Breakdown of Tämä lienee arvaamattomin koettelemus, minkä koemme.
tämä
this
olla
to be
kokea
to experience
mikä
which (relative pronoun)
arvaamaton
unpredictable
koettelemus
ordeal
Questions & Answers about Tämä lienee arvaamattomin koettelemus, minkä koemme.
Why does this sentence use minkä instead of jonka to say "that we will experience"?
Normally, you use joka to refer back to a specific noun. However, when the noun is described by a superlative (like arvaamattomin, meaning "most unpredictable"), Finnish prefers the relative pronoun mikä. Since the ordeal is the total object of the verb koemme, the pronoun takes the accusative form minkä.
I don't recognize the verb lienee. What is it?
Lienee is the potential mood form of the verb olla (to be) in the third-person singular. The potential mood expresses probability or assumption, which is why it translates to "is probably" or "may be". It is mostly used in formal or written Finnish; in spoken language, you would be more likely to hear something like Tämä on varmaan...
Are the words koettelemus and koemme related?
Yes, they share the same root. The verb kokea means "to experience" (as in koemme, "we experience"). Koettelemus is a noun derived from this root, meaning a trial, hardship, or ordeal—essentially, a challenging event that tests you.
Could we use the partitive mitä instead of minkä here?
No, because minkä acts as a total object here. The verb koemme implies we will go through this ordeal in its entirety, so the object takes the accusative case. If you used mitä, it would incorrectly suggest that the experiencing is an ongoing, unfinished action or that we are only experiencing part of the ordeal.
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