Questions & Answers about Kahdeksan ja yksi on yhdeksän.
Why do we use on (is) instead of ovat (are) when we are adding numbers together?
In Finnish math equations, the verb is always in the singular form on. Even though you are adding multiple things together, the calculation itself is treated as a single idea, similar to how we often say "eight and one is nine" in English.
Kahdeksan (8) and yhdeksän (9) look very similar. Is there a trick to remember them?
Yes! They both end in -deksan, which historically meant something like "from ten". So kahdeksan is linked to kaksi (two) meaning "two away from ten", and yhdeksän is linked to yksi (one) meaning "one away from ten".
Could I say "plus" instead of ja in this sentence?
Yes, you can use the word plus just like in English. Using ja (and) is simply a more casual, everyday way to say it when talking about simple addition.
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