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 exasperate

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

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!

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

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