The Translative Case for Languages
When expressing the language in which something is written, spoken, or translated, Finnish uses the Translative case. Attach the ending -ksi to the language name to say "in [Language]".
| How is this said in Swedish? | Miten tämä sanotaan ruotsiksi? |
| The translator translates the book into Swedish. | Kääntäjä kääntää kirjan ruotsiksi. |
Forming the Translative
The -ksi ending attaches to the word's inflectional stem. Because the suffix starts with two consonants, it triggers the weak grade in words subject to consonant gradation (for example, englanti becomes englanniksi). For many languages without gradation, simply add the suffix directly to the dictionary form (ranska becomes ranskaksi, venäjä becomes venäjäksi, italia becomes italiaksi).
| Is this document officially in French? | Onko tämä asiakirja virallisesti ranskaksi? |
| We must reply officially in Russian. | Meidän täytyy vastata virallisesti venäjäksi. |
| Is it better to write in Italian than in French? | Onko parempi kirjoittaa italiaksi kuin ranskaksi? |
Discussing Language Skills
When you communicate, read, or translate in a language, use -ksi. If you are just naming the language as a subject or object—such as when stating your mother tongue (äidinkieli)—use the basic nominative form.
| The movie has subtitles in Swedish. | Elokuvassa on tekstitys ruotsiksi. |
| My mother tongue is Finnish, but I answer you in Italian. | Äidinkieleni on suomi, mutta vastaan sinulle italiaksi. |
| This dialect is difficult, so can you say it in Swedish? | Tämä murre on vaikea, joten voitko sanoa sen ruotsiksi? |
