Learn Hardcore Finnish: Alussa on vaikea tottua uuteen kouluun. - At first it is hard to get used to a new school.

Alussa comes from alku (beginning) + the inessive case ending -ssa (in).
So it literally means “in the beginning” or “at the start.”

In this sentence, Alussa on vaikea… corresponds to English “At first it is difficult…” or “In the beginning it is difficult…”. It sets the time frame when something is difficult.

Why is there no word for “it” in on vaikea tottua?

Finnish often uses an impersonal construction with olla (on) and an adjective:

On vaikea tottua…
literally: “Is difficult to get used to…”

There is no grammatical subject like English “it” here. The idea “it is” is just expressed by the verb on (is). Finnish doesn't need a dummy subject like English it in this kind of sentence.

Why is vaikea in the basic form, not vaikeaa?

Both vaikea and vaikeaa can appear in such sentences, but:

vaikea (nominative) is the default:
- Alussa on vaikea tottua… = “At first it is difficult to get used to…”
vaikeaa (partitive) can add a nuance of incompleteness or degree, like “somewhat difficult” or “a bit difficult”, or make the statement sound less absolute.

For a learner, you can safely treat on vaikea + infinitive as the normal, neutral structure:
On vaikea tottua uuteen kouluun.

What exactly is tottua, and why is it in that form?

Tottua is a verb meaning “to get used (to)” / “to become accustomed (to)”.

It is the basic dictionary form (the A‑infinitive).
In this sentence, it functions as an infinitive complement to vaikea:
- on vaikea tottua = “is difficult to get used (to)”

Finnish often uses olla + adjective + infinitive:

On mukava asua täällä. – “It is nice to live here.”
On vaikea tottua uuteen kouluun. – “It is difficult to get used to the new school.”

What case is uuteen kouluun, and why is it used?

Both uuteen and kouluun are in the illative case, which typically expresses movement into something or direction towards something.

koulu → kouluun (to the school)
uusi → uuteen (to the new)

The verb tottua takes its object in the illative:

tottua johonkin = “to get used to something”

So tottua uuteen kouluun = “to get used to the new school”, literally “to get used into the new school.”

Why does uuteen look so different from uusi?

Uusi (new) changes its stem when it’s inflected:

Basic form (nominative): uusi
Illative: uuteen

This happens because:

The stem becomes uude- in many cases.
The illative ending for many words is -seen.
uude- + -seen → uuteen (long vowel ee is written with ee in Finnish).

So uusi koulu (“a new school”) in the illative becomes uuteen kouluun (“into/to the new school”).

Why do both uuteen and kouluun have case endings? Couldn’t it be just uuteen koulu or uusi kouluun?

In Finnish, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in:

case
number
(and, when relevant) person

Since koulu is in the illative (kouluun), the adjective uusi must also be in the illative:

uuteen kouluun = correct
uuteen koulu = wrong (adjective in illative, noun not)
uusi kouluun = wrong (noun in illative, adjective not)

So both words get illative endings to show they belong together: “to the new school.”

Could I say Alussa on vaikeaa tottua uuteen kouluun instead? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Alussa on vaikeaa tottua uuteen kouluun.

This is grammatically correct. The difference is subtle:

on vaikea – more neutral, straightforward: “it is difficult”
on vaikeaa – can sound a bit more gradual, ongoing, or partial, like “it is (somewhat) difficult / difficult in general”

In everyday speech, both forms are used. For learning purposes, stick with on vaikea as the default.

Why isn’t tottua conjugated like tottuaan or totun?

Here, tottua is not a finite (conjugated) verb, but an infinitive used after on vaikea.

Compare:

Alussa on vaikea tottua uuteen kouluun.
“At first it is difficult to get used to the new school.”
→ tottua = infinitive (not conjugated)
Alussa totun uuteen kouluun.
“At first I get used to the new school.”
→ totun = 1st person singular (conjugated)

The structure on + adjective + infinitive is impersonal, not tied to a specific person grammatically, even though contextually it might mean “for me / for you / for people in general.”

Can I change the word order, for example: On vaikea alussa tottua uuteen kouluun or Uuteen kouluun on alussa vaikea tottua?

Yes, Finnish word order is quite flexible. Some options:

Alussa on vaikea tottua uuteen kouluun.
(Neutral; time expression first.)
On alussa vaikea tottua uuteen kouluun.
(Also fine; similar meaning, slightly different emphasis.)
Uuteen kouluun on alussa vaikea tottua.
(Emphasizes uuteen kouluun – the new school is what is hard to get used to.)

All are grammatically correct. The original version is the most straightforward and typical.

What’s the difference between alussa, aluksi, and ensin?

All can translate roughly as “at first / in the beginning”, but they’re used a bit differently:

alussa – literally “in the beginning”, more like a time point or period:
- Alussa on vaikea tottua uuteen kouluun.
aluksi – adverb, often “at first, initially”, sometimes with a nuance of “at first, and then something changes”:
- Aluksi oli vaikea, mutta myöhemmin helpottui.
  “At first it was difficult, but later it got easier.”
ensin – “first, first of all” in a sequence of actions:
- Ensin menemme kouluun, sitten kauppaan.
  “First we go to school, then to the store.”

In your sentence, alussa is the most natural, because it describes the initial period of being at the new school.