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Kuva on kaunis.

Kuva on kaunis.
The picture is beautiful.
FromLesson 9inHardcore Finnish
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Breakdown of Kuva on kaunis.

olla
to be
kaunis
beautiful
kuva
the picture
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Questions & Answers about Kuva on kaunis.

What does kuva mean, and which grammatical case is it in?
kuva means picture. It is in the nominative singular case because it functions as the subject of the sentence. Finnish marks grammatical roles with cases rather than word order or articles.
What does on represent in this sentence?
on is the third person singular present tense form of olla (“to be”). It acts as a copula, linking the subject (kuva) to its predicate adjective (kaunis).
Why is there no word for a or the before kuva?
Finnish does not have articles like a or the. Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context. If you need to specify “this” or “that,” you use demonstrative pronouns (e.g., tämä, se).
Why is kaunis not changed in form after kuva?
Adjectives in Finnish agree with their nouns in case and number. Here, kaunis is in the nominative singular to match kuva. Finnish has no grammatical gender, so there’s no extra agreement form needed.
Can I say kaunis kuva instead of kuva on kaunis, and what’s the difference?
Yes. kaunis kuva is an adjective-noun phrase meaning a beautiful picture. kuva on kaunis is a complete sentence meaning The picture is beautiful. In speech you might also just exclaim Kaunis kuva! to comment on its beauty.
How would I make the sentence negative?

Use the negative auxiliary ei in third person singular plus the infinitive form of olla:
• Kuva ei ole kaunis. (“The picture is not beautiful.”)

How do I ask Is the picture beautiful? in Finnish?

Invert the verb and subject or use the question particle -ko:
• Onko kuva kaunis? (“Is the picture beautiful?”)

How can I say this picture is beautiful to be more specific?

Add the demonstrative pronoun tämä before kuva:
• Tämä kuva on kaunis.

How would I pluralize the sentence to say the pictures are beautiful?

Change kuva → kuvat (plural nominative), on → ovat (3rd person plural), and kaunis → kauniit (plural nominative for the adjective):
• Kuvat ovat kauniit.
If you want “these pictures,” say Nämä kuvat ovat kauniit.

How is Kuva on kaunis pronounced?

You pronounce it as:
IPA: [ˈkuʋɑ on ˈkɑunis]
Syllable breakdown & stress: KU-va on KAU-nis (Finnish always stresses the first syllable of each word).