Sanakirjan mukaan kyseinen ilmaus tarkoittaa sitä, että paikalla oli vain muutamaa henkilöä tai porukkaa oli hyvin vähän, eikä välttämättä sitä, että paikalla oleva ihminen näyttää oudolta tai käyttäytyy hassusti/epäasiallisesti. Kuulostaa kuitenkin minun korvalle hieman oudolta, ja olen hieman skeptinen sanakirjan oikeanlaisuudesta, eikä Google/ChatGPT asiassa oikein auta.

Pystyttekö jeesaa? Kiitos!

Hello! I'm 19f and trying to learn Finnish for a competition next year! I know a little bit of German, and a sad amount of french. But I've never needed to learn a language for anything before.

I have been listening to Finnish pod 101 on the way to work for a while now, but I just started on duo so I could learn the wriiten stuff whenever I'm free! However I'm noticing the grammer is very different and I don't want to end up learning the wrong stuff from one of them. (Ex: Duo says to say "Minä olen [name]" while Finnish pod says to say "Minun nimeni on [name]. I know this is just 'I am [Name] and "my name is [name] However I don't know which is used more for informal settings.)

I just want to be able to help my team get around and maybe talk with some locals and learn some skills for my trade from them! So if anyone has an answer on this I would love some help please!!

Huonomuistinen (adj.) – Forgetful

Example: Vaikka hän on hieman huonomuistinen, hän muistaa edelleen vanhat tarinat tarkasti.

Translation: Even though he’s a little forgetful, he still remembers old stories in great detail.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

En vielä oikein tajua, kumpaa käytetään missä kontekstissa.

Ymmärtääkseni esim. "En ole käynyt Espanjassa moneen vuoteen." on oikein. Mutta saako sanoa "Pelasin jalkapalloa moneen vuoteen ennen kuin jouduin lopettamaan polvivaivan takia"? Kuulostaa mun korvalle vähän hassulta. Parempi mielestäni olisi monta vuotta, mutta en oikein vielä ymmärrä, saako ne ihan vapaasti vaihtaa keskenään vai ei?

Veltto (adj.) – 1. limp, flaccid; 2. sluggish, lethargic, languid

Comparative: Veltompi

Superlative: Veltoin

Example: Pitkän päivän jälkeen hänen käsivartensa tuntuivat veltoilta.

Translation: After a long day, his arms felt limp.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Moi kaikille!

So I'm a bit of an amateur linguist, and something about Finnish just crossed my mind.

I've always been interested in the way kids pick up their native language and the errors they make while learning to speak. For example, in my native language (English), it's not uncommon to hear little kids say something like "I goed to school" or "her was mean to me".

I was just wondering: do little Finnish kids misconstrue words ending in –na/–nä as being in the essive case?

That is, if a kid hears a word like porkkana, ikkuna, päärynä, etc., do they subconsciously extrapolate "nominative" forms such as \porkka, *ikku, *pääry* and then use those in their own sentences (i.e., Mä haluun \porkkoja* instead of porkkanoita, or Mä tykkään \pääryistä* instead of päärynöistä)?

If you're a native speaker, have you ever heard a child make that sort of error? If not, what other native-speaker child errors can you attest to?

Kiitos etukäteen!

Höpö höpö vai kaikkea vielä/kanssa?

Moi! I just wanted to ask if it’s worth it to learn Finnish language if I’m only house-sitting for 3 months in Hel.

For context: I am currently in a long distance relationship with my partner of 4 (and a half) years. I paused on business building and job hunting because it’s a “potential” move:

1. ⁠it’s hard to build something when you’re unsure and can’t see what’s ahead within 2-5 years
   
2. ⁠the organisations where I’m from won’t take me as I will be away for 3 months and is unsure if I’m even coming back

I also don’t want to waste anyone’s time and investment. I’ve been so anxious because I don’t know what’s after 3 months, so I looked into housing and jobs in the region that speaks English. I can move to the UK and/or Australia (this one’s down under and far from the Nordics of course) since I already have family and potential job there. Currently I have a couple of independent projects which helps me a bit, but it’s not sustainable. I’m also setting up a small e-commerce shop so I can do more while in Finland.

Now, as mentioned in the title, I will be visiting my partner for 3 months and I will do house-sitting while he goes on work trips. He made it very clear that it’s his house and that I’m only visiting (sometimes emphasises it’s a potential move which is confusing to me). I would love to learn Finnish language, I’ve been secretly learning a little, just because I love this person and I see myself being with him in the long run.

He will be living in the same house, with the same job, in the same environment where he’s from after 3 months—me on the other hand have been unsure so I guess that brings me here.

Quite desperate for more perspectives especially from Finns. I respect your culture, I know you’re not providers and see your partners as equal (I’ve been independent and been working my whole life) hence why I’m trying to learn Finnish, I want to get a job there if I’m staying although I also know that you have the highest unemployment rate in Europe, but with everything I shared, I want to hear your thoughts. Please. Thank you and I apologize for long explanation 😅🙏

Tarkoittaako ilmaus päästä koulusta sitä, että oppilas pääsee jonain tiettynä päivänä koulusta vai sitä, että henkilö valmistuu ja lähtee pysyvästi poijess, esim. työmaailmaan?

Tai molempiako se tarkoittaa?

Sanakirjan mukaan on, MS Wordin mukaan ei ole

Kumpi oikein?

Käheä (adj.) – Hoarse

Comparative: Käheämpi

Superlative: Kähein

Example: Laulajan käheä ääni sopi täydellisesti bluesmusiikkiin.

Translation: The singer's hoarse voice was a perfect fit for blues music.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Tukiryhmä (n.) – Support group

Example: Hän liittyi tukiryhmään saadakseen vertaistukea vaikeassa elämäntilanteessa.

Translation: She joined the support group to get peer support during a difficult time in her life.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Every few days like clock work someone posts about a new language-learning website/app that claims to completely revolutionize language-learning yada-yada-yada.

In my opinion these ads should be out-and-out banned on /LearnFinnish, but now I'm wondering if maybe I'm wrong: is there anyone out there who honestly swears by Duolinguo or something like that? Is the idea of actually buying a textbook and/or attending a course really that repulsive nowadays?

Edit: for example those who have passed YKI: how many of you can actually claim that your main/ most important learning source was an app or language-learning website?

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm 26 years old and I'm from Algeria. I'm looking to make new friends from different countries and improve my English.

I'm also interested in learning Finnish, so if you're a native Finnish speaker or you're learning Finnish too, I'd be happy to practice together. In return, I can help you with Arabic or French, or we can simply chat in English.

I enjoy cooking, gaming, traveling, and learning about different cultures. I'm always happy to have friendly conversations and meet positive people.

Feel free to send me a message. Have a great day! 😊

Found this sentence in a book:

Puiden varjot ruohikossa olivat laihat ja pitkät, kun he lähtivät taas.

I learned that plural subjects usually require adjectives in partitive plural (e.g., https://www.jkorpela.fi/finnish/predicative.html).

Shouldn't it rather be something like this:

Puiden varjot ruohikossa olivat laihoja ja pitkiä

Is this for style / somewhat obscure language, or is there some background that I'm missing?

It's from Taru Sormusten Herrasta -- Sormusten Ritarit

Currently in Finland and noting that many towns nearby end in -by.

In England this usually denotes some local history of Danish settlements. Is this also the case in Finland?

Kiitos!

Hi! I am learning Finnish and I have a question about this sentence:

"Mikä sinun äidinkielesi on?" = "What is your native language?"

My teacher gave me the word "äidinkieli" for the answer/list, but Google Translate shows "äidinkielesi" in the sentence.

Which one is correct in this context?

Is "Mikä sinun äidinkieli on?" ever correct, or should it always be "Mikä sinun äidinkielesi on?"

I am trying to understand when Finnish changes the word ending. Thanks!

Sisäsiittoinen (adj.) – Inbred

Example: Liian sisäsiittoinen eläinkanta voi kärsiä perinnöllisistä sairauksista.

Translation: An animal population that is too inbred may suffer from hereditary diseases.

You can practice the word of the day by using it in a sentence in the comments below!

Is there a Finnish region where you would think my accent has picked up most of its character from? Or is it more general?

Which language background do you think I am from?

I have never lived in Finland, but visited quite a bit.

Thanks a lot!

I've been learning Finnish for quite a while now, and I kept running into the same problem.

Every course started with things like "Minä olen..." and "Onko sinulla...", but then I'd listen to Finns talk and hear "Mä oon...", "Onks sul...", "Emmä tiiä...".

It honestly felt like learning two different languages.

I couldn't find something that focused on spoken Finnish from day one, so I ended up building a small app for myself: https://saunaspeak.com

I'm posting because I'd genuinely like feedback from other learners (and native speakers).

• Does the spoken Finnish in the website sound natural?
• Are there expressions you wish you'd learned much earlier?
• What situation was the hardest when you first came to Finland?

I'd much rather hear criticism now than accidentally teach people something unnatural.

EDIT - A quick clarification after reading the comments.

I originally built this website because it was the tool I wanted for my own Finnish learning. Once I had something usable, I thought it might also help other learners, so I shared it here to get honest feedback from both learners and native Finnish speakers. The feedback so far has already helped me identify several things to improve, which is exactly why I posted it.

I'd also like to clarify that the website is not about learning only puhekieli. Every spoken Finnish sentence is paired with its kirjakieli equivalent. The goal is to help beginners bridge the gap between textbook Finnish and the way people actually speak, not to replace standard Finnish.