Muuten

In short, muuten means two different things:

By the way

• Muuten, onko sulla autoa? - By the way, do you have a car?
• Onko sulla muuten mitään tekemistä huomenna? - By the way, do you have anything to do tomorrow?

Otherwise, besides

• Viikonloppuna satoi, mutta muuten oli mukavaa. - It rained during the weekend, but otherwise we had a good time.
• Onko sulla muuten mitään tekemistä huomenna? - Besides that, do you have anything to do tomorrow? (Yes, muuten can sometimes cause confusion! It's all about the stress. Put an emphasis on muuten when you mean otherwise or besides.)

Muuten vain

• Miksi sinä teit sen? - Why did you do it?
• Muuten vain. - Without any particular reason.

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About the author of this blog:

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish or novels in easy Finnish. 

Lue lisää selkokirjoista: https://privatefinnishlessons.com/books/