Learn Finnish: Hiha on viisikymmentä senttiä pitkä. - The sleeve is fifty centimeters long.

In Finnish, any noun that directly follows a number greater than one must be in the partitive singular. Since we have viisikymmentä (fifty), the unit sentti (centimeter) becomes senttiä.

Why is the adjective pitkä in the nominative case instead of the partitive?

When expressing measurements with adjectives of dimension, the adjective describes the subject of the sentence. Because the subject hiha (sleeve) is in the nominative singular, the adjective pitkä (long) must also be in the nominative singular to match it.

Does the word order for dimensions in Finnish generally match English?

Yes! For basic dimension descriptions using adjectives like pitkä (long), leveä (wide), or korkea (high), the word order exactly mirrors English: [Subject] + on + [Number] + [Unit] + [Adjective].

How would this sentence change if I wanted to say "The sleeve's length is fifty centimeters"?

You would use the noun pituus (length) instead of the adjective pitkä, and put the subject in the genitive case: Hihan pituus on viisikymmentä senttiä. Both ways are very common in Finnish.