Learn Finnish: Meri näkyy ikkunasta. - The sea is visible from the window.

Meri näkyy ikkunasta.

The sea is visible from the window.

Breakdown of Meri näkyy ikkunasta.

to be visible, to show

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Questions & Answers about Meri näkyy ikkunasta.

The current lesson is about perception verbs like näyttää taking the -lta/-ltä ending. Why doesn't this sentence use that?

This sentence uses the verb näkyä (to be visible), which is often confused with näyttää (to look like). Because we are talking about where the sea is seen from rather than what it looks like, it doesn't trigger the -lta/-ltä perception ending.

What is the difference between näkyy and the basic verb nähdä (to see)?

Nähdä requires a subject doing the seeing, for example: Minä näen meren (I see the sea). Näkyä describes the object itself: Meri näkyy means the sea is visible or can be seen. You use it when you don't need to specify who is looking.

Why is the word for window (ikkuna) in the -sta form here?

In Finnish, when something is visible from or through a window, you use the elative ending -sta/-stä, which literally translates to "out of". So you are saying the sea is visible out of the window (ikkunasta).