Koira on nälkäinen.

to be

Breakdown of Koira on nälkäinen.

• koira: the dog
• nälkäinen: hungry

Questions & Answers about Koira on nälkäinen.

What does the word koira mean in English?

Koira translates to dog. In Finnish, nouns stand alone without articles, so it can represent both "dog" and "the dog" depending on context.

What does nälkäinen mean?

Nälkäinen is an adjective that means hungry. It describes the state of having hunger.

What role does the word on play in this sentence?

On is the third-person singular form of the verb olla (to be). It acts as the linking verb (copula) that connects the subject koira with the predicate adjective nälkäinen.

Why is there no article like "the" before koira?

Finnish does not use articles such as "the" or "a/an". Context determines whether a noun should be interpreted as definite or indefinite, so koira can be understood as either "dog" or "the dog" based on the situation.

Why is nälkäinen in its basic (nominative) form instead of being inflected?

When adjectives are used predicatively in Finnish—that is, after the copular verb—they remain in their basic or nominative form. Therefore, nälkäinen doesn’t need additional inflection to agree with koira.

How is the adjective nälkäinen formed from the noun nälkä?

A common pattern in Finnish is to create adjectives by adding the suffix -inen to a noun. Here, adding -inen to nälkä (meaning hunger) produces nälkäinen, which describes something that has the quality of being hungry.