Breakdown of Juttu ei ole myytti, vaan totuus.
olla
to be
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
juttu
the story
totuus
truth
Questions & Answers about Juttu ei ole myytti, vaan totuus.
Why do we use vaan here instead of mutta?
Both words translate to "but", but they have different jobs. Mutta just adds contrasting information. Vaan is used specifically after a negative statement (like ei ole) to offer a direct correction or alternative. Because the first part says what the story isn't, and the second part tells you what it is instead, we must use vaan.
Doesn't a negative verb usually force words into the partitive case? Why are myytti and totuus in the basic nominative form?
You are right to look out for the partitive in negative sentences! However, this sentence uses the verb olla (to be), which doesn't take an object. Instead, myytti and totuus describe what the subject (juttu) is or isn't. For singular, countable things described with olla, we keep them in the basic nominative case even if the sentence is negative.
Does juttu only mean "story"?
Not at all! It is a very common and flexible word in Finnish. Depending on the context, juttu can mean a story, a joke, a newspaper article, a thing, or a matter. Here "story" fits the context of a myth, but you will often hear it used simply as "thing" in everyday casual speech.
How is the word totuus (truth) formed?