Breakdown of Tutkimaton jyrkänne, jonne voimme harhautua, on vaarallisen näköinen.
olla
to be
voida
can, to be able to
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
vaarallinen
dangerous
näköinen
-looking / looking like
tutkimaton
unexplored
jyrkänne
cliff
harhautua
to stray
Questions & Answers about Tutkimaton jyrkänne, jonne voimme harhautua, on vaarallisen näköinen.
Why use jonne here instead of minne?
In standard written Finnish, when referring back to a physical noun like jyrkänne (cliff), you must use a relative word from the joka family. jonne is the destination form of joka used for physical places. minne belongs to the mikä family, which is only used when referring back to entire clauses, pronouns, or superlatives.
Could I use johon instead of jonne?
Why does harhautua (to wander off) require a destination word (jonne) instead of a static location word (jossa)?
In Finnish, verbs about straying, forgetting, leaving, or getting lost are treated as movements where you end up somewhere. Because you are straying into the cliff area, harhautua requires a direction word pointing towards the destination, rather than a static 'where at' word.
Why is vaarallinen in the genitive case (vaarallisen) instead of the basic nominative?
When using näköinen (looking / of appearance) to describe how something looks, the preceding adjective or noun must be in the genitive case. You are literally saying the cliff is 'of a dangerous appearance'.
How is the word tutkimaton formed?
It is the negative participle of the verb tutkia (to explore, to examine). Adding the suffix -maton or -mätön to a verb creates an adjective that means the action hasn't been done. In this sentence, it translates to 'unexplored'.
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