Se tunne katoaa, kun juon teetä.

The feeling disappears when I drink tea.

Breakdown of Se tunne katoaa, kun juon teetä.

• minä: I
• juoda: to drink
• kun: when
• tee: the tea
• se: that
• tunne: the feeling
• kadota: to disappear

Questions & Answers about Se tunne katoaa, kun juon teetä.

Why is teetä in the partitive case?

In Finnish, when you talk about consuming an unmarked quantity of something—especially food or drink—the direct object takes the partitive case. Tee is the basic (nominative) form “tea,” but since you’re drinking an unspecified amount, it becomes teetä (partitive of tee).

---

What does kun mean here, and how is it different from jos?

Kun in this sentence means “when” in a temporal, habitual sense: “whenever I drink tea.”

• Kun = “when” (time)
• Jos = “if” (condition)
  If you said Jos juon teetä, it would read “If I drink tea…,” implying a hypothetical situation rather than a recurring or definite one.

---

Why is there a comma before kun?

In Finnish, subordinate clauses (like the one introduced by kun) are separated from the main clause by a comma. It doesn’t change meaning if you flip the clauses—you still use a comma: Kun juon teetä, se tunne katoaa.

---

How is the verb juon formed from juoda?

Juoda is a Type I verb (ending in ­–da/­–dä). To form the present tense 1st person singular:

1. Remove –da → juo-
2. Add the personal ending –n → juon (“I drink”)

---

How does katoaa come from the infinitive kadota?

Kadota (“to disappear”) is also a Type I verb (–ta/–tä). In the 3rd person singular present:

1. Remove –ta → kato-
2. Add –o (stem vowel) plus the personal ending –o (which merges into a long –aa) → katoaa (“it disappears”)

---

Why is the subject se tunne placed before the verb katoaa?

Finnish word order is relatively flexible, but SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) or SV (when there’s no object) is common in neutral statements. Here se tunne (“that feeling”) is the subject, and katoaa is the verb. You could also say: Kun juon teetä, se tunne katoaa.
or
Se tunne katoaa, kun juon teetä.
All are grammatically correct; the emphasis shifts slightly.

---

Why include the pronoun se before tunne? Could you just say Tunne katoaa?

You can say Tunne katoaa, but se tunne katoaa literally means “that feeling disappears,” emphasizing a specific feeling already mentioned or experienced. Omitting se makes it more general (“a feeling disappears”).

---

What nuance does katoaa have compared to other verbs like häviää or katopa?

• Katoaa = “to disappear” (neutral, everyday usage)
• Häviää = “to vanish” or “to lose” (can feel slightly more formal or dramatic)
• Katoa isn’t a standalone verb; the infinitive is kadota.
  Here katoaa suggests the feeling simply fades or drops out of awareness.

---

How do I pronounce teetä correctly?

• Tee has a long ee sound: [teː].
• The partitive ending –tä has a short ä: [tæ].
  Put together: [ˈteːtæ], with the stress on the first syllable.

---

Can I reverse the clauses and still say the same thing?

Yes. Both are correct and mean the same: 1) Se tunne katoaa, kun juon teetä.
2) Kun juon teetä, se tunne katoaa.
The choice depends on which part you want to highlight first.