My work this spring 2026: Private Finnish lessons and more

Mitä minulle kuuluu keväällä 2026? Tein pienen podcast-jakson, jossa puhun töistäni. 

Voit kuunnella jakson

• Soundcloudissa
• Spotifyssa
• Apple Podcastissa

Minä Suomenlinnassa tammikuussa 2026

Jaksoon liittyviä linkkejä: 

• Yksityisopetus - Private Finnish lessons
• Selkokirjat - Books in easy Finnish 
• Juurihoito-näytelmä  - Juurihoito play in Lempäälä (Minä menen katsomaan näytelmää sunnuntaina 8. maaliskuuta! I'm going to see the play on March 8.)
• Juurihoito-selkokirja (a novel in easy Finnish)
• Suomenlinna (En ole vielä päättänyt retken päivämäärää. I haven't decided the date of the trip yet.)

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

A new podcast episode in Finnish: Singing in an opera choir

Haastattelin kuorokaveriani Tiina-Maria Syrjämäkeä siitä, millaista on laulaa oopperakuorossa. Voit kuunnella haastattelun podcast-alustalta tai katsoa sen YouTubesta.

I interviewed my choir friend Tiina-Maria Syrjämäki about singing in an opera choir. You can listen to the podcast episode here: 

• Soundcloud
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts

or watch the interview on YouTube. Don't forget to turn on the subtitles!

P.S. Kuuntele myös oopperalaulaja Waltteri Torikan haastattelu vuodelta 2018.

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

Study Finnish in 2026

I’ve been thinking about organising group courses in the spring. As much as I like teaching in the morning, I think most people prefer courses in the evening. My question is: Millaisille kursseille haluaisit osallistua keväällä?

What kind of Finnish courses would you like to attend in the spring?

• Selkokirjakurssit, joilla keskustellaan selkokirjoista. – Selkokirja courses where we read and discuss an easy Finnish book that I’ve chosen

• Hiljaiset selkokirjakurssit, joilla vain kirjoitetaan. – Silent courses where we only write about the book that we're reading

• Kurssit edistyneille opiskelijoille. – Courses for advanced students (B2 and up. Reading a novel in standard Finnish and talking about it, and other topics as well)

• Kurssit, joissa matkustetaan yhdessä Tallinnaan tai Tukholmaan. – Courses where we travel together to Tallinn or Stockholm. This has been my dream for a long time. :)

Leave a comment or email me at hanna.mannikkolahti@gmail.com. 

• If you are interested in private lessons, check out my website www.privatefinnishlessons.com and book a free introductory lesson. It is always nice to meet new people and talk about learning Finnish. 

• If you want to read a book and study on your own, join my Juurihoito Online Course. 

• A pronunciation webinar with Päivi Virkkunen on March 26, 2026

Me and all my books in easy Finnish 
in November 2025

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

Let's read Kielen elämä in December!

Here's my new online course: 

We'll read Kielen elämä by Lari Kotilainen, adapted into easy Finnish by me. 

We'll meet eight times at 8 o'clock in the morning, discuss the book, and start the day wonderfully in Finnish. I like to teach in the morning, and I like to help people find the joy of reading books in easy Finnish.

Meetings will take place on Google Meet, and each session will last for 45 minutes.

The price of the course is €75.  

Email me at hanna.mannikkolahti@gmail.com, and I'll send you the invoice and a Google Meet invitation. 

You can borrow the book from the library or buy it online. Kielen elämä is also available as  an e-book and as an audio book.

Kielen elämä course schedule 

(Read these chapters before each meeting.)

1. Wednesday, December 3: Chapters 1–4
2. Thursday, December 4: Chapters 5–8
3. Friday, December 5: Chapters 9–11
4. Tuesday, December 9: Chapters 12–17
5. Thursday, December 11: Chapters 18–21
6. Tuesday, December 16: Chapters 22–27
7.  Wednesday, December 17: Chapters 28–32
8.  Friday, December 19: Chapters 33–38 

(Monday, December 22 is the reserve day, in case I have to reschedule one of the meetings.) 

Tervetuloa kurssille!

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

Interviewing Friederike Lüpke on my Random Finnish Lesson Podcast

I interviewed Friederike Lüpke for my podcast. 

We talk about her work as a professor of African languages, her learning Finnish, and living in Helsinki. 

You can listen to the episode on

• Spotify
• Soundcloud
• Apple Podcasts
• YouTube (with subtitles!)

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

Study Finnish vocabulary by listening to my interview with Päivi Virkkunen

Edit: Our next pronunciation workshop will be in March 26, 2026

I made a vocabulary list for my podcast interview with Päivi Virkkunen. We talk about our upcoming pronunciation workshop, but it’s worth listening to even if you’re not planning to attend.

You can listen to the podcast episode on

• Soundcloud
• Spotify
•  Apple podcasts

Sign up for the workshop in 
Päivi's online store

Finnish-English vocabulary list from the podcast episode

1. tuleva työpaja - an upcoming workshop
2. tänä vuonna - this year
3. eli - in other words
4. jatka kuuntelemista - keep on listening
5. kiinnostava jakso - an interesting episode
6. tavallista rauhallisemmin - more calmly than usually
7. yhteistyö - cooperation
8. sanoisin - I'd say
9. me huomattiin - we noticed
10. yhdistää - to combine
11. ääntäminen - pronunciation
12. selkokirjat - books in easy Finnish
13. jollain tavalla - in some way
14. aiheita - topics
15. ilmiö -a  phenomenon
16. piirteet - features
17. tyypillisesti - typically 
18. mikä tahansa - any
19. vaikeita kaikille - difficult for everyone
20. ei välttämättä - not necessarily 
21. liikkeitä suun sisällä - movements inside of one's mouth
22. tiedon avulla - with help of knowledge
23. jatkaa motorista harjoittelua - to continue motor practicing 
24. diat - the slides
25. aivan aluksi - in the very beginning
26. mä esittelen - I'll present, I'll introduce
27. meidän keksimämme - invented by us
28. ääntämiskierros - a pronunciation round 
29. itse asiassa - in fact
30. mä en muista - I don't remember
31. ihailen - I admire
32. lukea ääneen - to read aloud
33. rauhassa - in peace, alone, without disturbance
34. muuten - otherwise
35. toteutua - to be realized, to come true
36. houkuttelee lukeamaan koko kirjan - inspires to read the whole book 
37. aivan - indeed
38. sijoittua - to be situated somewhere (e.g. a novel or a movie)
39. pitkä ja raskas kävely - a long and difficult walk
40. kohti kotia - towards home
41. käsitellä - to handle, to deal
42. me ollaan pidetty - we've held
43. kuudes kerta - the sixth time
44. puolitoista tuntia - 1,5 hours 
45. aikaa kysymyksille - time for questions
46. varmistaa - to make sure
47. kiinni - shut, closed
48. pitää auki - to keep open
49. pyytää palautetta - to ask for feedback
50. alusta lähtien - from the very beginning
51. ajatuksia omaan opetukseen - thoughts for one's one teaching
52. monipuolinen osallistujajoukko - a versatile group of participants
53. aikataulu - a schedule
54. olettaa - to assume
55. viisi osaa - five parts 
56. juoni - a plot 
57. keskiössä - in the centre
58. yksinhuoltajaisä - a single dad
59. laajempi kokonaisuus - a wider entity
60. äännekestot - lenghts of the sounds
61. erottaa merkityksiä - to make a difference in meaning
62. lempiasia - a favourite thing
63. vinkki - a tip
64. kikka - a gimmick
65. haaste - a challenge
66. ylimääräinen äänne - an extra sound
67. ei tarvitse pelätä - no need to be afraid
68. näppärästi - handily
69. myytävänä - for sale
70. verkkokauppa - online shop
71. paluupostissa - by return email
72. kertauksena - as a reminder
73. vesilasi - a glass of water
74. pieni peili - a small mirror
75. havainnoida - to observe

Read more about the pronunciation workshop in November 26,2025

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

All my posts about the Finnish object

I have several posts that have something to do with the Finnish object:

• Very common object sentences in Finnish (This is quite simple, so start here.)
• Different forms of the object in Finnish (Partitive is always possible!)
• Accusative verbs (This was really interesting to write.)
• Transitive and intransitive verbs (Don't miss the Google document.)
• Object or adverbial? (What is an object in your language might be something else in Finnish.)

More Finnish grammar: 

• Finnish participles in a nutshell
• Finnish passive in a nutshell
• Finnish infinitives in a nutshell
• Talking about different things and objects in Finnish

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter

Finnish pronunciation workshop with Päivi Virkkunen and Hanna Männikkölahti on November 26th

Edit: Our next pronunciation workshop will be in March 26, 2026

Come practice Finnish pronunciation with me and my colleague Päivi Virkkunen! 

Päivi is specialized in phonetics, so she is really good at teaching Finnish pronunciation. 

Time, place and price: 

• Time: Wednedsay, November 26, from 19.00 to 21.00 Finnish time (UTC+3)
• Place: Zoom
• Price: 32 €
• Sign up in Päivi's online store

Content of the Finnish pronunciation workshop:

• The vowels y,ö and ä
• Finnish h (a little different depending on the other sounds around it)
• Finnish l (surprisingly tricky)
• The ŋ sound (hiding in nk and ng!)
• No aspiration! (k, p, and t are just k, p and t.)
• Duration (long and short vowels and consonants)

How does it work?

• Päivi and I will first model the pronunciation and explain how it's done, and then the students can practice with their microphones off. After that, you can ask questions, and then we'll move on to the next topic.

• The example sentences will be from the easy Finnish novels Yösyöttö,  Juurihoito and Ei kertonut katuvansa.

• We will speak Finnish, but the slides are in Finnish and in English. 

• If you want, you can be completely silent and anonymous during the workshop, but you can also have your camera and microphone on and participate in the conversation.

• Leave a comment, if there is something you want to ask about the workshop!

• Listen to us talking about the webinar
• on Soundcloud
• on Spotify
• on Apple Podcast

• Join the Facebook event.

Sign up in Päivi's online store.

More about Finnish pronunciation:

• Päivi's Instagram account (and my account) 
• Päivi's interview in this blog.
• A Finnish-English vocabulary list about our podcast episode
• A vocabulary list for the podcast episode 
• Päivi's Ääntämisklinikka
• Fonetiikkaa suomenopettajille (a video series by Päivi)

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Take a quiz and find out which book to read in easy Finnish

Here's something I've dreamed about for years: a simple quiz to help my readers choose a book to read. 

Kiitos, Antonija, for all your help! 

Go to the quiz: https://tally.so/r/wLl5Pv

The quiz is made with Tally.

Vocabulary in Finnish and in English

The quiz is in easy Finnish, but here are the translations of the most important words and phrases: 

1. lastenkirja - a children's book
2. ehdottaa - to suggest
3. vähiten sivuja - the least amount of pages
4. kiinnostaa - to interest
5. enemmän - more
6. hauska - fun, funny
7. vakava - serious
8. tietokirja - a non-fiction book
9. romaani - a novel
10. millä perusteella - on what basis
11. valita - to choose
12. päähenkilöt - main characters
13. tapahtumapaikka - the location of the novel
14. myöhemmissä osissa - in later volumes
15. jatko-osassa - in the sequel

Go to the quiz. 

Kirjakasa - A pile of books 

More posts about my books in easy Finnish

• Which easy Finnish books to buy
• Samples of my books in easy Finnish
• Selkokirjaryhmä Telegramissa
• Selkokirjalukupiiri Facebookissa

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

A podcast episode with Leo Ylitalo, the author of 'Banaanitalo'

 I interviewed Leo Ylitalo for my podcast! You can listen to the episode in 

• Soundcloud
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts

This is the landing page for Banaanitalo in easy Finnish: www.privatefinnishlessons.com/banaanitalo

The novel is based on Leo Ylitalo's own experiences as a Finn in Sweden in the 1970's. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did. You can buy Banaanitalo directly from me through bit.ly/tilaaselkokirjoja.

These are the questions I asked in the interview: 

1. Kuka olet ja mitä teet? (Who are you and what do you do?)

2. Kuinka aloit kirjailijaksi? (How did you become a writer?)

3. Milloin / Miten päätit kirjoittaa Banaanitalon? (When / How did you decide to write 'Banaanitalo'?)

4. Oletko sinä Banaanitalo-romaanin Raimo? Kuinka paljon Banaanitalossa on omaa nuoruuttasi? (Are you Raimo, the main character in ''Banaanitalo'? How much of your own youth is in the novel?)

5. Mitä ajattelit, kun kuulit, että Banaanitalo selkomukautetaan? (What did you think when you heard that 'Banaanitalo' would be adapted into easy Finnish?)

6. Miltä selkokielisen Banaanitalon lukeminen tuntui? (How did it feel to read the easy Finnish version of 'Banaanitalo'?)

7. Mitä kaikkien pitäisi tietää ruotsinsuomalaisista? (What should everyone know about the Sweden Finns?)

Sanastoa haastattelusta - Vocabulary from the interview

1. eläkkeellä - retired
2. peruskoulun opettaja - comprehensive school teacher
3. kirjoittaa ylioppilaaksi - to pass the Finnish matriculation examination
4. keskiaste - grades 4–6 in the Swedish school system
5. armeijassa - in the army 
6. japanilainen tanka - a japanese tanka poem 
7. syyttää - to blame
8. puolustautua - to defend
9. keskittyä - to focus, to concentrate
10. pintäjänteinen - persistent
11. ura - a career
12. romaani - a novel
13. salamanisku - a lightning strike
14. satuin olemaan Tukholmassa - I happened to be in Stockholm
15. luento - a lecture
16. keskustelu - a conversation
17. muuttoaalto - a moving wave
18. puolet sen väestöstä - half of its population
19. murteet - dialects
20. hamppari - an untidy person (also hampurilainen, a hamburger, but not here)
21. poromies - a reindeer herder 
22. yksityisokohta - a detail
23. olettaa - to assume
24. kirpeä juoma - a sour drink
25. köyhät työläiset - poor workers
26. kohtaus - a scene
27. nolottaa - to feel embarrassed 
28. kansa - people
29. esitellä - to present, to introduce
30. vähemmistökieli - a minority language
31. elvytys - revitalization
32. ehdottaa - to suggest
33. ihmetellä - to be amazed
34. pyrkiä - to aim
35. tapahtumat - events
36. hämmentynyt - confused, baffled
37. kiitollinen - thankful, grateful
38. lässyttää - to babble
39. jättää pois - to leave out
40. mullistava - groundbreaking, radical
41. sukupolvi - generation
42. ontua - to limp
43. kuvitus - illustration, artwork
44. valita - to choose, to select 
45. Ruotsiin jääminen - staying in Sweden
46. päättää - to decide
47. vakityöpaikka - a permanent job (vaki = vakituinen)
48. viihtyä - to enjoy being somewhere 
49. eduskunta - parliament
50. vaikutusvalta - influence
51. hajoittaa hallitus - to dissolve the government
52. ruotsinsuomalaiset - Sweden Finns
53. puolue - a political party
54. tehdä hallaa - to cause (frost) damage
55. tyhmyys - stupidity 
56. ahkera - hardworking
57. menestyä - to succeed
58. kasvotusten - face-to-face
59. Hyvää päivänjatkoa - Have a great continuation of the day :) 

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Tilaa uutiskirjeeni - Subscribe to my newsletter 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com