What to watch in Yle Areena

It's been a while since I recommended tv shows to watch in Finnish.

Here are three Yle Areena shows that are also available abroad:

• I haven't watched Tuhkimotarinoita yet, but the stories seem really interesting and touching.
• Luottomies is funny and the episodes are short. If Finnish subtitles are still too difficult, you can watch the same show, Wingman, with English subtitles.
• Nörtti: Dragonslayer666 is a mini series about a 19-year-old computer nerd. The show is based on popular Nörtti books by multitalented Aleksi Delikouras.

If you are watching Yle Areena in Finland, you have to check out Sohvaperunat. Finnish people watching tv together with their friends and family. What could be better entertainment? :)

Sohvaperunat. Sohva = a sofa / a couch, Peruna = a potato

p.s. You can also order my blog to your email. Type your email to where it says "Read my posts in your email"  in the right hand banner.

Choosing the perfect easy Finnish book

Would you like to read a book in easy Finnish, but you don't know which book would be good for you right now? Here's a handy flowchart that I just created:



You can take a look at the sample pages in Selkokeskus website. Booky.fi is another good online bookstore, and they also ship abroad.

Related posts:

• Buying a book in Finnish
• Booking a library book online in Finnish
• Salla Simukka's novel Punainen kuin veri in easy Finnish
• Punainen kuin veri in Mixcloud
• Things to read in easy Finnish

p.s. If you are on Facebook, do join Selkokirjalukupiiri, An easy Finnish book club!

Selkokirjoja. Books in easy Finnish.

Finnish words with a lot of ö's

It's time for a fun list!

Do you know the meaning of this ö-words?

1. dödö
2. hölmö
3. Höpö höpö!
4. kökkö
5. löllö
6. mömmö
7. mörkö
8. nössö
9. pöllö
10. pönttö
11. pöpö
12. söpö
13. tönö

Here are the translations:

1. dödö - a colloquial word for deodorantti
2. hölmö - a fool
3. Höpö höpö! - Just kidding!
4. kökkö - bad or tasteless as in kökköenglanti or kökkö elokuva
5. löllö - wobbly as in löllö käsivarsi, a wobbly arm
6. mömmö - goo as in Mitä tämä vihreä mömmö on? What's this green goo?
7. mörkö - a boogeyman, or this scary Moomin character
8. nössö - a wimp, a sissy
9. pöllö - an owl
10. pönttö - a toilet bowl, a large can, or a dumb person
11. pöpö - a children's word for bakteeri
12. söpö - cute
13. tönö - a shack

Söpö pöllö.

Here are some other lists on this blog:

• U-words
• 100 very common Finnish words
• Words that are both Finnish and English
• Words with one consonant and a long vowel
• 100 words in plural partitive
• Communication verbs
• 36 useful test instruction verbs

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.  

How to use the Finnish plural demonstrative prononuns 'nämä', 'nuo' and 'ne'

Who doesn't love Finnish demonstrative pronouns? I already have posts about the singular demonstrative pronouns:

• Tämä
• Tuo
• Se

This post is about the plural demonstrative pronouns nämä, nuo and ne - these, those and they.

Here's a little table with nämä, nuo and ne in nominative, partitive, genitive and local cases. I've noticed that very often students use nuo when they should use ne. 

nämä (these)	nuo (those)	ne (them)
näitä	noita	niitä
näiden	noiden	niiden
näissä	noissa	niissä
näistä	noista	niistä
näihin	noihin	niihin
näillä	noilla	niillä
näiltä	noilta	niiltä
näille	noille	niille

Nämä - These

• Keneltä sä sait nämä? - From whom did you get these?
• Mitä sä teet näillä? - What do you do with these?
• Mitä sä laitat näihin? - What will you put into these?

Nuo - Those (that you can point at)

• Mitä noissa laatikoissa on? - What's in those boxes?
• Mä en kestä noita! - I cannot stand those guys.
• Mä käyn sanomassa noille, että me tullaan pian. - I'm going to go and tell those guys that we're coming soon.

Ne - They, the, them or those 

(something that you cannot see right now, or that are close to the person you are talking to) In colloquial Finnish, we often say ne instead of he.

• Mä juttelin niiden kanssa eilen. - I spoke with them yesterday. 
• Kysytään niiltä! - Let's ask them!
• Mitä sä teet niille vanhoille sukille? - What will you do to those/the old socks?

Related posts:

• How to say "here" and "there" 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 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com 

Talking about different groups in Finnish

Do you know the difference between these words that mean some kind of a group in Finnish?

1. jengi: Kiva, kun jengi diggaa!
2. joukkue: Meidän joukkue oli paras!
3. porukka: Mikä porukka te oikein olette?
4. ryhmä: Meidän ryhmä voi aloittaa.
5. tiimi: Kuinka monta koodaajaa teidän tiimissä on?
6. luokka: Meidän luokka on tosi kiva.

Here are the definitions:

1. jengi - a gang. Jengi can be a criminal gang, but it can also be a group of friends or fans.
2. joukkue  - a (sports) team
3. porukka - a group of people, often used in spoken language. In some dialect, porukat means parents.
4. ryhmä - a group, can be people or things.
5. tiimi - a team, often at work. A loan word from the English team.
6. luokka - a group of school students, but also a class room.

Here are the translations:

1. Kiva, kun jengi diggaa! - It's nice that people like (me)!
2. Meidän joukkue oli paras! - Our team was the best!
3. Mikä porukka te oikein olette? - What (kind of a) group are you?
4. Meidän ryhmä voi aloittaa. - Our group can start.
5. Kuinka monta koodaajaa teidän tiimissä on? - How many coders do you have in your team?

Ryhmä Hau. Hau is what a dog says in Finnish.

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. Follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.  If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do it here.

Keskitason kirjoituskurssi - An intermediate writing course

Oletko menossa keskitason Yki-testiin tammikuun 27. päivä?

Haluaisitko saada palautetta teksteistäsi ja oppia myös toisten opiskelijoiden teksteistä? Osallistu kirjoittamisen minikurssille! 

Kurssin aikana opiskelijat kirjoittavat viisi tekstiä ja saavat niistä palautetta yhteisen Google-dokumentin kautta. Kirjoitettavia tekstejä on yksi viikossa, ja kaikki näkevät kaikkien tekstit ja opettajan kommentit. Emme tapaa toisiamme kurssin aikana, mutta voimme keskustella kirjoittamalla Google Docsissa. Kurssin hinta on 50 €. 

Kurssin aikataulu: 

• Ensimmäisen tekstin palautus 12.11. mennessä
• Toisen tekstin palautus 19.11. mennessä
• Kolmannen tekstin palautus 26.11. mennessä
• Neljännen tekstin palautus 3.12. mennessä
• Viidennen tekstin palautus 10.12. mennessä

Lähetä sähköpostia osoitteeseen hanna.mannikkolahti@gmail.com, jos haluat tilata kurssimateriaalin ja ilmoittautua kurssille.

Suosittelen lämpimästi Harjoitus tekee mestarin 4 -kirjaa. Kirjan lopussa on hyviä kirjoittamisen tehtäviä ja mallitekstejä. 

p.s. Jos haluat tehdä kirjoittamisen kurssin omassa tahdissasi etkä halua näyttää tekstejäsi muille, se on myös mahdollista. Kurssin voi aloittaa milloin tahansa.

Booking a library book online in Finnish

Onko sinulla kirjastokortti? - Do you have a library card?

If not, go to the nearest library and get one! For online booking, you probably also need a code number that you can get from the librarians.

Varata is to book or to reserve, and varaa is the imperative form of the verb. Once you have found the book that you want, click varaa. Depending on the online booking system, you might have to click saatavuus (availability) before you can see the varaa button.

After that, choose the library from where you want to pick up the book. (I just had to check the English translation of noutopaikka, and according to my library's website, it's a pick-up branch.) Remember to click tallenna varaus, which means save the reservation. 

Reserving books and dvds is free, but if you don't pick up what you have reserved, you have to pay 2 euros, at least in Central Finland. You'll get a text message when the book is available in your chosen library, and you can go and pick it up from the bookshelf where they collect all the reserved items. The bookshelf is also a fun place to see which books and dvd's people want to borrow! 

Uutta: Katso YouTube-video siitä, kuinka varaat kirjan kirjastosta!

Related posts: 

• Salla Simukka's Punainen kuin veri in easy Finnish
• Salla Simukka's Valkea kuin lumi in easy Finnish
• Selkokirjalukupiiri, and Easy Finnish book club in Facebook
• A post about Finnish war movies.
• A video about getting a library card

Selkokirjoja. Books in easy Finnish.
Notice that the easy Finnish books are often placed in three different sections in the librabry: children's books, young adult books and adult books. Ask the librarians for help!

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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/

When things are not quite right in Finnish

Here's a list of expressions that you can use when things (or quite often clothes) are not the correct way. First, see if you have heard these ones before:

1. nurinkurin
2. päinvastoin 
3. sikin sokin
4. takaperin
5. toisin päin 
6. väärin päin 
7. ylösalaisin 

Here are the translations in sentences. Notice that the correct spelling of these expressions is tricky for native Finns as well. Sometimes both forms are correct.

1. Sun paita on nurinkurin.  - Your shirt is inside out.
2. Mä tarkoitin päinvastoin. - I meant the the opposite way.
3. Sun huone on ihan sikin sokin! - Your room is a mess! (You can also say mullin mallin, hyrskyn myrskyn or hujan hajan!)
4. Sun paita on takaperin. - Your shirt is backwards.
5. Laita ne kengät toisin päin - Put the shoes the other way round.
6. Sä kirjoitit tämän d-kirjaimen väärin päin. - You wrote this letter d the wrong way.
7. Käännä se kakku ylösalaisin. - Turn the cake upside down.

Related post:

• Adverbs of manner
• When something is broken in Finnish
• Parenting in Finland
• Finnish idioms

Kirjoja sikin sokin!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.
– Hanna

How to say "by" in Finnish

Yes, how to say by is a tough question. Sometimes it seems that you can just use by in the middle of a Finnish expression:

I would say that you have four ways to avoid the horrible use of by in the middle of a Finnish text:

1. Use a genitive:

• Suomen käsityön museon kansallispukunäytös - Craft Museum of Finland's national costume show

2. Use an agent participle:

• Suomen käsityömuseon järjestämä kansallispukunäytös - A national costume show organized by Craft Museum of Finland

3. Use a whole sentence: 

• Suomen käsityömuseo esittelee kansallispukuja. - Craft Museum of Finland presents national costumes.
• Suomen käsityö museo järjestää kansallispukunäytöksen. - Craft Museum of Finland organizes a national costume show.

4. Use a colon or parenthesis:

• Suomen käsityömuseo: Kansallispukunäytös - Craft Museum of Finland: A national costume show
• Kansallispukunäytös (Suomen käsityömuseo) - A national costumer show (Craft Museum of Finland)

I know that something by someone is a quite popular structure when it comes to Finnish blogs and small business and event names. I wonder how many years it will take and we'll have Uudenvuoden puhe by tasavallan presidentti?

Similar posts:

• How to say about in Finnish
• How to say of in Finnish
• How to say for in Finnish

p.s. If you like my posts, it would be really really nice if you did at least some of these things: 

• Follow my Facebook page
• Follow me on Instagram
• Subscribe to my email list. There is a link for that on the right hand bar of this blog.
• Listen and comment my easy Finnish podcasts 

www.privatefinnishlessons.com/books

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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. Click here to see all my courses.

New podcasts in Mixcloud

Some of you might know that I have a Mixcloud account. I basically just interview people in easy Finnish and try to make them speak a bit more calmly and with simple structures and vocabulary. The latest interviews are with my friend and with my mother. I Hope you'll enjoy listening to us! :)

Click here to listen to Tulkki ja suomen kielen opettaja - An interpreter and a Finnish teacher.

Click here to listen to Käräjätuomari - A judge of district court.

p.s. It would be super nice if you commented something after listening to the podcast! I'm actually trying to persuade real radio people to make a real podcast with me, so it would be useful to have feedback from actual listeners.:)