Wondering in Finnish

I wonder if you know how to wonder in Finnish. The verb to wonder is ihmetellä, but it is not really used in this structure. Instead, you'll need the enclitic participle -han or -hän. If you want to emphasize the question, put a question mark in the end. If you're just hesitating,  you can leave it out.

• Mitähän kello on?  - I wonder what time it is. 
• Olikohan se humalassa? - I wonder if he was drunk.
• Sataakohan juhannuksena lunta.. - I wonder if it will snow on Midsummer.. 
• Onkohan meillä munia. - I wonder if we have eggs.
• More about -han: Check out this excellent post by Uusi kielemme.

To add extra hesitation and wondering, add ko or kö after the question word.

• Mitäköhän kello on? - I wonder what time it is?
• Minneköhän se meni? - I wonder where he went.

My son (who was 5 when I first wrote this) doesn't really get these kinds of questions, and quite often gives me an irritated answer when I'm not expecting him to say anything. 

• Mitäköhän mä laittaisin tänään päälle. - I wonder what I would wear today.
• Missäköhän mun sukat on. - I wonder where my socks are. 
• Onkohan siellä kylmä. - I wonder if it's cold out there.
• En minä tiedä!! - I don't know!!

Here are some sentences with ihmetellä: 

• Mitä sinä ihmettelet? - What are you wondering about?
• Mä ihmettelen tätä puhelinlaskua. - I'm astonished by this phone bill. 
• Mä ihmettelin sen käytöstä. - I found his behaviour odd. 
• Älkää enää ihmetelkö sitä. - Don't spend your time on it any more. 

p.s. Ihme is a miracle. In Finnish, the tv show MacGyver is naturally called Ihmemies.

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.