Breakdown of Uusi tablettikaan ei ole yhtä näppärä kuin vanha.
olla
to be
vanha
old
uusi
new
ei
no / not (negative verb)
Questions & Answers about Uusi tablettikaan ei ole yhtä näppärä kuin vanha.
How does the 'as handy as' structure work in this sentence?
In Finnish, 'as [adjective] as' is expressed with yhtä + adjective + kuin. Here, it is yhtä näppärä kuin (literally 'equally handy as'). The adjective stays in its basic form when describing a nominative subject like tabletti.
Why does the word for tablet have the -kaan ending here?
The ending -kaan (or -kään) means 'either' or 'neither' in negative sentences. It is the negative equivalent of -kin (also/too). Because the sentence has the negative verb ei, we must use tablettikaan (the tablet either) instead of tablettikin.
Why does the sentence just end with vanha instead of saying something for 'the old one'?
In Finnish, adjectives can stand alone when the noun they describe is obvious from the context. You do not need a placeholder word like 'one' in English. Vanha simply means 'the old (tablet)'.
What does the word yhtä literally mean on its own?
Yhtä is the partitive form of the number yksi (one). In equative comparisons like this, it acts as an adverb meaning 'equally' or 'to the same degree'.