Learn Finnish: Tämä poikkeuksellinen saavutus on jopa ihmeellinen. - This exceptional achievement is even miraculous.

In Finnish, the word for 'even' changes depending on whether the sentence is affirmative or negative. Because this is a positive statement, we use jopa. If the sentence were negative, meaning 'not even', you would use ei edes.

Does jopa always go right before the word it emphasizes?

Yes, jopa is a focus adverb, meaning it usually sits immediately before the specific word or phrase it is highlighting. Here, it emphasizes just how extreme the achievement is by sitting right in front of ihmeellinen.

How are the long adjectives poikkeuksellinen and ihmeellinen built?

They both use the very common adjective suffix -llinen, which is similar to the English endings '-al' or '-ous'. The noun poikkeus (exception) becomes poikkeuksellinen (exceptional), and ihme (miracle) becomes ihmeellinen (miraculous).

What verb is the noun saavutus based on?

It comes from the verb saavuttaa, which means to achieve or to reach. The -us or -ys ending is a very common way to turn verbs into abstract nouns in Finnish.