10 most popular blog posts

It's the last day of the year, so here's some blog statistics:

These are my most viewed posts:

1. YKI test (31000 pageviews!)
2. Material for teaching yourself Finnish
3. 100 very common Finnish words
4. Last minute Yki tips
5. Minulla on
6. Having sex in Finnish
7. A guide for a schoolkid's parents in easy Finnish (If you have kids who go to school in Finland, please check out my guide book if you haven't already done so. Writing this was a good practice for me, and I will actually have two real books in easy Finnish  published next year!)
8. Finnish words that mean something else in other language
9. 36 verbs you should maybe know
10. What to wear in winter in Finland

I get most readers from these countries:

1. Suomi - Finland
2. Yhdysvallat - United States
3. Venäjä - Russia
4. Ranska - France
5. United Kingdom - Yhdistynyt Kuningaskunta / Iso-Britannia ja Pohjois-Irlanti
6. Saksa - Germany
7. Ukraina - Ukraine
8. Puola - Poland
9. Ruotsi - Sweden
10. Kanada - Canada

Kiitos kaikille lukijoille ja hyvää uutta vuotta 2017! 

Very common mistakes in Finnish

Have you ever tried to say Minä työn? You are not alone!

Here's a small post about very common mistakes that almost everybody has made or will make at some point. Feel free to leave a comment, if you have something to add to this list.

1. Ya is not a Finnish word. And is spelled ja. (Ya is Spanish and means jo - already.)

2. Työdä is not a word. (At least not yet!)

3. Kotoisin is not a verb. The expression to be (originally) from somewhere always requires the verb olla in front of it. Like in Minä olen kotoisin Seinäjoelta. - I'm originally from Seinäjoki, I grew up in Seinäjoki.

4. Takaisin is also not a verb. It just means back, and it's used in expressions like Milloin sä tuut takaisin? - When will you come back? and Katso, kuka on tullut takaisin. - Look who's back. 

5. Say kirjoittaa, not kirjoa, unless you are embroidering.

6. Matka is a trip and matkustaa is to travel, so don't say minä matkan. (A post about traveling coming soon!)

7. It's normaalisti, not normaalisesti.

www.privatefinnishlessons.com/books

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About the author of this blog:  

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish. Click here to see all my courses.

Valmis

...and other similar words. Do you know the meaning of these ones?

1. valmis
2. valmiihko
3. valmistaa (valmistan, valmistin, valmistanut)
4. valmistua (valmistun, valmistuin, valmistunut)
5. valmistautua (valmistaudun, valmistauduin, valmistautunut)
6. valmistella (valmistelen, valmistelin, valmistellut)
7. valmistujaiset
8. valmentaa (valmennan, valmensin, valmentanut)
9. valmentaja
10. valmennuskurssi

Here are some random sentences for you to learn:

1. Olen valmis! - I'm ready!
2. Tämä teksti on valmiihko. - This text is almost ready.
3. Mikä firma tämän on valmistanut? - Which company made this?
4. Minä vuonna sinä valmistuit? - Which year did you graduate?
5. Oletko valmistautunut huomiseen? - Have you prepared (yourself) for tomorrow?
6. Minun täytyy valmistella juhlia. - I have to prepare the party.
7. Millainen kakku sun valmistujaisissa oli? - What kind of a cake did you have in your graduation party?
8. Kuka teitä valmentaa? - Who is coaching you?
9. Meillä on uusi valmentaja. - We have a new coach.
10. Oletko osallistunut valmennuskurssille? - Have you attended a preparation course?

When something is broken in Finnish

Here's list of things to say when something doesn't work the way it is supposed to. (The clumsy sentences in the parenthesis are to demonstrate the exact translation of the expression.)

• Se ei mene päälle. - It doesn't turn on.
• Se vuotaa vettä. - It's leaking water.
• Siihen ei tule valoa.  - There's no light. (Into it won't come any light.)
• Siihen ei tule virtaa.  - There's no electricity. (Into it won't come any electricity.)
• Siitä ei kuulu mitään. - It doesn't make any sound. (From it cannot be heard anything.)
• Siitä kuuluu omituista ääntä. - It makes a strange sound. (From it comes a strange sound.)
• Tästä on ehkä irronnut jokin pala. - This is maybe missing a piece. (A piece might have detached from this.)
• Se ei vain toimi. - It just doesn't work.

p.s. Notice that Finnish has its own way of talking about people working.

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About the author of this blog:  

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish. Click here to see all my courses.

Talking about Christmas in Finnish

Here are some useful Christmas sentences:

• Mitä sä teet / te teette jouluna? - What will you do on Christmas?
• Mitä sä haluat joululahjaksi? - What do you want for a Christmas present?
• Aiotko lähettää joulukortteja? - Are you going to send Christmas cards? 
• Kuinka monta yötä me ollaan täällä? - How many nights will we stay in here?
• Kuka on tänä vuonna joulupukkina? - Who's the Santa this year?
• Kuka tekee laatikot? - Who will prepare the casseroles?

The names of the days:

• aatonaatto - The day before Christmas Eve (23.12.)
• jouluaatto - Christmas Eve (24.12.)
• joulupäivä - Christmas Day (25.12.)
• tapaninpäivä - Boxing Day (26.12.)
• välipäivät - the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve 
• uudenvuodenaatto - New Year's Eve (31.12.)
• uudenvuodenpäivä - New Year's Day (1.1.)

Lahjaideoita - Gift ideas:

• Kielen elämä by Lari Kotilainen. A super interesting and fun book about the past, present and future of Finnish language. A perfect gift for a Finnish friend, but also for advanced Finnish learners.
• Selkokirja - A novel in Easy Finnish. 
• Selkosanomat vuodeksi - A newspaper in Easy Finnish, delivered to your home twice a month for a year for only 23 euros!
• Mitä tahansa Moiko-liikkeestä. Anything from Moiko.

Here's a great poster by Kielitohtori. If you are sending Christmas greetings in Finnish, pay attention to the letter cases!

Finnish words that mean something else in other languages

..and by something else, I mean something inappropriate. I hope that I don't offend too many readers with this post!

I'm sure that many of you have giggled at this picture of a megapussi: (nowadays it's just a megabag.)

Are you familiar with these everyday Finnish words and their meanings in other languages?

1. aho
2. Hui!
3. jopa
4. Katso!
5. kirja
6. koskaan
7. kun
8. lohi
9. maukas
10. merta
11. pukki
12. suka

Here are the translations and meanings in different languages:

1. aho - a glade, uncultivated land, also a common Finnish last name (アホ , idiot in Japanese)
2. Hui! - Oops! (хуй, dick in Russian)
3. jopa - even (жопа, ass in Russian)
4. Katso! - Look! (cazzo, a penis in Italian)
5. kirja - a book (کیریا, a motherf*cker in Farsi)
6. koskaan - ever (کس کان, a vagina-butt in Farsi)
7. kun - when (کون, butt in Farsi)
8. lohi - salmon (лохи, stupid guys in Russian)
9. maukas - tasty (sluts in Latvian)
10. merta - a partitive form of meri, a sea (Merda is sh*t in Italian and Portuguese)
11. pukki - a male goat (пуки, farts in Russian)
12. suka - a horse brush (сука, slut in Russian) 

Feel free to share more examples in the comments!

If you are wondering which foreign words and names sound funny to Finns, Mr. Pascal Vittu is definitely the winner.

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About the author of this blog:  

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish or novels in easy Finnish.

"Read a novel in easy Finnish. It might be surprisingly fun and easy!"
www.privatefinnishlessons.com/books

Luottomies - Wingman

Luottomies or Wingman is a new tv show that you can watch even if you're not in Finland! It is funny, the actors are great, the episodes are only ten minutes long, and you can have the subtitles in Finnish and in English. 

• Read more about the show.
• Listen to Antti Luusuaniemi's interview.

Past tense in a nutshell

Here are all my posts that have something to do with the past tense:

• The past tense
• Verbs that have oi in the past tense
• Verbs that are the same in present and past
• Talking about what you used to do 
• The negative past tense
• The difference between imperfekti and perfekti
• Verb conjugation in spoken language
• Mitä sä teit eilen? - A course in Memrise
• Passive voice in different tenses
• NUT participle, the past participle active
• TTU partiviple, the past participle passive
• Referative construction

Minä olen selkomukauttanut nämä kirjat. I have simplified these books.

Passive in a nutshell

Here are all the posts that I have written that have something to do with passive:

• How to use the passive voice
• How to form the passive 
• The passive voice in different tenses

• TU-participle, also known as the passive past participle
• TAVA-participle, also known as the passive present participle

• Present passive in Memrise
• Past passive in Memrise

One of the things that I haven't written about is the word order.  

In an active sentence, I'd say like this:

• Minä maalaan tuon seinän huomenna. - I'll paint that wall tomorrow. 

In a passive sentence, you'd start with the object: 

• Tuo seinä maalataan huomenna. - That wall will be painted tomorrow. 

You can also start a passive sentence with a time expression or a place.

• Huomenna tuo seinä vihdoin maalataan! - Tomorrow, they will finally paint that wall!
• Koulussa maalataan vesiväreillä. - At school, they paint with watercolours.

p.s. I just learned that if you order my blog to your email, you actually see the whole post in your email and not just a link to the post. For all these years, I've had a horrible habit of publishing a post and then correcting the mistakes and doing some editing later before publishing the post on my Facebook page. That means that those who have ordered the blog have always seen the worst version of each post! I'm so sorry. I'll do differently in the future. Actually, those who order my blog won't probably read this because I'm adding this after publishing the post. :) Anteeksi! 

Singing in a choir in Finland

Singing in a choir is one of my favourite hobbies. As you can see from this list, Finland is full of choirs. There is definitely a possible choir for anybody over 5 years old who is interested in laulaminen. Usually new singers are welcome in the the beginning of the fall season, but sometimes you can join a choir in the middle of the year. Right now, most choirs are starting to rehearse their Christmas repertoire, so this might be a perfect time for you to start a new hobby in Finland! Singing is a great way of learning Finnish, and many Finnish choirs sing also in other languages.

This is what you should do if you want to join a choir in Finland:

1. Find a suitable choir close to you.
2. Google the contact information of puheenjohtaja (chairperson of the singer's association) or kuoronjohtaja (choir conductor), which is also sometimes called taiteellinen johtaja (artistic director).
3. Call or email them and write that you'd like to sing in the choir. You can also ask for a recommendation for another choir.
4. Be prepared for an audition and go to the choir practice, if there is space for another basso, tenori, altto or sopraano.

Here's a model email that you can use:

Hei,

olen 25-vuotias saksalainen opiskelija. Opiskelen yliopistossa musiikkitiedettä ja haluaisin laulaa kuorossa. Olen laulanut poika- ja sekakuoroissa  9-vuotiaasta lähtien. Olen basso. Osaan lukea nuotteja ja laulamisen lisäksi soitan selloa ja pianoa. Tulisin mielelläni koelauluun. Olisiko teidän kuorossanne tilaa? Jos ei, osaisitteko suositella jotain toista kuoroa, joka voisi sopia minulle?

Ystävällisin terveisin

N.N.

Finnish grammar classics

Many Finnish language learners seem to struggle with same topics. I'd say that these are the top 15+ challenges for many intermediate learners, or at least I seem to be sharing these ones a lot when teaching via Skype.

1. Tai or vai?
2. Alkaa or aloittaa?
3. T-plural or plural partitive?
4. Past tenses in Finnish
5. Why En meni is not correct?
6. The six local endings
7. "What are all these jo-words?"
8. Object!
9. The difference between Minä tarvitsen and Minun täytyy
10. How to talk about working in Finnish
11. How to talk about moving in Finnish
12. How to talk about trying in Finnish
13. Yet another reason to use partitive
14. How to finish in Finnish
15. How to change in Finnish
16. Five things to avoid to pay attention to when speaking or writing Finnish
17. Things to read in easy Finnish

Here are my favourite lists on this blog:

• 100 very common Finnish words
• Words that are both Finnish and English
• Words with one consonant and a long vowel
• 100 words in plural partitive
• Communication verbs
• 36 useful test instruction verbs

www.privatefinnishlessons.com/books

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About the author of this blog:  

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish.

Accusative verbs

I'm sure that many of you have heard about partitive verbs, which are verbs that always require a partitive form of a noun after them. Here's a list of common accusative verbs or total object verbs. You might want to refresh your memory about the Finnish object afterwards.:)

Kuinka monta osaat jo? - How many do you already know?

1. esitellä
2. herättää
3. kutsua
4. muistaa
5. nähdä
6. parantaa
7. tappaa
8. tavata
9. tuntea
10. unohtaa
11. viedä
12. yllättää

Here are the example sentences and translations: 

1. Voisitko esitellä hänet minulle? - Could you introduce him to me?
2. Herätä minut kuudelta. - Wake me up at six.
3. Hän kutsui meidät juhliinsa. - She invited us to her party. 
4. Minä muistan sinut! - I remember you!
5. Minä näin sinut eilen kaupungilla. - I saw you at the city centre yesterday. 
6. Tuo lääkäri paransi minut. - That doctor cured / healed me.
7. Minä tapan sinut! - I'll kill you!
8. Tapaan hänet huomenna. - I'll meet her tomorrow,  
9. Tunnen heidät hyvin. - I know them well.
10. Oletko unohtanut meidät? - Have you forgotten us?
11. Minä voin viedä sinut kotiin. - I can take you home. 
12. Sinä yllätit minut! - You surprised me!

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About the author of this blog:  

Nice to have you here! My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish. 

Finnish clothing brands

Do you remember by post about Finnish products? Here are three Finnish clothing brands that are definitely worth checking out!

• Moiko (Just ordered a pair!)
• Melli Ecodesign (My kids love their super soft long underwear.)
• R-Collection (Will definitely visit their shop next time I'm in Helsinki.)

Finnish course in Hossa national park in August 20-24, 2017

Would you like to have a clear goal for your Finnish studies? Like being able to participate in a four day Finnish course in Hossa in August 20-24, 2017? My friend Saija and I are organizing  a course that combines nature, well-being and Finnish language. Everything will happen in Finnish, and in addition to hiking and biking in the nature, eating vegetarian food, doing yoga and spotting reindeer, we'll also a daily Finnish language workshop somewhere between or after the activities.

The course is not for beginners, but luckily you still have plenty of time to brush up your Finnish! The idea is that half of the participants are native Finns. They can either participate in the language workshops or take naps while you study.:)

We'll have more details later, but this is just for you to know if you want to plan your schedule well in advance. The course will start in the evening of August 20 and end in August 24. We'll be staying in Jatkonsalmen kämppäkartano, two people in a room. We'll update the price and other details as soon as we have finished planning the programme. Did you notice that Hossa is mentioned in Lonely Planet's article about the best travel destinations in 2017?

This is Saija's homepage. In addition to being a Finnish teacher, she is also a yoga instructor and a wilderness guide student.

Puoli

Here's a post about puoli, which is usually a half or a side. Kiitos ideasta to the person who suggested this topic.

• Kello on puoli yksi. - It's half past twelve.
• Tiina on mun siskopuoli. - Tiina is my stepsister.
• Näyttääkö mun takapuoli isolta näissä housuissa? - Does my butt look big in these pants?
• Kumman puolen sinä haluat? - Which half (of a bun etc.) do you want?
• En kyllä maksaisi tuosta talosta puolta miljoonaa. - I wouldn't pay half a million for that house.
• Kummalla puolella sinä haluat nukkua? - On which side do you want to sleep?
• Nähdään puolelta. - See you at half past (something).
• Kirjoita sun nimi toiselle puolelle. - Write your name (to) on the other side.
• Juoksin kotiin puolessa tunnissa. - I ran home in half and hour.
• Tein sen sinun puolestasi. - I did it on your behalf. 
• Hän lupasi tulla puoleen mennessä. - He promised to come by half past (something).
• Muutan Ranskaan puoleksi vuodeksi. - I'll move to France for half a year.
• Joku on syönyt tästä puolet! - Someone has eaten half of this!

Puolikas is a half of something. Ei puolikasta is a great song that any Finnish woman over 50 will eagerly perform after a glass of wine or two.

lisää - enemmän

Lisää is more, additionally.   Enemmän is also more, but it's the comparative form of paljon, a lot.

Here's how to use them in sentences:

• Saisinko lisää kahvia? - Could I have more coffee, please? (I already had some but I drank it and now I want more.)
• Saisinko enemmän kahvia? - Could I have more coffee, please? (You only gave me some and I'd like to have some more.)
• Ota lisää ruokaa. - Take more food. (Your plate is empty. Take more.)
• Ota enemmän ruokaa. - Take more food. (You took too little. Take more.)

Ero

Here's a post about words that begin with ero. Usually ero means a difference, distinction or a divorce.

• Mitä eroa on sanoilla tai ja vai? - What's the difference between tai and vai?
• Etsi viisi eroa. - Find five differences.
• Haluan eron. - I want a divorce.

Erota is to divorce or to separate. (Here's an informative link about divorcing in Finland, and here's a song that you can sing to your ex in a Finnish karaoke.)

• Miksi te erositte? - Why did you divorce?

Erottaa is for example to fire and to tell apart.

• Kukaan ei voi erottaa meitä! - Nobody can separate/fire us!
• Mä en osaa erottaa niitä toisistaan. - I cannot tell the difference between them.

If you are confused by the similarity of these two verbs, you might enjoy my post about transitive and intransitive verbs.

Communication verbs

Here's a small post about verbs that express some kind of spoken communication between people. First, test how many words you already know:

1. ehdottaa
2. houkutella
3. huutaa
4. jutella
5. kehua
6. kertoa
7. kieltää
8. kiittää
9. korjata
10. kuiskata
11. kysyä
12. liioitella
13. lohduttaa
14. muistuttaa
15. mutista
16. neuvoa
17. myöntää
18. paljastaa
19. puhua
20. pyytää anteeksi
21. sanoa
22. selittää 
23. suositella
24. tiedustella
25. tunnustaa
26. valehdella
27. valittaa
28. varoittaa
29. vastata 
30. väittää
31. vähätellä
32. ärsyttää

Here are the translations:

1. ehdottaa - to suggest
2. houkutella - to persuade, to talk into
3. huutaa - to yell
4. jutella - to talk, to chat
5. kehua - to praise
6. kertoa - to tell
7. kieltää - to deny, to forbid
8. kiittää - to thank
9. korjata - to correct
10. kuiskata - to whisper
11. kysyä - to ask
12. liioitella - to exaggerate
13. lohduttaa - to comfort
14. muistuttaa - to remind
15. mutista - to mumble, to mutter
16. myöntää - to admit
17. neuvoa - to advice
18. paljastaa - to reveal
19. puhua -  to speak
20. pyytää anteeksi - to apologize
21. sanoa - to say
22. selittää - to explain
23. suositella - to recommend
24. tiedustella - to inquire
25. tunnustaa - to confess
26. valehdella - to lie
27. valittaa - to complain
28. varoittaa - to warn
29. vastata - to answer
30. väittää - to insist, to claim
31. vähätellä - to belittle
32. ärsyttää - to annoy

If you like lists, here are some other posts that you might enjoy:

• 36 useful test instruction verbs
• 100 very common Finnish words
• Words that are both Finnish and English
• Words with one consonant and a long vowel
• 100 words in plural partitive

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About the author of this blog:  

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish or novels in easy Finnish.

"Read a novel in easy Finnish. It might be surprisingly fun and easy!"
www.privatefinnishlessons.com/books

Learning Finnish with Nightwish fans

I know that many foreigners start to learn Finnish because of the Finnish metal bands.  Nightwish is definitely the most famous one of them, and Yle just released a documentary made by Nightwish fans. If you haven't seen it yet, now is a good time, and you can also learn Finnish by reading the subtitles. (My favourite character is the man showing the pictures from his trip to Kitee.)

How to say that you don't really like someone

Sometimes you might want to tell (the other people) that you don't really like someone.
This is how the it's said in official Finnish:

• En pidä hänestä. - I don't like him / her. 

This is how it's often said in spoken language: 

• Mä en tykkää siitä. - I don't like him / her. 

Here are some expressions that don't sound so harsh but have the same idea:

• No.. en tunne häntä kovin hyvin. - Well.. I don't know him/her so well.
• Emme ole kovin läheisissä väleissä. - We're not on very close terms.
• Emme tule toimeen kovin hyvin. - We don't get along very well. 
• Meidän kemiamme eivät oikein kohdanneet. - There was no chemisty. (Our chemistry didn't really meet.)
• Meidän sukset menivät vähän ristiin. - I crossed swords with him / her. (Our skis got a bit crossed)

Here are the same expressions in spoken language: 

• Me ei olla kovin läheisissä väleissä. 
• Mä en tunne sitä kovin hyvin. 
• Me ei tulla toimeen kovin hyvin.
• Meidän kemiat ei oikeen kohdannu. 
• Meidän sukset meni vähän ristiin. 

If this was too negative, you might feel happier after these posts:

• Liking in Finnish
• Tykätä - Pitää
• Pitää

How to impress Finnish audience

I don't know how many artists and bands actively study Finnish before their concert tour, but here's a small post for those who want to say something in Finnish and impress their audience.

The concert is probably in the evening, so you can start off by yelling Hyvää iltaa + whatever city you are performing at. That means Good evening. You can check the pronunciation in http://fi.forvo.com/.

• Mitä kuuluu? - How are you?
• Onko teillä kivaa? - Are you having fun?
• Kädet ilmaan! - Put your hands up in the air!
• Te olette mahtava yleisö. - You are an awesome audience. 
• Tämä on uusi laulu. - This is a new song. 
• Kiitos! - Thank you!
• Te olitte mahtava yleisö! - You were an awesome audience!
• Hyvää yötä! - Good night!

Haloo Helsingin Elli. Kuva: Dušan C.

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About the author of this blog:  

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish.

Eating out in Helsinki

I just spent a super fun weekend in Helsinki meeting up with friends and students. Here are some nice places to eat out in Helsinki:

• Rullassa on ihania riisirullia! - Rulla has amazing rice rolls! 
• Sandro on tosi hyvä ravintola. - Sandro is a really good restaurant.
• Kissakahvila Helsinki sopii erityisesti niille, jotka tykkäävät kissoista. - Cat Café Helsinki is particularly great for those who like cats. 

Oh, if you know someone whose child just started going to school in Finland, please tell them about my e-book A guide for a schoolkid's parents in Easy Finnish. Kiitos!

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About the author of this blog:  

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish.

"Reading is fun when it's easy!
www.privatefinnishlessons.com/books

How to impress Finnish tourists with your Finnish

This post is inspired by my own struggles with trying to impress French tourists in Hossa a couple of weeks ago. My French was quite awful, but the lady I was talking with seemed happy anyway. Here are some phrases that you can use when talking to Finnish tourists exploring the world:

• Anteeksi, mutta oletteko suomalaisia? - Excuse me, but are you Finnish?
• Kuulin, kun puhuitte suomea. - I heard you speaking Finnish. 
• Joo, kyllä minä puhun vähän suomea. - Yes, I speak some Finnish. 
• Kuinka kauan olette olleet täällä? - How long have you been here?
• Oletteko omatoimimatkalla vai matkatoimiston kautta? - Are you traveling independently or are you here through a traveling agency?
• Oletteko käyneet rannalla? - Have you gone to the beach?
• Oletteko maistaneet sushia? - Have you tasted sushi?
• Oletteko nähneet apinoita? - Have you seen monkeys?
• Oli kiva jutella! - It was nice to talk to you!
• Hauskaa päivänjatkoa! - Have a nice day!

Mitä muuta haluaisit sanoa? What else would you like to say?

Feel free to translate these sentences into your language in the comments! :)

p.s. Schools will start in Finland next week! Have you read my post about a guide for schoolkid's parents in easy Finnish?

Things to know before starting school in Finland

Is your child starting school in Finland in August? Here are some things that first graders should know before the school starts:

Lapsen pitäisi osata... - A child should know how to...

• ...kuoria peruna. - ...peal a potato.
• ...sitoa kengännauhat. - ...tie shoelaces.
• ...käyttää saksia. - ...use scissors.
• ...kirjoittaa oma nimensä. - ...write his or her own name.
• ...tunnistaa kirjaimet ja numerot.- ...recognise letters and numbers.
• ...käydä itsenäisesti vessassa. - ...go to the toilet independently.

Haluatko tietää lisää tästä aiheesta? - Do you want to know more about this topic? 

You might like my e-book in easy Finnish!

The importance of [r]

Rolling the Finnish [r] is tricky for many language learners, and also for Finnish kids. Many kids end up visiting a speech therapist if they don't learn the [r] by themselves before they are six years old. The [r] is often replaced by [l] which might cause some confusion and giggling.

How many of these words do you know?

1. hiiri / hiili
2. karkki / kalkki
3. karju / kalju
4. marja / malja
5. murkku / mulkku
6. muuri / muuli
7. ori / oli
8. purkka / pulkka
9. rakastua / lakastua
10. rokki / lokki
11. suora / suola

Here are the translations:

1. hiiri / hiili - a mouse / charcoal
2. karkki / kalkki - a candy / calcium, lime
3. karju / kalju - a boar, a hog / bald
4. marja / malja - a berry / a bowl
5. murkku / mulkku - an ant (spoken language for muurahainen) / a dick
6. muuri / muuli - a stonewall / a mule
7. ori / oli - a stallion / (he) was
8. purkka / pulkka - a chewing gum / a sled
9. rakastua / lakastua - to fall in love / to wither, to fade
10. rokki / lokki - rock music / a seagull
11. suora / suola - straight / salt

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

About the author of this blog:  

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish. Here you can take a look at my available group courses and all my simple Finnish novels. 

A guide for a schoolkid's parents in easy Finnish

Minä olen kirjoittanut kirjan! - I have written a book!

Being a big fan of Selkouutiset, Selkosanomat and other things written in easy Finnish, I wanted to try writing selkokieli myself. My e-book is called Opas koululaisen vanhemmille, A guide for a schoolkid's parents, and it's all in relatively easy and simple Finnish.

Löyly

If you like and follow all things Finnish, I'm sure you've heard of Löyly. Here's how to book a two-hour sauna turn for you and your friends. The phone number is +358 9 6128 6550.

• Hei, tässä on ________. - Hi, this is __________.
• Haluaisin varata saunavuoron neljälle naiselle / miehelle. - I'd like to book a place in the sauna for four women / men. 
• Onko teillä tilaa maanantaina kuudesta kahdeksaan? - Do you have any vacancy on Monday from six to eight?
• Hieno juttu! - Great!
• Kiitos ja nähdään maanantaina. - Thank you and see you on Monday. 

The 2-hour sauna turn costs 19 euros. Unlike in a regular Finnish sauna, everybody must wear a swimsuit, because the idea is that men and woman will be saunaing together. (And if men and women were taking saunas separately and everyone was naked, the cooling terrace would be full of naked Finnish men scaring all the tourist away.) Apparently, you can bring dogs to the terrace.

Löyly will give you pyyhe (a towel) and pefletti (the thing that you sit on so that you won't burn your pakarat.) The showers will have shampoo, but no hoitoaine (conditioner).

More about Löyly:

• Jasper Pääkkönen talking about Löyly in a Helsingin Sanomat video
• Löyly's Facebook page
• Löyly in New York Times
• Löyly in Finland Today
• Löyly in Ilta-Sanomat

Please leave a comment, if you've already been to Löyly! You can also recommend other public saunas in Helsinki area. Here's an older post about sauna that you might also enjoy.

Body fluids in Finnish

It's time for a list! This time we're talking about body fluids.Test yourself and see how many words you already know.

1. hiki
2. kyynelneste
3. lapsivesi
4. lima 
5. mahaneste
6. mätä
7. oksennus
8. räkä
9. siemenneste
10. sperma
11. sylki
12. uloste (kakka)
13. vaikku
14. veri
15. virtsa (pissa)

Here are the answers:

1. hiki - sweat
2. kyynelneste - tears
3. lapsivesi - amniotic fluid
4. lima - slime
5. mahaneste - gastric acid
6. mätä - pus
7. oksennus - vomit
8. räkä - snot, nasal mucus
9. siemenneste - semen
10. sperma - sperm
11. sylki - saliva
12. uloste (kakka) - excrement, stool, poop
13. vaikku - earwax
14. veri  blood
15. virtsa (pissa) - urine, pee

Other fun lists:

• Words with one consonant and two vowels
• 100 very common Finnish words
• Words that are both Finnish and English

Place adverbs 'here' and 'there'

These eighteen (!) words are known to be quite tricky, so be patient. All the examples are copied from my previous posts about the pronouns tämä, tuo and se.  

tässä, tästä, tähän
A small area that is close to the speaker:

• Odota tässä vähän aikaa. - Wait here for a while. 
• Ota tästä nenäliina. - Take a tissue from here. 
• Istu tähän odottamaan. - Sit (to) here to wait.

täällä, täältä, tänne
A larger area such as a room, a town or a country:

• Hei, me ollaan täällä! - Hey, we are over here!
• Täältä on Helsinkiin 200 kilometriä. - It's 200 kilometers to Helsinki from here. 
• Tulkaa tänne! - Come (to) over here!

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.

siinä, siitä, siihen
A small area that you cannot see or that is close to the recipient:

• Siinä sinä olet! - There you are!
• Ota siitä kahvia. - Take some coffee from there. 
• Kirjoita siihen sun nimi. - Write your name (to) there. 

siellä, sieltä, sinne
A larger area that you cannot see or that is close to the recipient:

• Mitä te teette siellä? - What are you doing over there?
• Tulkaa pois sieltä! - Get out of there!
• Menettekö te sinne autolla vai junalla? - Are you going (to) there by car or by bus?

Related posts:

• Se
• Tämä
• Tuo
• Siellä, sieltä and sinne
• Talking about nowhere and somewhere 

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