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Finnish Fundamentals - Consonants

Be advised that Finnish consonants feature contrast by length.

A short consonant is indicated by a single letter.

A long consonant is indicated by a double letter.

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Line 1 / 20

"p" / "pp"

papu

pappi

bean

clergyman

Line 2 / 20

"t"

tee!

teet!

do!

you do

Line 3 / 20

"t" / "tt"

otan

ottaa

I take

he takes

Line 4 / 20

"k" / "kk"

kuka

kukka

who

flower

Line 5 / 20

"d"

dialogi

sade

dialogue

rain

Line 6 / 20

"m" / "mm"

aamen

amme

amen

tub

Line 7 / 20

"n" / "nn"

sana

Sanna

word

(girl's name)

Line 8 / 20

"nk" / "ng"

kenka

kengät

shoe

the shoes

Line 9 / 20

"l" / "ll"

eli

Elli

ali

Alli

oli

Olli

tuli

tulli

askel

he lived

(girl's name)

under

(girl's name)

was

(boy's name)

fire

customs

step

Line 10 / 20

"r" / rr"

ruoka

suru

surra

ranskatar

food

sorrow

to grieve

Frenchwoman

Line 11 / 20

"s" / "ss"

sota

lasi

Lassi

viisi

vapaus

war

glass

(boy's name)

five

freedom

Line 12 / 20

"h"

he

vähän

ihme

tehdä

Lahti

kohta

they

a little

wonder

to do

(city in Finland)

soon

Line 13 / 20

"v"

vain

sivu

only

page

Line 14 / 20

"j"

jos

ajaa

if

to drive

Line 15 / 20

"b", "g", and "f" are not native Finnish phonemes, but they occur in borrowed words.

banaani

geologia

filmi

banana

geology

film

Stress
Stress in Finnish words is always on the first syllable.

Line 16 / 20

anteeksi

excuse me

Line 17 / 20

huomenta

good morning

Line 18 / 20

kadulla

on the street

Line 19 / 20

puhutte

you speak

Line 20 / 20

kahvi

kuppi

kahvi kuppi

coffee

cup

coffee cup