Learn Finnish: Ensinnäkin tämä suunnitelma on liian kallis.

Ensinnäkin tämä suunnitelma on liian kallis.

Firstly, this plan is too expensive.

Breakdown of Ensinnäkin tämä suunnitelma on liian kallis.

Questions & Answers about Ensinnäkin tämä suunnitelma on liian kallis.

Ensinnäkin means 'firstly', but why does it end with the clitic -kin?

The clitic -kin here emphasizes that this is the first in a series of points (similar to saying 'for one thing' in English). When you start an argument with ensinnäkin, the listener expects you to follow up with other points later in the conversation.

If 'firstly' is ensinnäkin, are 'secondly' and 'thirdly' formed the same way?

No, they are formed differently. While 'firstly' uses an old locative ending plus -kin (ensinnäkin), the subsequent numbers in a list use the translative case: toiseksi (secondly) and kolmanneksi (thirdly).

The word suunnitelma (plan) looks like it comes from a verb. How is it formed?

It is derived from the verb suunnitella (to plan). The suffix -elma or -lma is used to create a noun that represents the result of a verb's action. A plan is the result of planning. Other common examples are ohjelma (program) from ohjata (to direct) and kokoelma (collection) from koota (to collect).

Why is the adjective kallis in the nominative case here, rather than the partitive kallista?