- aika - time, quite
- aina - always
- antaa - to give
- asia - thing, matter
- ehkä - maybe
- ei koskaan - never
- ei kukaan - nobody
- ei mikään - nothing
- eli - so, in other words
- ennen - before
- ensi - next
- ensin - at first
- eri - different
- että - that
- heti - immediately
- huono - bad
- hyvä - good
- itse - self
- ja - and
- jo - already
- joka - which, every
- joku - someone
- jopa - even
- jos - if
- joskus - sometimes
- jossa - in which
- joten - so, therefore
- jotka - which (plural)
- jälkeen - after
- kaikki - all, everybody
- kaupunki - a town, a city
- kanssa - with
- kello - a clock
- kertoa - to tell
- koko - whole, all
- koska - because, when
- koti - home
- kuin - than
- kuinka - how
- kuitenkin - however
- kun - when
- kuva - picture
- kyllä - yes, indeed
- käydä - to go, to visit
- maa - a country, a land
- mennä - to go
- mies - a man, a husband
- mikä - what
- miksi - why
- miten - how
- monta - many
- mukaan - with, according to
- mutta - but
- muu - other, else
- myös - also, too
- nainen - a woman
- niin - so, like that
- noin - like that, approximately
- nyt - now
- nähdä - to see
- näin - like this, I saw
- nämä - these
- oikea - real, right, correct
- olla - to be
- paitsi - except
- paljon - a lot, much
- pitää - to like, to have to, to keep
- pois - away
- puoli - half, side
- päivä - day
- saada - to get, to receive
- sama - same
- sanoa - to say
- se - it
- siellä - over there
- siinä - in there
- silloin - then
- sillä - because
- sitten - then, when, ago, in that case
- taas - again
- tai - or
- takaisin - back
- tehdä - to do, to make
- tila - space
- tuo - that (something you can point at)
- tulla - to come
- tämä - this
- tässä - here
- vaan - but
- vai - or
- vaikka - although, for example
- vain - only
- vielä - yet, still, furthermore
- viime - last
- voida - to be able to
- vuosi - a year
- vähän - a little
- väärä - wrong, false
- yli - over, past
- älä - don't
Welcome to my blog! I'm a private Finnish teacher who simplifies novels into easy Finnish. Feel free to contact me for private lessons. If you are looking for an online community for learning Finnish, do check out my friend Emmi's Finking Cap Club.
Friday, February 28, 2014
100 very common Finnish words
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Finnish sentence types
The ones where the verb conjugates according to the person:
- Minä asun tuossa kerrostalossa. - I live in that apartment building. (The simple sentence. Nothing special here.)
- Me olemme opiskelijoita. - We are students. (A predicative sentence. Might cause confusion because of the occasional plural partitive.)
- Minä juon nyt kahvia. - I'm drinking coffee now. (A sentence with an object.)
- Minä tykkään opiskella suomea. - I like to study Finnish. (Two verbs, the second one in the basic form.)
- Minä menen nyt nukkumaan. - I'm going to sleep now. (Two verbs, the second one in ma-infinitive.) (Oh, you might like my post about the English -ing form.)
The ones where the verb is always in the same (3rd person singular) form. It's the personal pronoun that changes:
- Minulla on kokous neljältä. - I have a meeting at four o'clock. (Having something.)
- Baarissa oli paljon ihmisiä. - There were many people in the bar. (An existential clause, as in There is something somewhere. Again, you might need plural partitive.)
- Minun täytyy maksaa tämä lasku. - I have to pay this bill. (Having to do something.)
- Sinun kannattaa nyt lähteä. - You should leave now. (A sentence with kannattaa.)
- Tämä elokuva itkettää minua. - This movie makes me cry. (Sentences with feeling verbs.)
The sentences that express a change or a result can be in either category:
- Tulin äidiksi 31-vuotiaana. - I became a mother when I was 31 years old.
- Minusta tuli äiti 31-vuotiaana. - I became a mother when I was 31 years old.
These ones have no personal pronoun at all:
- Ota lisää! - Take more! (This verb form is called imperative.)
- Saako täällä syödä omia eväitä? - Is it ok to eat your own food here? (A generic sentence, the subject could be anyone.)
- (On) tosi tylsää, että teidän pitää jo lähteä. - (It's) super lame, that you have to leave already. (Expressing your opinion with an adjective in the beginning of the sentence.)
- Suomessa juodaan paljon kahvia. - They drink a lot of coffee in Finland. (A passive sentence.)
Lue 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.
Suomi (How to talk about Finland in Finnish)
- Suomi on kiva kieli ja ihana maa. - Finnish is a nice language and (Finland is) a lovely country.
- Puhutko sinä suomea? - Do you speak Finnish?
- Tämä on Suomen paras leivontablogi. - This is Finland's best baking blog.
- Kuinka kauan sinä olet asunut Suomessa? - How long have you lived in Finland?
- Mitä sä ajattelet Suomesta? - What do you think about Finland?
- Milloin sinä muutit Suomeen? - When did you move to Finland?
- Sano se suomeksi! - Say it in Finnish!
The nationality and adjective Finnish is suomalainen.
- Olen suomalainen. - I'm Finnish.
- Rakastan suomalaista ruokaa! - I love Finnish food!
If something is in Finnish, it's suomenkielinen.
- Onko tässä suomenkielistä tekstitystä? - Does this have Finnish subtitles?
- Mä haluan suomenkieliset ohjeet! - I want Finnish instructions!
Suomalainen talvimaisema Keski-Suomessa |
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.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
How to use the Finnish place adverbs 'siellä', 'sieltä' and 'sinne'
siellä - there
- Mä asuin ennen Helsingissä. Nyt mä käyn siellä kerran vuodessa. - I used to live in Helsinki. Now I visit there once a year.
- Onko sulla siellä paljon kavereita? - Do you have a lot of friends there?
- Mitä sä yleensä teet siellä? - What do you usually do there?
sieltä - from there
- Mä tuon sulle sieltä jotain kivaa. - I'll bring you something nice from there.
- Mitä sä haluat sieltä? - What do you want from there?
- Mä matkustan sieltä konferenssin jälkeen Australiaan. - After the conference, I'll travel to Australia from there.
sinne - to there
- Mä voin soittaa sinne huomenna. - I can call there tomorrow.
- Miksi sä menet sinne? - Why are you going there?
- Matkustatko sä sinne junalla vai lentokoneella? - Will you travel there by train or by plane?
Lue 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.
How to become something in Finnish
Verb + translative
- Tulin äidiksi 31-vuotiaana. - I became a mom when I was 31.
- Isä on tullut vanhaksi. - Father has become old.
- Oletko sinä tullut hulluksi? - Have you gone mad?
- Opiskelen sairaanhoitajaksi. - I study to become a nurse.
- Haluan isona lääkäriksi! - I want to be a doctor when I'm old!
Pronoun, noun or a proper name in elative + tulla
- Minusta tulee isosisko! - I'll be a big sister!
- Hänestä tulisi hyvä toimitusjohtaja. - She would become a good CEO.
- Teemu Selänteestä on tullut legenda. - Teemu Selänne has become a legend.
- Tästä päivästä tulee mielenkiintoinen. - This day will be interesting.
- Kenestä tulee olympiavoittaja? - Who will become an olympic winner?
- Minusta on tullut vanha ja tylsä. - I have become old and boring.
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, February 13, 2014
Things to read in easy Finnish
- News in easy Finnish
- Subscribe to the paper newspaper
- A Memrise course based on Selkosanomat and Selkouutiset
- A local newspaper in easy Finnish
- Also available on paper in Vantaa
Selkokirjat - Books in easy 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.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
How to use the Finnish verbs 'tuntea', 'tuntua' ja 'tutustua'
Tuntea, tunnen, tunsin, tuntenut
- Mä tunnen sun siskon. - I know your sister.
- Minä en tunne täältä ketään. - I don't know anybody from here.
- Tunnetko sinä, kuinka maa tärisee? - Do you feel how the earth is shaking?
- Minä en tunne mitään oikealla kädellä. - I don't feel anything with my right hand.
If you want to describe how you feel, I'd recommend that you avoid this verb and just use olla and an adjective, or the word olo, feeling. You can also use tuntua, which is next on this list. However, here's how it's done:
- I feel myself tired and betrayed. - Tunnen itseni väsyneeksi ja petetyksi. (tuntea + itse + possessive suffix + adjective in translative case)
- I'm tired. - Olen väsynyt.
- Mulla on petetty olo. - I feel betreyed. (I have a betrayed feeling.)
Tuntua, tunnun, tunnuin, tuntunut
- Miltä tämä tuntuu? - What does this feel like?
- Tuntuuko tämä hyvältä? - Does this feel good? Does this seem good?
- Se tuntui oudolta. - If felt weird.
- Mikään ei tunnu enää miltään! - Nothing feels like anything anymore!
- Miltä susta tuntuu? - How do you feel?
- Musta tuntuu (siltä), että tämä on hyvä ratkaisu. - It seems to me that this is a good solution.
- Musta tuntui tyhmältä. - I felt stupid.
Tutustua, tutustun, tutustuin, tutustunut
- On kiva tutustua uusiin ihmisiin. - It's nice to get to know new people.
- Missä te tutustuitte? - Where did you get to know each other?
- Me tutustuttiin lukiossa. - We got to know each other in high school.
- Mä olen tavannut sen pari kertaa, mutta en vielä tunne sitä kovin hyvin. - I've met him a couple of times, but I don't know him very well yet. (Yes, in formal Finnish, the pronouns would be hänet and häntä.)