divorce.

Ensi is next. It's usually used when referring to time.


  • Nähdään ensi viikolla! - See you next week!
  • Mitä sä teet ensi viikonloppuna? - What are you doing next weekend?
  • Oletko vielä ensi vuonna Suomessa? - Are you still going to be in Finland the next year?


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 your want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Monday, October 6, 2014

Liking in Finnish

To like in Finnish is either tykätä or pitää. I usually use tykätä. It's more common in spoken language, and pitää is used for so many other things as well. Whatever you like in Finnish, you have to put it in the elative case, which means the from ending sta or stä. (I haven't really written anything about the verb rections yet, but there is this wonderful website that you can check out.)

  • Mä tykkään kahvista. - I like coffee.
  • Mä en tykkää tästä. - I don't like this. 
  • Tykkäätkösuomalaisesta musiikista? - Do you like Finnish music?
  • tykkäsin tästä ennen, mutta en tykkää enää. - I used to like this, but I don't like (it) anymore. 

The four important forms are tykätä, tykkään, tykkäsin, and tykännyt. Notice that in spoken language, the question Tykkäätkö sä becomes even shorter, and that there are actually two widely used variations of it:

  • Tykkäätkö sä? > Tykkääksä? (I use this one.)
  • Tykkäätkö sä? > Tykkäätsä? (I have a feeling that this one is more common in Southern Finland.)

Anyway, when you like to do something, use either the basic for of the verb:

  • Mä tykkään opiskella suomea.  - I like to study Finnish.
  • Tykkäätkö sä asua Suomessa? - Do you like to live in Finland?

..or make the verb into a noun:

  • Tykkäätkö sä leipomisesta? - Do you like baking?
  • Mä tykkään kielten opiskelemisesta. - I like studying languages. 

A lot of times we like things that are in plural, and the plural in Finnish can be quite tricky if the noun stems change a lot before the plural i. Here are 20 random sentences that you might find useful:

  1. Mä tykkään viikonlopuista. - I like weekends. 
  2. Tykkäätkö sä pinaattilätyistä? - Do you like spinach pancakes?
  3. Mä en tykkää yökerhoista. - I don't like night clubs. 
  4. Mä en tykkää Facebook-haasteista. - I don't like Facebook challenges. 
  5. Mä tykkään kirpeistä omenoista. - I like tart apples. 
  6. Mä en tykkää tomaateista. - I don't like tomatoes. 
  7. Mä en tykkää kissoista. - I don't like cats. 
  8. Mä tykkään lapsista. - I like children. 
  9. Mä tykkään eläimistä, erityisesti oravista. - I like animals, especially squarrels. 
  10. Mä tykkään mustavalkoisista elokuvista. - I like black and white movies.
  11. Mä tykkään vanhemmista miehistä. - I like older men. 
  12. Mä en tykkää kirjatenteistä. - I don't like book exams. 
  13. Mä tykkään sun vanhemmista. - I like your parents. 
  14. Mä en tykkää kovista karkeista. - I don't like hard candy. 
  15. Mä en tykkää sukkahousuista. - I don't like stockings. 
  16. Mä en tykkää pitkistä kynsistä. - I don't like long nails.
  17. Mä en tykkää henkilökuntakokouksista. - I don't like staff meetings. 
  18. Kuka oikeasti tykkää sienistä? - For real, who likes mushrooms?
  19. Mä en tykkää valittajista. - I don't like people who complain.
  20. Mä tykkään mun kavereista. - I like my friends. 


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 your want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Thursday, October 2, 2014

New material in Memrise and Quizlet

I've created some courses and sets in Memrise and Quizlet and I thought I'd share them here, too. I'm still learning, so basically these are just word lists or lists of sentences. Feel free to share your ideas about the best use of Quizlet and Memrise!