Many endings occur in two forms with alternative vowels, e.g. -ssa ~ -ssä
‘in’, -ko ~ -kö (interrogative), -nut ~ -nyt (past participle). These vowel
alternations form three pairs; each pair has one back vowel and one front
vowel.
Back vowel Front vowel Example
a ä -ssa ~ -ssä
o ö -kö ~ -kö
u y -nut ~ -nyt
If a given ending contains one of these six vowels, there will also exist a
parallel ending with the other vowel of the pair. If we have the ending -han
‘emphasis’, there will also be -hän; if -koon (third p. sing. imp.), then also -
köön, etc. The vowels of the stem determine which ending of the pair is to be
chosen.
Urho Kekkonen was the
President of Finland.
Kalle ate an apple!
It was an apple that Kalle ate!
I’m going to Turku, not to
Helsinki!
If the stem contains one or more of the vowels u, o, a, the ending also
has to have a back vowel (u, o, a). If the stem has no back vowels, the
ending has to have a front vowel (y, ö, ä).
Pronunciation and sound structure 17
Ending with back vowel Ending with front vowel
talo/ssa in the house kylä/ssä in the village
Turu/ssa in Turku käde/ssä in the hand
Pori/ssa in Pori venee/ssä in the boat
Porvoo/ssa in Porvoo Helsingi/ssä in Helsinki
poja/lla boy äidi/llä mother
auto/lla by car tä/llä with this
kato/lla on the roof miehe/llä man
naise/lta from the woman Ville/ltä from Ville
Kekkose/lta from Kekkonen tytö/ltä from the girl
sisare/lta from the sister velje/ltä from the brother
he tule/vat they come he syö/vät they eat
he sano/vat they say he mene/vät they go
on luke/nut has read on pitä/nyt has kept
tuo/ko? that? tämä/kö? this?
tuo/ssa/ko? in that? tä/ssä/kö? in this?
kirja/han book (+emphasis) kynä/hän pen (+emphasis)
kirja/ssa/han in the book kynä/llä/hän with a pen
(+emphasis) (+emphasis)
Turu/sta/ko? from Turku? Kemi/stä/kö? from Kemi?
kahvi/la/ssa/han in the café kylpy/lä/ssä/ at the bathing
(+emphasis) hän resort (+emph.)
Some recent words of foreign origin which contain conflicting combinations
of harmony vowels fluctuate in ending selection, e.g. amatööri ‘amateur’ :
amatööri/na (recommended usage) ‘as an amateur’ ~ amatööri/nä.
