Learn Hardcore Finnish: Tämä päivä on normaali.

Tämä päivä on normaali. can mean “This day is normal” or “This day is a normal one.”
You don’t need to choose between “a” and “the” in Finnish; you just say päivä.

So whenever you feel you need a/the in English, in Finnish you typically just leave it out.

Why are both tämä and päivä in the same form? Shouldn’t one of them change?

In Finnish, a demonstrative like tämä (“this”) agrees in case and number with the noun it modifies.

tämä päivä = this day (both in singular nominative)
If you change the case, both change:
- tämän päivän = of this day (both in genitive)
- tässä päivässä = in this day (both in inessive)

In your sentence Tämä päivä on normaali, tämä päivä is the subject in the basic form (nominative), so both words stay in that form.

Why is päivä in this form and not päivän?

Päivä is the subject of the sentence, so it’s in the nominative case, the basic dictionary form.
Päivän is the genitive form, usually meaning “of the day” or used to mark possession or some other relationships (e.g. päivän sää = “the day’s weather”).

Tämä päivä on normaali. = This day is normal. (subject in nominative)
Tämän päivän ohjelma on lyhyt. = The program of this day is short. (possessor in genitive)

So for a simple X is Y sentence where X is the subject, use the nominative (päivä).

Why is normaali also in the basic form? I thought only subjects were nominative.

In Finnish, in a simple X is Y sentence, both sides are in the nominative when you describe what something is (especially with a noun or adjective that refers to a definite, specific thing).

Tämä päivä (subject) on normaali (predicative).

This adjective normaali agrees with päivä in number (both singular), but in this structure it doesn’t show gender (Finnish has none) and usually doesn’t show case (it’s nominative predicative).

If there were plural or different structures, you might see changes, e.g.:

Nämä päivät ovat normaalit. = These days are normal (specific set of days).
Nämä päivät ovat normaaleja. = These days are normal (more general / descriptive).

But in your sentence, normaali stays in the basic form.

What’s the difference between Tämä päivä on normaali and Tämä on normaali päivä?

Both can translate as “This day is normal”, but the focus is a bit different:

Tämä päivä on normaali.
- Emphasis is more on the day as a whole: “This particular day is normal.”
- Sounds slightly more contrastive: maybe yesterday was strange, but this day is normal.
Tämä on normaali päivä.
- Literally: “This is a normal day.”
- The focus is more on the type of day (a normal kind of day).

Both are grammatically correct. In everyday speech, Tämä on normaali päivä might feel a bit more natural when introducing or describing the day as just “a normal sort of day.”

What’s the difference between Tämä päivä on normaali and Tänään on normaali päivä?

They’re close in meaning but not identical:

Tämä päivä on normaali.
- Literally: “This day is normal.”
- Tämä päivä = “this day” as a calendar day or event.
- Emphasis on the day itself compared to other days.
Tänään on normaali päivä.
- Literally: “Today is a normal day.”
- Tänään is an adverb meaning “today”, not a noun phrase.
- Sounds more like a natural way to comment on how today feels.

If you’re just saying “Today is a normal day” in everyday conversation, Tänään on normaali päivä is more typical.

Is normaali actually what Finns say, or is there a more natural word?

Normaali is real and common Finnish; it’s used especially in contexts like health, tests, standards, and expectations:

Tulos on normaali. = The result is normal.
Normaali lämpötila. = Normal temperature.

However, for “an ordinary/regular day,” Finns often use tavallinen:

Tämä päivä on tavallinen. = This day is ordinary / just a regular day.
Tänään on tavallinen päivä.

So your sentence with normaali is correct, but in many everyday contexts tavallinen päivä might sound more natural.

Can you drop on (the verb “is”) like in Russian or Arabic, or is it required?

In Finnish, the verb olla (“to be”) is normally not dropped in sentences like this.
You usually must include it:

Tämä päivä on normaali. ✅
Tämä päivä normaali. ❌ (sounds very wrong in standard Finnish)

There are some special structures where on can be omitted (for example in headlines or very short expressions), but in normal full sentences, especially for learners, you should always include on in the present tense.

How do you pronounce the ä in tämä and päivä?

Ä is a front vowel, similar to the “a” in English “cat”, but usually a bit clearer and more pure.

tämä ≈ “ta-ma”, but with the a like in “cat”, not like in “father”.
päivä:
- päi has a ä sound plus i, forming a diphthong somewhat like “pai” in “pie”, but starting from that “cat”-like vowel.
- vä again has that same ä.

Both tämä and päivä also have stress on the first syllable: TÄ-mä, PÄI-vä.

How would I say “These days are normal” in Finnish?

The straightforward plural version of your sentence is:

Nämä päivät ovat normaalit.

Here:

nämä = these (plural)
päivät = days (nominative plural)
ovat = are (3rd person plural of olla)
normaalit = normal (adjective in nominative plural, agreeing with päivät)

You might also hear Nämä päivät ovat normaaleja, which uses the partitive plural (normaaleja) and can sound a bit more descriptive or general. Both are grammatically correct, but normaalit is the most direct structural parallel to Tämä päivä on normaali.