Breakdown of Mikä on Euroopan toiseksi suurin kaupunki väkiluvun mukaan?
olla
to be
mikä
what
kaupunki
city
toinen
other, another; second
Questions & Answers about Mikä on Euroopan toiseksi suurin kaupunki väkiluvun mukaan?
Why is the word for "second" in the translative case (toiseksi)?
This is the standard Finnish structure for ranking superlatives. To say "second largest", you put the ordinal number toinen (second) into the translative case (toiseksi) and follow it with the superlative adjective suurin (largest).
How does the word order work with Euroopan in this phrase?
Euroopan (Europe's) sets the scope of the superlative. In Finnish, this genitive modifier comes directly before the ranking phrase, forming a neat package: Euroopan toiseksi suurin kaupunki (literally "Europe's as-second biggest city").
What does the postposition mukaan do in this sentence?
mukaan means "according to" or "by", and it always requires the preceding noun to be in the genitive case. This is why the compound word for population (väkiluku) appears as väkiluvun. The phrase väkiluvun mukaan translates directly to "according to the population".
Is there another natural way to say "by population" besides väkiluvun mukaan?
Yes, at this level you will often see the ablative case with a possessive suffix used for this type of measurement: väkiluvultaan (by its population). Both väkiluvun mukaan and väkiluvultaan are very natural, common choices for this context.