Breakdown of Se sattui tosi paljon, ku mä kaaduin.
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
minä
I
paljon
a lot
kun
when (conjunction)
kaatua
to fall down
tosi
really (intensifier)
sattua
to happen (by chance)
Questions & Answers about Se sattui tosi paljon, ku mä kaaduin.
The word ku here means when, but isn't that usually kun?
Yes! In spoken language (puhekieli), the word kun is almost always shortened to ku. You will hear this constantly in everyday speech.
Why use tosi instead of todella here?
Tosi is the extremely common spoken-language equivalent of todella (really or very). While todella paljon is perfectly correct standard Finnish, tosi paljon sounds much more natural in this casual sentence.
Doesn't the verb sattua also mean to happen? How do we know it means to hurt here?
You have to rely on context. Sattua means both to hurt and to happen. Here, the context of falling (kaaduin) makes it clear that it means hurt. If you wanted to say it happened when I fell, you would more likely use the verb tapahtua instead.
I know pudota also means to fall. Why is it kaaduin in this sentence?
Finnish distinguishes between different types of falling. Kaatua means to fall over, like tripping on the ground while walking or standing. Pudota means to drop or fall down from a height, like falling out of a tree.
Do I have to use mä instead of minä when using other spoken words like ku and tosi?
While not strictly mandatory, it sounds much more natural to keep the style consistent. If you use colloquial words like ku and tosi, suddenly using the standard minä might sound a bit mixed-up to a native speaker.
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