Monday, November 11, 2013

How to talk about courses, classes and lectures in Finnish

Pay attention to these nouns when talking about studying:

  1. kurssi
  2. tunti
  3. luento
  4. luokka


1. Kurssi is a course.


Notice that it takes the external endings: kurssilla, kurssilta, kurssille - in the course, from the course, to the course.

  • Me ollaan samalla kurssilla. - We are in the same course. 
  • Kuinka monta kurssia sulla on tänä syksynä? - How many courses are you taking this fall?
  • Onko teidän kurssilla kivoja ihmisiä? - Are there nice people in your course?

2. Tunti is an hour, but it is also used when referring to a class, lesson or a lecture - even if it would last less or more than an actual hour. 


Oppitunti is the more formal form of the word.

  • Nähdään ruotsin tunnin jälkeen! - See you after the Swedish class!
  • Mitä te teitte viime tunnilla? - What did you do in the last class?
  • En pääse tänään tunnille. - I can't make it to the class today. 

3. Luento is used for a lecture when there's actually a person lecturing while the class is quite passively listening. 


(Notice that luonto is nature, and luonne is personality)


4. Luokka is both the classroom, a group of people in a school, and a grade/year.


  • Tässä luokassa haisee kummalliselta. - It smells weird in this classroom.
  • Miksi me ollaan taas eri luokassa? - Why are we in a different classroom again?
  • Me oltiin samalla luokalla lukiossa. - We were in the same class in high school.
  • Kuinka monta oppilasta teidän luokalla on? - How many pupils are there in your class?
  • Meidän luokalla on 20, mutta venäjän ryhmässä on vain kymmenen. - There's 20 in our class, but only ten in the Russian group.
  • Millä luokalla sinä olet? - Which grade/year are you?

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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.  

3 comments:

Bon's Bits, Bites, and Blurbs said...

Continuing to love...and be very helpful. Lately we are studying "pluskvamperfekti" - help!!! Please.

Anonymous said...

Kiitos palojn. Voisitko selittää sanojen eron: lähellä, vieressä ja luona. Kiitos etukäteen

Hanna said...

lähellä = close by

Älä ole niin lähellä. - Don't be so close.

vieressä = next to

Kenen vieressä sä haluat istua? - Who do you want to sit next to?

luona = at, by, at someone's home.. this one has more meanings.

Kenen luona sä olit? - At whose place where you?
Miksi sä et ole lasten luona? - Why aren't you with the kids?

http://randomfinnishlesson.blogspot.fi/2013/12/luona-luota-luokse.html