Breakdown of Nuorin veli on aina omituisehko.
olla
to be
nuori
young
aina
always
veli
brother
omituinen
peculiar (strange, weird)
Questions & Answers about Nuorin veli on aina omituisehko.
How exactly is the suffix -hko added to a word like omituinen?
When adding suffixes to words ending in -nen, you must use the inflectional stem, which ends in -se-. The stem for omituinen is omituise-, and you simply attach -hko directly to it, making omituisehko.
Why do we use -hko here instead of its front-vowel pair -hkö?
The choice depends on vowel harmony. Even though omituinen has the neutral vowels i and e, it also contains the back vowels o and u. The presence of these back vowels dictates that the suffix must also use a back vowel, making it -hko.
Is it more common to use this suffix or to just say melko omituinen?
In everyday spoken Finnish, it is much more common to use a separate word like melko (fairly) or aika (quite/rather) before the basic adjective. The suffix -hko means the exact same thing but has a slightly more literary, concise, or descriptive feel to it.
Just to be sure, is nuorin an irregular word for "youngest"?
It is completely regular! It is the standard superlative form of nuori (young). As a reminder, the comparative is nuorempi (younger) and the superlative is nuorin (youngest).
Learn Nuorin veli on aina omituisehko and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free