Confusingly similar words
Here are some words that are annoyingly similar, especially if you're taking a certain exam and there is a risk that you will spend all your time talking about a wrong topic. I'll keep adding to this...
View ArticleFiguring out Finnish men
A foreign female friend asked me to write about Finnish men. Being married to an American, I'm clearly not an expert on this topic, but yes, I know what she's talking about. The problem seems to be...
View ArticleSelkosanomat - a magazine in easy Finnish
Here's a small post to promote Selkosanomat. I've always been a big fan of Selkouutiset, but somehow I had forgotten that Selkosanomat also exists. A new issue is released every two weeks, and in...
View ArticleKappale
Just like laatikko, kappale is a word with many meanings. You can check it out from Kielitoimiston sanakirja, but I'd say that these are the most common meanings:A piece of musicTämä on hyvä kappale! -...
View ArticleArranging a playdate in Finnish
Here's what to say or text when you want to arrange a playdate with the parent of your child's friend.Haluaisiko Mikko tulla joskus meille leikkimään? - Would Mikko like to come over to play...
View ArticleSpoken language words that my kids use
Here are some spoken language words that my3- and6-year-oldchildrenuse. Do you know what they mean?futishyvisjäbäkoklatalippismäsäpahispaprupebapolttissäbäsykkyteepparivaklataHere are the translations...
View Articlesitten - jälkeen - myöhemmin
Here's a small post about sitten, jälkeen and myöhemmin. I hope that this is helpful, not confusing.Sitten is then, among other things.Sitten on mun vuoro. - Then it's my turn.Sitten lähdetään ulos! -...
View ArticleTalking about tv shows in Finnish
Here are two important words that you need when talking about tv series:Jakso is an episode. Kausi is a season.Small talk sentences:Oletko sä katsonut Siskonpetiä? - Have you watched Siskonpeti?Mä...
View ArticlePast tenses in Finnish
Here's a post about the past tense and the perfect tense in Finnish. Usually Finnish learners use too much imperfekti in situations where they should use perfekti. Imperfekti is used when something...
View Articlevain - vasta
Someone suggested this topic in another post. Kiitos ideasta! Vain is only. Vasta can mean many different things but usually is not until or not yet. It is also vihta, the thing in the...
View ArticlePrivate Finnish Lessons
I've been giving private lessons since 2008. At the same time, I've taught Finnish for adults at the university language centre, summer university, open university, and recently at a vocational school...
View ArticleHow to look forward in Finnish
Looking forward to something is a phrase that doesn't really exist in Finnish. Forward is eteenpäin, but it doesn't work in this case. Here are some expressions with the same idea:Mä odotan sitä...
View Articlenähdä - katsoa
These verbs are often easily mixed although they surely exist in other languages, too. Nähdä is to see.Katsoa is to look or to watch. Nähdä (näen, näin, nähnyt) Näitkö sinä tuon? - Do you see that?...
View ArticleDescribing things
Have you noticed how sometimes the adjective is in singular partitive when you describe things in Finnish? That happens often when you describe something with just one word. Here are the most common...
View ArticleHow to turn on and off in Finnish
Sytyttää is mostly used with light and fire. The four important forms are sytyttää, sytytän, sytytin and sytyttänyt. Voitko sytyttää valot? - Can you turn on the lights?Saisinkominä sytyttää kynttilän?...
View ArticleImperfekti - Past tense in Finnish
How to make the past tense? Basically, you just add an i or si after the verb stem, before the personal ending. All verb stems end with a vowel. Some vowels stay, some disappear and one turns into...
View Articlekirjoittaa - kirjoa
I'm sure that most of my readers know that kirjoittaa is to write. However, it is sometimes confused with kirjoa, which means to embroider. The four important forms are kirjoa, kirjon, kirjoin,...
View ArticleLooking for some help with languages
The purpose of this post is to ask for some help from my readers.I've recently started teaching Finnish to asylum seekers who don't speak any English. In that situation, I'm teachingsuomea suomeksi,...
View ArticlePlural genitive
Plural genitive can be a bit tricky, but here's a great link explaining how it's formed. I would't worry too much about the details. I usually suggest that my students would memorize 20 plural...
View ArticleThings to say when going to sleep in Finnish
I'm sure you know that Good night is Hyvää yötä. Here are other things to say in Finnish when going to sleep, or hoping that other people would go to sleep.Nytnukkumaan! - Now to sleep!Valot pois! -...
View Article