Tämä on pieni ihme.

to be

Breakdown of Tämä on pieni ihme.

• tämä: this
• pieni: small
• ihme: the miracle; wonder

Questions & Answers about Tämä on pieni ihme.

What does each word in Tämä on pieni ihme mean?

• Tämä = this
• on = is (from the verb olla, to be)
• pieni = small, little
• ihme = miracle, wonder

So the sentence is literally This is a small miracle.

Why is on used here?

On is the 3rd person singular form of olla (to be).

Here, the subject is tämä (this), which takes the same verb form as he/she/it in English:

• minä olen = I am
• sinä olet = you are
• hän on = he/she is
• tämä on = this is

So Tämä on... means This is...

Why is it pieni ihme and not some other form like pienen ihmeen?