Learn Hardcore Finnish: Raitiovaunu on valoisa ja hiljainen.

Raitiovaunu translates to “tram” or “streetcar” in English. It’s a compound word made up of raide (rail) and vaunu (carriage), but as a single term it simply means tram.

How do you pronounce raitiovaunu?

Break it into syllables: rai-ti-o-vau-nu. The ai in the first syllable sounds like the “i” in “time.” The au in the third syllable sounds like the “ow” in “cow.” Stress always falls on the first syllable: RAI-ti-o-vau-nu.

Why is there no “a” or “the” before the noun in Finnish?

Finnish doesn’t use articles (a/an/the). Whether something is definite or indefinite is understood from context. So you simply say raitiovaunu on… for both “a tram is…” and “the tram is…”

What is on in this sentence?

On is the third‐person singular form of olla, which means “to be.” It corresponds to the English “is.”

Why do valoisa and hiljainen end in different ways (-a vs. ‑nen)?

Adjectives in Finnish follow different declension patterns.

Valoisa belongs to the -isa/-ene adjective type, so its nominative singular ends in -a.
Hiljainen is an -nen adjective, and its nominative singular keeps the -nen ending.

How do adjectives agree with the noun in Finnish?

Finnish adjectives only agree in case and number, not gender. Here, raitiovaunu is singular nominative, so both adjectives take the singular nominative form: valoisa and hiljainen.

Can I swap the order of the adjectives?

Yes. Finnish word order is flexible for adjectives. You can say Raitiovaunu on hiljainen ja valoisa with exactly the same meaning.

How would you make this sentence plural: “Trams are bright and quiet”?

Change the noun and verb to plural and adjust the adjectives to plural nominative (strong plural) or plural partitive (common in speech). For strong plural:
Raitiovaunut ovat valoisat ja hiljaiset.
Or more colloquially using plural partitive:
Raitiovaunut ovat valoisia ja hiljaisia.