Thursday, September 21, 2023

Finnish verbs that are very easy to understand (and some that are not)

Some verbs in verb type 4 are quite easy to understand, if you speak English or other Germanic language. Here's a small post about that topic, just for the fun of it. 


Easy verb type 4 verbs:

  • joogata - to do yoga
  • surffata - to surf
  • grillata  - to barbeque
  • meikata - to put on make up
  • pumpata - to pump
  • chillata - to chill 
  • printata - to print 

However, these ones are not what you'd think they might be: 

  • humpata
  • jumpata
  • ruinata 

Here are the explanations: 


  • Humpata is not to hump but to dance a dance called humppa. (To hump is nylkyttää. It's a dog thing.)

  • Jumpata is not to jump but to do any kind of aerobics or gymnastics type of sport. (To jump is hypätä or hyppiä.)

  • Ruinata is not to ruin but to whine in order to get something that you really want. (To ruin is pilata. However, this verb can also mean to ruin as Älä ruinaa mun vaibseja! is a sentence that I hear every now and then from my eleven-year-old.)




Lue lisää: 




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.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Reading Juurihoito in November

Haluaisitko lukea Juurihoito-selkokirjan yhdessä muiden lukijoiden kanssa? Tervetuloa hiljaiselle aamukurssilleni marraskuussa! 

Would you like to read the easy Finnish novel Juurihoito with other readers?
Sign up for my silent morning course in November! 


Kuinka se toimii? - How does it work?


  • Luemme selkokirjan kuukauden aikana. - We'll read one easy Finnish novel in one month. 
  • Tapaamme Google Docs -asiakirjassa 30 minuutin ajan kaksi kertaa viikossa seitsemältä aamulla. - We'll meet on Google Docs twice a week for 30 minutes at a time. At 7.00 in the morning. (Finnish time, UTC+2)
  • Emme näe tai kuule toisiamme. (Viimeisellä kerralla on mahdollisuus osallistua videopuheluun, mutta ei ole pakko.) - We won't see or hear each other. (There will be a Google Meet option during the last meeting, but you can ignore it if you want to.)
  • Keskustelemme kirjoittamalla. -  We'll communicate through writing.
  • Voit lukea muistiinpanoja ja keskusteluita milloin vain. - You can read the notes and conversations any time you want.
  • Voit olla niin aktiivinen tai passiivinen kuin haluat. Voit myös olla täysin anonyymi.  - You can be as active or as passive as you want, and you can be completely anonymous, if you want to.
  • Kurssi maksaa 25 €. The course fee is 25 €.


Romaani - The novel


Luemme Miika Nousiaisen Juurihoito-romaanin selkokielisen version. - We'll read Juurihoito by Miika Nousiainen, simplified by me.


Kurssin aikataulu  - Course schedule


Lue nämä luvut ennen tapaamisia. Read these chapters before the meetings:

  1. Perjantai 3.11. luvut 1–5 
  2. Tiistai 7.11. luvut 6–10
  3. Perjantai 10.11. luvut 11–15
  4. Tiistai 14.11. luvut 16–20
  5. Perjantai 17.11. luvut 21–25 
  6. Tiistai 21.11. luvut 26–30
  7. Perjantai 24.11. luvut 31–35
  8. Tiistai 28.11. luvut 36–39

Ilmoittaudu kurssille - Sign up for the course


  • Ilmoittaudu kurssille lähettämällä minulle sähköpostia. Lähetän siten myöhemmin laskun ja linkin kurssin asiakirjaan. Sähköpostiosoitteeni on hanna.mannikkolahti@gmail.com. Kurssi maksaa 25 €.
  • Sign up by emailing me at hanna.mannikkolahti@gmail.com. I will then send you the invoice and a link to our Google document closer to the course. The price of the course is 25 €.
  • Jos asut Suomessa, voit lainata kirjan kirjastosta. If you live in Finland, you can borrow the book from the library.




Lue lisää - Read more




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.

Friday, September 8, 2023

How to reschedule in Finnish

Do you sometimes have to cancel or reshedule a meeting? Here are a couple of phrases that you can use: 

Expressing that you are sorry 


  • Valitettavasti minun täytyy perua tapaamisemme. - Unfortunately, I have to cancel our meeting.
  • Olen pahoillani, mutta minun täytyy siirtää tapaamistamme. - I'm sorry, but I have to reschedule our meeting.
  • Pahoittelen, mutta en pääsekään tänään tapaamiseemme. - I apologize, but I can't make it to our meeting today.

In spoken finnish, the forms would be 'meidän tapaaminen', 'meidän tapaamista' and 'meidän tapaamiseen'.


Rescheduling


  • Voidaanko tavata samaan aikaan ensi viikolla? - Can we meet at the same time next week?
  • Onko sinulla vapaita aikoja myöhemmin tällä viikolla? - Do you have any available times later this week?
  • Mihin aikaan sinulle sopisi ensi viikolla? - What time would be suitable for you next week?
  • Sopiiko sinulle torstaina 14.9. klo 14.00? - Does Thursday, September 14th, at 2:00 PM work for you?


Depending on the situation and the person to whom you are writing, you might have to explain why. If you are my student, you don't have to. :)





Lue lisää:




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.  

Friday, September 1, 2023

A list of Finnish links to save on your bookmarks

These are my favourite blog posts for any Finnish learner. There's always time to read, watch, listen or sing for a little bit! 




Sekalaisia kirjoja suomenopiskelijoille



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.  

Saturday, August 12, 2023

How to use the Finnish word 'kainalo' (an armpit)

Soon about kainalo, but first this: 


This blog is eleven years old! 


I published my first post on August 5 in 2012, when my daughter was a tiny baby and I was on maternity leave from my job as a Finnish teacher in a vocational school and as a private teacher. I was thinking about some grammar table that I had on my laptop files (I wasn't using Google Drive until I learned about if from an American Skype student in January 2014), but wasn't able to share it with any students. I had also read a book called The Happiness Project, which encouraged to start a blog because "mastering a new technology boosts happiness." I thought about the name for a while, probably googled some platforms, and ended up starting a blog on Google's Blogger. And here we are.

(This is my very first post: https://randomfinnishlesson.blogspot.com/2012/08/tehda.html I have edited it at some point, and I should edit it again.) 

I'm happy that I chose the name Random Finnish Lesson, because it is very stress free, letting me publish whatever and whenever. I sometimes edit old posts and try to make sure that all the links work.

Lately, I've realized that I can take example sentences directly from the easy Finnish books that I've written, and perhaps someone will want to read the whole book.

The word kainalo is an armpit, but we also use it to mean a larger area under your arm in.
I searched for kainalo in a couple of novels, and this is what I found:


'Kainalo' in cuddling someone in your arms  



- Sari on hieno nainen.
Olen niin onnellinen sen kanssa,
ja meillä on hyvä olla täällä Ronnassa, Fadi sanoo
ja ottaa Sarin kainaloonsa.

- Sari is a fine woman.
I'm so happy with her,
and it's good for us here in Ronna, says Fadi
and takes Sari into his arms. 




Kun palattiin takaisin sisälle,
Paavo ja Terttu halusivat katsoa elokuvan.
Tehtiin popcornia
ja Enni käpertyi kainalooni.

When we came back inside,
Paavo and Terttu wanted to watch a movie.
We made popcorn
and Enni nestled up in my arm. 


'Kainalo' in carrying things under your arm



Istuttiin rauhassa lauteilla,
kun saunan ovi yhtäkkiä aukesi
ja Pihla astui sisään.
Sillä oli ämpäri kainalossaan
ja se oli pukeutunut valkoiseen kaapuun,
joka muuttui saunan kosteudessa läpinäkyväksi.

We sat peacefully on the sauna benches,
when suddenly the door opened
and Pihla walked in.
She had a bucket under her arm
and she was dressed in a white robe,
which turned transparent in the sauna humidity. 



- Odottakaa, minä tulen sittenkin mukaan! Veera huusi.
Sillä oli viltti kainalossa
ja matkalaukku toisessa kädessä.

- Wait, I'm coming along after all! Veera shouted.
She had a blanket under her arm
and a suitcase in the other hand. 


'Kainalo' as the body part under your arm



- Pidä kiinni! Siiri huusi ja tuli lähemmäs.
Aili havahtui hereille
ja näki, kuinka Siiri otti häntä kiinni kainaloista
ja auttoi ylös.
- En minä sinua tänne jätä, Siiri sanoi. 

- Hold on! Siiri shouted and came closer.
Aili woke up
and saw how Siiri grabbed her under her arms
and helped her up.
- I won't leave you here, Siiri said. 






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.