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Questions & Answers about Vessa on pieni.
Why is there no word for "the" in this sentence?
Finnish doesn't have articles like "a" or "the". A word like vessa can mean "a toilet" or "the toilet" depending on the context. Here, we know we are talking about a specific one, so it translates to "the toilet".
Is vessa the formal word for a toilet?
No, vessa is an everyday word, similar to "bathroom" or "loo". The formal written word is often WC (pronounced vee-see), but vessa is the most common word you will hear and use in spoken Finnish.
Why doesn't the adjective pieni have a special case ending here?
The verb olla (to be) is a static verb. When you use it to describe what one whole, countable thing is like, the adjective stays in its basic dictionary form (the nominative case). Since vessa is in its basic form, pieni matches it.
Does the word order change if I want to say "The small toilet"?
Yes! If you want to say "the small toilet" as a single phrase instead of "the toilet is small" as a full sentence, the adjective goes directly before the noun: pieni vessa.