Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Camping in Finland

It's time to start planning your camping vacation in Finland! Here's a set of random questions that you might want to ask if you call or email to the camping site:

  • Onko teillä vapaita mökkejä juhannuksena? - Do you have free cabins during the Midsummer?
  • Kuinka paljon yksi maksaa? - How much does one night cost?
  • Mitä varusteita mökeissä on? - Which equipment do the cabins have?
  • Mitä kaikkea hintaan sisältyy? - What is included in the price?
  • Sisältyvätkö pyyhkeet ja lakanat hintaan? - Are the towels and sheets included in the price?
  • Onko mökissä suihku? - Is there a shower in the cabin?
  • Onko mökissä oma jääkaappi? - Is there a fridge in the cabin? (oma = own)
  • Onks mökissä oma vessa? - Is there a toilet in the cabin?
  • Saako leirintäalueelle tuoda eläimiä? - Is it allowed to bring animals to the camping site?
  • Voinko mä ottaa mun koiran mukaan? - Can I bring my dog along?

Here's a link to a legendary complaint about mosquitos ruining the vacation. "Mökillä oli enemmän hyttysiä kuin kotona Vantaalla. - There were more mosquitos at the cabin than at home in Vantaa." 

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

How to use the Finnish word 'ympäri'

Here's a post about ympäri. For more examples, take a look at Kielitoimiston sanakirja. If you want to read exciting local news, try googling the name of your town with ympäri. 

Genitive ympäri means around something: (usually a whole round)


  • Juostaan järven ympäri! - Let's run around the lake!
  • Mä haluan matkustaa maailman ympäri. - I want to travel around the world.


Make ympäri into a preposition, and it means all around:


  • Kävelin koko yön ympäri Helsinkiä. - I spent the whole night walking all around Helsinki.
  • Miestä etsittiin ympäri maailmaa. - The man was searched for all around the world.


With time expressions, ympäri can be both ways:


  • Kauppa on auki ympäri vuorokauden. - The shop is open day and night.
  • Minä asun teltassa vuoden ympäri. - I live in a tent all year round. 


Ympäri can take these three local cases:


  • Ympärillä: Mitä toi ihottuma sun suun ympärillä on? - What is that rash around your mouth?
  • Ympäriltä: Ota sun kädet pois mun ympäriltä! - Take your hands off from around me!
  • Ympärille: Laita sun käsi mun kaulan ympärille. - Put your hand around my neck. 



This is a good song by Zen Café where they sing about a man from around whom the chairs are taken - Mies jonka ympäriltä tuolit viedään. (Such a simple expression in Finnish, so hard to translate.)

Ympäri mennään, yhteen tullaan is a Finnish proverb that means Around we go, together we come. Is there a similar one in your language?  



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, March 8, 2015

Spoken Finnish (puhekieli) tips

Here are some tips for spoken language. Notice that not everybody speaks like this, and it is totally ok to use the standard Finnish, if you want. However, these tips might help you to understand what (some) Finns say. The pronouns might be different depending on where you live, and many things depend on the local dialect

Pronouns


  • Say se instead of hän (it, s/he).
  • Say toi instead of tuo (that).
  • Say tää instead tämä (this).
  • Say ne instead of he (those, they) and use the verb's singular form in the third person. Say ne on instead of he ovat  and ne tulee instead of he tulevat(They are. They come.)
  • Use the personal pronouns. You can say things like Asun Helsingissä, but usually we'd say mä / mää / mie / miä / minä asun Helsingissä. (I live in Helsinki.)
  • Say vaan instead of vain (only).


Verb forms


  • Forget the vat ending and just use the singular conjugation ne on instead of he ovat. (they are)
  • Say me ollaan instead of me olemme and me oltiin instead of me olimme.  (we are, we were)
  • Say me ei olla instead of me emme ole and me ei oltu instead of me emme olleet. (we aren't , we weren't)  


Pronunciation


  • Drop the d and say kaheksan, yheksän, nähään, tehään and ootan instead of kahdeksan, yhdeksän, nähdään, tehdään and odotan. (eight, nine, See you, Let's do, I wait)
  • Don't be so careful with the pronunciation of two different vowels in a row. Say maitoo, juustoo, kinkkuu, vihree and  pehmee instead of maitoa, juustoa, kinkkua, vihreä and pehmeä. (some milk, some cheese, some ham, green and soft)
  • Don't be so careful with the endings. Some people say Helsingis instead of Helsingissä. Että is et, mutta is mut, sitten is sit, and so on. (that, but, then)

Other features


  • Possessive suffixes are not really used in spoken language. What is kirjani is standard Finnish is usually mun, miun, or minun kirja in spoken Finnish. Now that I think of it, the only time I do use possessive suffixes is in expresssions like mun tietääkseni, as far as I know. 





Hyödyllisiä linkkejä - Useful links:



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.