What is a book in easy Finnish?

 I made a new video about books in easy Finnish: 

If you follow this blog, you probably know what they are and why reading is such a great way to study Finnish. However, I know that there are many students who have never heard of selkokirjat, so that's why I keep posting about them. 

It's not always easy to find time or motivation for reading, but luckily I have a course for you: Join Luetaan Numeroruuhka toukokuussa and read a book in May. :) The early bird prize is €35, if you sign up before April 1. After that, the prize is €40. I already have one person who has signed up, and there's still plenty of time before the registration ends on April 31.

One more video: Here's me showing how the Memrise course about Numeroruuhka works:

  

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. Follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do it here.  

Muusikko Aija Puurtinen vieraana Random Finnish Lesson -podcastissa

Aija Puurtinen oli vieraana podcastissani! 

Voit kuunnella jakson

• Spotifyssa
• Soundcloundissa
• Apple Pocastissa

    Voit myös katsoa haastattelun YouTubesta:

Pieni suomi-englanti-sanasto

1. valmistua - to graduate
2. toimia valmentajana - to work as a coach
3. taiteellinen - artistic
4. luottamustehtävä - a position of trust
5. apurahasäätiö - a grant foundation
6. kirjoittaa suosituksia - to write recommendations
7. viikoittainen - weekly
8. hallinnolliset tehtävät - administrative tasks
9. säveltää - to compose
10. käydä keikoilla - to go on gigs
11. yhtye - a band
12. olla vetovastuussa - to be in charge
13. määritellä aikataulut - to set schedules
14. sovittu - agreed
15. ura - a career
16. polku - a path
17. rikastaa - to enrich
18. olla koulutuksen kannalla - to be in favor of education
19. samanhenkinen - like-minded
20. vertaistuki - peer support
21. keskustelukumppani - a conversation partner
22. verkostoitua alan ihmisten kanssa - to network with industry professionals
23. vastaisku - a counterattack
24. tyrmäys - a knockout
25. päästä uralla eteenpäin - to advance in one's career
26. haaveilla - to dream
27. ilman muuta - absolutely
28. parantua -to improve, to recover
29. ilmainen - free
30. kehittää - to develop
31. yhdenvertaisuus - equality, non-discrimination
32. tasa-arvo - equity, gender equality
33. myöntää - to grant, to acknowledge
34. toisaalta - on the other hand
35. arvostus - appreciation, respect
36. valtion tuki - government support
37. vähentyä - to decrease
38. haasteellinen - challenging
39. päätoiminen muusikko - a full-time musician
40. henkilökohtainen - personal
41. taustanauha - a backing track
42. elämäntapa - lifestyle
43. käydä läpi - to go through
44. esiintyä - to perform
45. varalaulaja - a backup singer, a stand-in singer
46. kulissit - backstage, scenery
47. avata ääntä - to warm up one's voice
48. luovuus - creativity
49. keskittyä - to focus
50. yhteistyö - collaboration
51. yleisö - an audience
52. kiinnostus - an interest
53. yhteydenotto - a contact
54. solisti - a soloist
55. kiehtova - fascinating
56. kuoro - a choir
57. levytys - a recording
58. taltiointi - a documentation, a recording

Linkkejä

• Honey B and the T-Bones
• Honey B and the T-Bones Instagramissa
• Aija Puurtinen Instagramissa
• Aija Puurtinen & Brooklynin satu Instagramissa
• Aija Puurtinen Facebookissa
• Honey B & T-Bones Facebookissa 
• Brooklynin satu Facebookissa
• Karl Jenkinsin Stabat Mater Jyväskylässä 16.4.2025

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. Follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do it here. 

Using 'Superhabits' for studying Finnish

I'm going to take the intermediate YKI exam in Swedish this year. My goal is to pass it, and maybe even get 4s. Most importantly, I want to feel confident in my Swedish when I travel to Sweden next fall.

My newest easy Finnish adaptation Banaanitalo is about to be published very soon, and I’ll have some promoting to do among the Swedish Finns (ruotsinsuomalaiset). I'll be talking about the book in Finnish, but in other situations, I want to use Swedish instead of English. 

What is Superhabits?

I just heard about this super cool habits website from my student who designed it, and I’m inviting you to use it with me! In short, you can set your own habits and decide how many times a week you want to follow them. You can keep your habits private or turn it into a friendly competition by sharing them with others.

These are my habits for studying Swedish. You can use the same habits tracker for Finnish.

• Kuuntele musiikkia joka päivä. - Listen to music every day.
• Lue ainakin 15 minuuttia kuutena päivänä viikossa - Read at least for 15 minutes six days a week. 
• Katso tai kuuntele uutiset viitenä päivänä viikossa. - Watch or listen to the news five days a week. 
• Kuuntele podcastia kahtena päivänä viikossa - Listen to a podcast two days a week
• Osallistu keskusteluun (puhu tai kirjoita) kerran viikossa - Participate in a conversation (speak or write) once a week (As you can see, I'm mostly focusing on my receptive skills at this point, but feel free to create different habits for yourself.)

Save the link www.superhabits.fyi to your bookmarks and to the home screen of your phone.

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. Follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do it here. 

What is KAJ?

Yes, I'm obsessed wth KAJ and here's a post about the humour group. If you also like KAJ, make sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel and follow them on Instagram. And don't forget to check out different translations of Bara bada bastu on LyricsTranslate!

In short, KAJ is a Finnish band who will represent Sweden in the Eurovision song contest. They sing in Swedish, which is their mother tongue.

KAJ performing at Melodifestivalen on March 8:

KAJ hears the Melodifestivalen results:

KAJ (or KJ, as one of the members couldn't make it)

 in 'Efter nio' in March 3. 

The interview is in Swedish, 

but you can read the subtitles in Finnish

KAJ singing Nissan bromsa (Nessun Dorma cover) in 2018

KAJ singing about having a nice evening at home eating tacos in 2016

If you want to read about KAJ in Finnish, here's an interview in Maaseudun tulevaisuus from 2020. Yle has collected all the Eurovision articles here. 

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. Follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do it here. 

An online course in Finnish: Read 'Numeroruuhka' in May

I have designed an online course to help and encourage you to read Numeroruuhka in easy Finnish this May. I’d love for you to join the course!

What kind of a book is it?

The original book was written by Eve Hietamies, and I have rewritten it in easy Finnish. Numeroruuhka is the fourth book in the so-called Yösyöttö series. Antti Pasanen is a 50-year-old journalist and a single dad to 10-year-old Paavo Pasanen. The book follows Antti’s life, including his challenges with his girlfriend Enni, his father’s recovery from a stroke, and his work as a journalist.

You can read this book even if you haven’t read the previous ones. I will also provide a short summary of what has happened in Antti’s life before Numeroruuhka. You can take a look at a sample here. 

Here’s a post I wrote about Numeroruuhka when it was first published in 2023:
https://randomfinnishlesson.blogspot.com/2023/07/numeroruuhka.html

Watch a video of me talking about the course: 

Content of the course

During the course, you will

• read an entire book in easy Finnish
• learn new words and grammar structures
• develop good reading habits so that you can read more books

The course includes

 

• pre-recorded videos by me discussing the book and its grammar 
• pre-recorded videos by me reading aloud a couple of chapters each week
• a Finnish-English vocabulary on Memrise
• multiple choice questions about the book
• super fun word search puzzles
• chatting about the book in a closed Telegram group
• two meetings on Zoom, held on Sunday evenings at 8 pm Finnish time
• May 11, when everybody has already started to read the book.
• June 1, when everybody has hopefully finished the book.

The price and how to sign up for the course

• The early bird price is €35, if you sign up by April 1. After that, the price of the course is €40.
• Send me an email at hanna.mannikkolahti@gmail.com to sign up for the course. 
• I will send you an invoice and share the course material with you on Google Drive. 
• You can borrow the book from the library or buy it through bit.ly/tilaaselkokirjoja.
• Registration ends on April 30th. 

Lyhyesti suomeksi: 

Luetaan yhdessä Numeroruuhka toukokuussa

Olen suunnitellut kurssin, joka auttaa ja kannustaa lukemaan Numeroruuhka-selkokirjan toukokuun aikana. 

Kurssiin kuuluu 

• etukäteen kuvattuja opetusvideoita
• videoita, joilla luen kirjaa ääneen
• monivalintakysymyksiä
• suomi-englanti-sanasto
• sanasokkeloita
• keskustelua suljetussa Telegram-ryhmässä
• kaksi Zoom-tapaamista

Zoom-tapaamiset ovat sunnuntai-iltaisin klo 20.00

• 11.5., kun kaikki ovat jo aloittaneet lukemisen
• 1.6., kun kaikki ovat toivottavasti lukeneet kirjan loppuun

Hinta ja ilmoittautuminen

• Kurssi maksaa 40 €. Varhaisen ostajan hinta on 35 €, jos ilmoittaudut mukaan 1.4. mennessä.
• Lähetä minulle sähköpostia hanna.mannikkolahti@gmail.com ja ilmoittaudu kurssille.
• Lähetän sinulle laskun ja jaan kurssimateriaalin Google Drivessä. 
• Voit lainata kirjan kirjastosta tai ostaa sen bit.ly/tilaaselkokirja-lomakkeen kautta. 
• Ilmoittautuminen loppuu 30.4.

Tervetuloa kurssille!

Minä ja Numeroruuhka-selkokirja

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. Follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new. If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do it here.