Author: mariasusanna
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Stop saying “Minä pidän…” when talking about liking something in Finnish
Literally, please do not say “Minä pidän kahvista.” Unless you want to sound like Hyacinth ‘Bucket’ from Keeping up appearances, but the Finnish version.* *closest Finnish reference I could find is as show called “Pokka pitää” aired in late 90’s on YLE. Some of you might need to google this, I mean ask ChatGPT, nobody…
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🇫🇮 Päästä or ehtiä? Is something blocking your way, or Do You Just Not Have Time?
“Can you come at six?” A perfectly normal question in English. Unfortunately, can is doing suspiciously little work here. Are you asking me whether: I have enough time? Whether I am free? Whether my boss will let me leave? Whether there is a bus? or Whether I have somehow become trapped inside Prisma? Finnish is…
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🇫🇮 In Finnish, are you sometimes unsure whether you’re coming or going?
Finnish can make a very normal trip to the shop feel like a small navigation exercise. Are you in the shop, coming from the shop, going to the shop, or just popping out/in* and coming back? * see what I did there, ‘popping out’ to the shops, ‘popping round’ to my mates… If you are…
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🇫🇮 Should You Learn Finnish from the News? Probably Not.
Another question learners often ask me is: Should I be reading the news in Finnish? Will that help me learn more Finnish? My honest answer is usually: Absolutely not. At least not in the way learners often mean it. The news is not usually the best place to learn Finnish, especially if you are still…
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🇫🇮 When Finnish Place Names Refuse to Behave
🇫🇮 Why do I go to Porvoo, but onto Hyvinkää? Finnish place names can be confusing. Fact ✔️ Students ask about this all the time. Also fact ✔️ Writing an article about it, so that it can be sent during or after class to keep things nice and tidy. Final fact ✔️ So let’s talk…
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🇫🇮 What does “torille” really mean in Finnish?
Some Finnish words are easy to translate. And then there is: Torille! Literally, it means: To the market square! The word comes from: tori = market squaretorille = to the market square So far, very normal Finnish. But culturally, torille! means something much bigger. If Finland wins something important, especially in ice hockey, people may…
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🇫🇮 The “problem” with Finnish…A Teacher’s Perspective
Finnish Is Precise – But Not Always when viewed through the lens of English This is a personal linguistic reflection on why Finnish can feel both extremely logical and extremely difficult to learn at the same time. Long read, if you only have a few moments to spare, I suggest to read sections “9. Finnish…
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🇫🇮 Are you just trying to survive Prisma…
…but somehow end up being taught this instead: 🐺 SUSI = “wolf” And then immediately showing beginners this: susi suden…
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🇫🇮 “Tota” and “niinku” – what do they even mean?
If you spend time listening to Finnish people speaking naturally, especially in conversations, cafés, workplaces, or everyday situations, you will start hearing two words constantly: totaandniinku And after a while you may start wondering: “Why does everybody keep saying these words all the time?” 🙂 The good news is: Usually they do not carry a…
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🇫🇮 Finnish does not map directly into English.
This does not come as a big surprise I guess, but let’s have a look at some examples 🙂 One of the reasons Finnish feels confusing at the beginning is simple: It does not map neatly into English. This is an important point to accept early on. Adult brains want to ask why, why, why.…
