Breakdown of Ole hyvä! Tämä kirja on uusi.
tämä
this
olla
to be
kirja
book
uusi
new
ole hyvä
you're welcome; here you are
Questions & Answers about Ole hyvä! Tämä kirja on uusi.
Why does ole hyvä mean 'Here you are' if the words literally mean 'be good'?
Ole hyvä is a very common fixed phrase in Finnish. While it literally translates to 'be good', it is used to say 'here you are' when handing something to someone, as in this sentence. It is also the standard way to say 'you're welcome' and 'please'.
If I am handing the book to two people, do I still say ole hyvä?
No, ole hyvä is used when you are speaking informally to one person. If you are addressing multiple people, or speaking formally to a stranger, you would use the plural or formal version: olkaa hyvä.
Is the sentence structure of Tämä kirja on uusi exactly the same as in English?
Yes! The word order matches English perfectly: Tämä (This) kirja (book) on (is) uusi (new). Notice that Finnish doesn't have words for 'a' or 'the', so the single word kirja automatically covers 'book' or 'the book'.
Could I use se instead of tämä in this sentence?
Tämä means 'this', while se usually means 'it' or 'that'. Because you are actively holding the book and handing it to someone right now, it is physically close to you, making tämä (this) the natural choice.
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