Kulttuuri on kaunis.

Culture is beautiful.

Breakdown of Kulttuuri on kaunis.

• olla: to be
• kaunis: beautiful
• kulttuuri: the culture

Questions & Answers about Kulttuuri on kaunis.

What case is kulttuuri in, and what does that case tell us?

kulttuuri is in the nominative singular. In Finnish, the nominative case • marks the subject of a sentence
• is also the dictionary form of a noun

Here, it shows that kulttuuri (“culture”) is the thing being described.

What is on, and how does it function here?

on is the third person singular present form of the verb olla (to be). It means “is” in English. In Kulttuuri on kaunis., on links the subject (kulttuuri) with the predicate adjective (kaunis).

Why aren’t there any articles (a/an/the) before kulttuuri?

Finnish does not have articles. Definite or indefinite meaning is inferred from context rather than separate words like a, an, or the.

Why does kaunis look the same as its dictionary form? How do adjectives agree with nouns?

kaunis is the nominative singular form of the adjective, matching kulttuuri (nominative singular). In Finnish adjective–noun agreement: • adjectives take the same case and number as the noun they modify
• here both are nominative singular, so no additional ending appears on kaunis

Can I change the word order, for example say Kaunis on kulttuuri? Does it alter the meaning?

Yes—you can invert the order. Finnish has relatively free word order.
• Kulttuuri on kaunis. – neutral statement (“Culture is beautiful.”)
• Kaunis on kulttuuri. – shifts emphasis onto kaunis (“It’s beautiful that is culture.”)
The core meaning remains, but the focal point changes.

How do I pronounce the double letters in kulttuuri?

Finnish uses long vs. short sounds:
• tt is a long /tː/ (hold the “t” slightly longer)
• uu is a long /uː/ (hold the “u” vowel longer)
So kulttuuri is pronounced approximately [ˈkul-tːuː-ri], with stress on the first syllable.

How would I say “a beautiful culture” as a noun phrase, not a complete sentence?

Use the adjective before the noun, still in nominative singular:
kaunis kulttuuri
• kaunis (beautiful)
• kulttuuri (culture)
No article is needed; context tells you it’s “a” or “the” culture.

Do vowel harmony rules affect kulttuuri on kaunis?

Yes. Finnish words follow vowel harmony:
• back vowels: a, o, u
• front vowels: ä, ö, y
• neutral: e, i
In kulttuuri and kaunis, you see back vowels (u, a) and neutral vowels (i), so everything harmonizes correctly for back-vowel words.