Breakdown of Väestönlaskenta näyttää, että ikärakenne on ongelma.
olla
to be
ongelma
problem
näyttää
to show
että
that (conjunction)
väestönlaskenta
census
ikärakenne
age structure
Questions & Answers about Väestönlaskenta näyttää, että ikärakenne on ongelma.
I always thought näyttää meant 'to look like'. Why does it translate to 'shows' here?
When näyttää is followed by cases like the ablative (e.g., hyvältä), it means 'to look like'. However, when it takes a direct object or a subordinate että clause as it does in this sentence, it means 'to show'.
Why is the first part of the compound word väestönlaskenta in the genitive (väestön-) rather than the nominative?
In Finnish compound words, the first part is often in the genitive case when it acts as the object of the action described by the second part. Since laskenta means 'counting', väestönlaskenta literally translates to 'the counting of the population'.
Is väestö (population) related to the word väki (people or crowd)?
Yes! The -stö suffix is used to create collective nouns, representing a whole system or group of things. So väki (people) becomes väestö (the entire population). Another common example you already know is kirja (book) becoming kirjasto (library).
If I wanted to say 'in the age structure', how does the word rakenne decline?
Nouns ending in -e undergo reverse consonant gradation, meaning the nominative dictionary form is in the weak grade, but the stem is strong. The weak -nn- in rakenne strengthens to -nt- in the stem (rakentee-), making 'in the age structure' ikärakenteessa.
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