Question 1

Why does the sentence use joka for 'which' instead of mikä?

Accepted Answer

Even though English uses 'which' for things in both cases, Finnish distinguishes between them. You use joka when referring back to a specific preceding noun—in this case, tyyli (style). You would use mikä if you were referring to an entire preceding clause, a superlative, or an abstract pronoun like kaikki (everything).

Question 2

I usually see vielä used for 'still'. Why is yhä used here instead?

Accepted Answer

Both yhä and vielä can mean 'still' and are often interchangeable in affirmative sentences. However, yhä specifically emphasizes that an ongoing state has remained unchanged over a long period of time, which perfectly fits an 'old style' that has retained its beauty. Just remember that in negative sentences, you generally must switch to enää (not anymore) or vielä (not yet), rather than using yhä.

Question 3

Could I put yhä at the very end of the sentence, like '...joka on kaunis yhä'?

Accepted Answer

It is much more natural to keep the adverb yhä right before the adjective it modifies (kaunis). Placing it at the very end of the clause is grammatically understandable but sounds clunky or unnaturally poetic in everyday Finnish.

Question 4

The word tyyli looks and sounds a bit like 'style'. Is it a loanword?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is borrowed from the Swedish word 'stil' (which shares the same root as the English 'style'). When Finnish adopts foreign words that end in a consonant, it frequently adds an -i to the end to make them fit the Finnish vowel-heavy sound system, just like with pankki (bank) or banaani (banana).

Tämä on vanha tyyli, joka on yhä kaunis.

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