Selkokirjalukupiiri - An easy Finnish book club

Oletko koskaan lukenut selkokirjaa? Have you ever read a novel or a non-fiction book in easy Finnish? It is a really effective way to study a language, and I dare to say that reading a novel is more fun than reading a text book.

As I've mentioned before, I have simplified two novels: Salla Simukka's Punainen kuin veri and Valkea kuin lumi.  A children's novel by Sinikka and Tiina Nopola, Heinähattu, Vilttitossu ja ärhäkkä koululainen, is being printed as we speak. Two more novels are waiting for the editor's comments, but they are already in my publisher's brochure, on pages 24 and 25. :)  Here are all the posts that I have about easy Finnish.

If you want to read easy Finnish novels with other readers, do join Selkokirjalukupiiri, an easy Finnish book club in Facebook.  In addition to general posts about easy Finnish topics, we have a book of the month that we'll discuss in more detail. You can ask anything, and I'm sure that somebody will answer your question. Tervetuloa lukupiiriin!

Vuoden 2017 selkokirjoja. Easy Finnish novels published in 2017.

Kolme valmista ja yksi melkein valmis selkokirja.
Three ready and one almost ready novel in easy Finnish.

How to push in Finnish

I was completing this Memrise course about my easy Finnish novel, and I realized how many different verbs Finnish has for pushing. Do you know the difference between these ones?

1. painaa
2. ponnistaa
3. puskea
4. työntää
5. töniä
6. tönäistä

Here are some example sentences...

1. Paina tästä. 
2. Älä ponnista vielä! Ponnista nyt!
3. Puske sitä palloa!
4. Työnnä sitä ovea. 
5. Älä töni!
6. Tuo poika tönäisi minua. 

...and the translations are after this ad:

1. Paina tästä. - Push/press here. 
2. Älä ponnista vielä! Ponnista nyt! - Don't push yet! Push now! (At childbirth.) 
3. Puske sitä palloa! - Push that ball (with your forehead)!
4. Työnnä sitä ovea. - Push that door. 
5. Älä töni! - Don't push me! (töniä = to push another person multiple times)
6. Tuo poika tönäisi minua. - That boy pushed me. (tönäistä = to push once. It can be an accident or intentional teasing/bullying.)

Pull and push in Finnish and in Swedish.

Lahjaideoita - Gift ideas

Joulu tulee! Christmas is coming!

Here's a list of great gift ideas for people who are learning Finnish or who just happen to like Finnish things.

Luettavaa - Things to read:

• Surprise your friend with a Selkosanomat subscription. A newspaper in easy Finnish delivered home twice a month for only 21 euros a year. (Click etusivu to read the magazine.)
• Soiva laulukirja for any family with small kids. (Why not for adults, too?) The book plays the melodies and you can sing along. 
• Pikku Prinssi suomeksi ja ranskaksi for anybody who wants to read in Finnish and in French.
• Punainen kuin veri. An easy Finnish mystery novel for anyone who's older than 15. (Yes, this is a novel that I have simplified.:))
• Any other novel in easy Finnish, because reading is a great way to learn a language.
• Kielen elämä. A smart and entertaining book about Finnish language for advanced Finnish readers. 

Puettavaa, syötävää ja kuunneltavaa - Things to wear, eat and listen to:

• Moikkauslapaset for anybody who wants to look cool and make people smile.
• Suomalaisia makuja - Taste of Finland for anybody who is missing Finnish candy and cannot buy them whenever they want to. 
• Finnish pop music, because we all like Robin. :)

Elämys - A life changing experience:

• A women's weekend in Finnish at the Varala Sports Institute in Tampere - Naisten viikonloppu Varalan urheiluopistossa Tampereella 27.-29.4.2018

Selkokirja on aina kiva lahja! :) Tiedäthän, että voit kysyä ja keskustella selkokirjoista Facebookin lukupiirissä?

Being wrong in Finnish

Wrong in Finnish can be either väärä, väärin or väärässä.

• Tämä on väärä koko. - This is a wrong size. 
• Mä olin merkinnyt kalenteriin väärän päivän. - I had marked the wrong day in my calendar / journal. 
• Tämä on väärin! - This is wrong!
• Anteeksi, mä kuulin väärin. - I'm sorry, I misheard you. 
• Hän on väärässä. - He is wrong. 
• Anteeksi, mutta sä taidat olla väärässä junassa. - I'm sorry, but you seem to be in a wrong train. 

Similar posts: 

• When things are not quite right in Finnish
• Fighting in Finnish
• Adverbs of manner
• Anteeksi

"Read a book in easy Finnish. It will help you learn more Finnish."

The difference between 'eri', 'ero' and 'erilainen'

What is the difference between eri and erilainen?

Eri is something that is a completely different thing, object or matter.  The word eri doesn't get any endings.

• Tämä on ihan eri asia! - This is a totally different thing! (You cannot even compare them.)
• Tämä on eri kirja. - This is a different book. (You should get another one.)
• Hän soitti eri paikasta kuin aikaisemmin. - He called from different place than before. (Not just different in style, but completely a different location.)

Erilainen is different kind and behaves like any adjective:

• Tämä kirja on vähän erilainen. - This book is a little bit different.
• Tästä päivästä tuli erilainen kuin kuvittelin. - This day became different than I imagined. 
• Kokeillaan jotain erilaista!  - Let's try somehing different!
• Sinä tuoksut erilaiselta kuin yleensä. - You smell different than usually.

Ero is a difference or a divorce.

• Mitä eroa näillä on? - What's the difference between these?
• Mitä eroa on sanoilla eri ja erilainen? - What's the difference between the words eri and erilainen?
• Ensin tuli vauva, sitten ero. - First came a baby, then a divorce. 

Related posts and a song for you to listen to:

• Ero, erota and erottaa
• Erikoinen - Erityinen
• Mikä - Mitä
• Erilaiset by Robin

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. 

Writing tips

Here are writing tips for any writing exam:

• Lue ohjeet huolellisesti. - Read the instructions carefully. 
• Ole yksinkertainen. - Be simple. (Exam is not the place to try out new things, so write what you know is correct.)
• Älä kirjoita liian pitkiä lauseita. - Don't write sentences that are too long.
• Käytä vain sanoja, jotka tiedät. - Use only words that you know.
• Kirjoita selkeällä käsialla. - Use clear handwriting. 
• Tarkista lopuksi, että ymmärrät itse, mitä olet kirjoittanut. - After writing, check that you understand what you have written.

You learn to write by writing and getting feedback from your texts. You should also read a lot.

Useful posts:

• Sentence starters
• Confusingly similar words
• Talking about feelings
• How to finish in Finnish
• Describing things
• My Yki posts
• My easy Finnish posts

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.

Frequentative verbs in Finnish

Here's a post about verbs that express actions that happen kind of repeatedly or in a light-hearted manner. First we have verb type 3 verbs that are all derived from verb type 1 verbs by changing the end of the verb into -ella or -ellä. As you will notice, sometimes the meaning of a word can change surprisingly much!

Test yourself and see how many of these you understand:

1. aivastaa > aivastella
2. ajaa > ajella 
3. haistaa > haistella
4. heittää > heitellä
5. hiihtää > hiihdellä
6. hyppiä > hypellä
7. järjestää > järjestellä
8. kastaa > kastella
9. katsoa > katsella
10. kiertää > kierrellä
11. kirjoittaa > kirjoitella
12. kosia > kosiskella
13. kysyä > kysellä
14. laulaa > laulella
15. matkustaa > matkustella
16. muistaa > muistella
17. oksentaa > oksennella
18. oppia > opiskella 
19. palaa > palella
20. sairastaa > sairastella
21. soittaa > soitella
22. sanoa > sanella
23. rakastaa > rakastella
24. tappaa > tapella
25. vaihtua > vaihdella

Here are the translations:

1. aivastaa > aivastella - to sneeze > to sneeze repeatedly
2. ajaa > ajella - to drive, to drive around without any particular reason
3. haistaa > haistella - to smell > to sniff
4. heittää > heitellä - to throw > to throw back and forth
5. hiihtää > hiihdellä - to ski > to ski around, to ski in a light-hearted manner
6. hyppiä > hypellä - to jump > to jump around
7. järjestää > järjestellä - to organize > to arrange, to sort
8. kastaa > kastella - to dip  > to wet something
9. katsoa > katsella - to watch > to watch, but not so seriously
10. kiertää > kierrellä - to go round once, to twist > to walk or drive around
11. kirjoittaa > kirjoitella - to write > to write back and forth
12. kosia > kosiskella - to propose (to ask to marry) > to woo
13. kysyä > kysellä - to ask > to ask around
14. laulaa > laulella - to sing > to sing in a light-hearted manner
15. matkustaa > matkustella - to travel, to go travelling
16. muistaa > muistella - to remember > to reminisce, to look back
17. oksentaa > oksennella - to vomit > to throw up a little bit, but multiple times
18. palaa > palella - to burn > to feel / be cold 
19. oppia > opiskella - to learn > to study 
20. sairastaa > sairastella - to be sick > to be sick repeatedly
21. soittaa > soitella - to call/to play an instrument  > to call each other / to play an instrument in a light-hearted manner
22. sanoa > sanella - to say > to dictate
23. rakastaa > rakastella - to love > to make love
24. tappaa > tapella - to kill > to fight, to argue
25. vaihtua > vaihdella - to change > to vary, to alternate

Another way to make frequentative verbs is to add -eske- inside of  a verb type 3 verb. You can also add -eskella to some verb type 1 verbs. Verb type 4 verbs can get a suffix -illa.

How many do you already know?

1. nuolla > nuoleskella
2. olla > oleskella
3. pierrä > piereskellä 
4. panna > paneskella
5. juosta > juoksennella (Juosta has an irregular conjugation anyway.)
6. lukea > lueskella
7. nauraa > naureskella
8. halata > halailla
9. kirota > kiroilla

Translations:

1. nuolla > nuoleskella - to lick > to lick multiple times, to suck up, to flatter
2. olla > oleskella - to be > to dwell, to linger
3. pierrä > piereskellä - to pass gas in general > to fart constantly
4. panna > paneskella  - to have sex > to have sex with one or several people many times or in a light-hearted manner
5. juosta > juoksennella - to run > to run around
6. lukea > lueskella - to read > to read in a light-hearted manner
7. nauraa > naureskella - to laught > to laugh in a sarcastic manner
8. halata > halailla - to hug > to hug multiple times in a friendly and light-hearted way
9. kirota > kiroilla - to curse someone > to swear

You can be very creative when making new verbs. Feel free to try anything, but don't be offended if people don't understand you.

Here's a Memrise course about frequentative verbs: https://www.memrise.com/course/5707749/finnish-frequentative-verbs/
Kiitos kurssista, Alex! :)

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 say "I have" in Finnish

Here's a tiny post about different translations of the English phrase I have. In Finnish, you can say it in three different ways!

• I have a cat. - Minulla on kissa. 
• I have already eaten. - Minä olen jo syönyt. 
• I have to go. - Minun täytyy mennä. 

Similar posts: 

• How to say "for"in Finnish

Here are my available Yki courses: 

• Intermediate level speaking course in Skype
• Intermediate level writing course