Learn Hardcore Finnish: Minusta tasa-arvo tarkoittaa, että jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppia. - In my opinion, equality means that everyone gets the same chance to learn.

In this sentence, minusta means in my opinion / as I see it. Finnish often uses the elative case to express the source of an opinion or feeling:

Minusta tämä on hyvä idea. = In my opinion, this is a good idea.
Sinusta se on vaikeaa. = You think it’s difficult. (literally “from you it is difficult”)

So Minusta tasa-arvo tarkoittaa… = In my opinion, equality means…

You could also say more explicitly:

Minun mielestäni tasa-arvo tarkoittaa… (literally “in my opinion”)

But minusta is shorter and very common in everyday speech and writing.

Could the sentence start with Tasa-arvo instead of Minusta? What would change?

Yes, you could say:

Tasa-arvo tarkoittaa minusta, että jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppia.

The basic meaning is the same, but the emphasis shifts:

Minusta tasa-arvo tarkoittaa…
→ Focus on whose opinion it is (mine). “As for me, equality means…”
Tasa-arvo tarkoittaa minusta…
→ Focus first on equality and then add that in my view it means X.

Both are grammatically correct. The original version is especially natural when you are explicitly stating your personal definition or opinion.

What does tasa-arvo literally mean, and why is there a hyphen?

Tasa-arvo is a compound noun:

tasa = even, level, equal
arvo = value, worth

Together: tasa-arvo ≈ equality (especially social equality / equal rights).

The hyphen is used to join the two words into one compound. In many similar Finnish compounds you’ll see the same pattern:

tasa-arvoinen = equal (adjective)
tasa-arvokysymys = equality question / issue

Tasa-arvo is declined like a regular noun:

nominative: tasa-arvo
partitive: tasa-arvoa
genitive: tasa-arvon, etc.

Why is it tarkoittaa and not some other form? What person and tense is this?

Tarkoittaa is the 3rd person singular, present tense form of the verb tarkoittaa (“to mean”).

The subject is tasa-arvo (equality), which is singular, so the verb is:

tasa-arvo tarkoittaa = equality means

Verb forms of tarkoittaa in the present tense:

(minä) tarkoitan – I mean
(sinä) tarkoitat – you mean
(hän / se) tarkoittaa – he/she/it means
(me) tarkoitamme
(te) tarkoitatte
(he / ne) tarkoittavat

So tasa-arvo tarkoittaa is directly parallel to English “equality means”.

What is the role of että, and why is there a comma before it?

Että is a subordinating conjunction meaning that (in the sense of “I think that …”, “it means that …”).

The structure is:

Main clause: Minusta tasa-arvo tarkoittaa
Subordinate clause: että jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppia

Finnish punctuation rule: a comma is normally placed before että when it starts a subordinate clause, even in cases where English might not use a comma.

So:

Minusta on tärkeää, että jokainen saa…
Tiedän, että se on vaikeaa.

In this sentence, että introduces what equality “means” – the content of the meaning.

What is the difference between jokainen and kaikki? Why is it jokainen saa and not kaikki saavat?

Both relate to “everyone / all”, but there is a nuance:

jokainen = each, every (single) person, grammatically singular
kaikki = all, everybody, often treated as plural when referring to people

In this sentence:

jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppia
= each person gets the same opportunity to learn

Using jokainen stresses each individual getting the same chance.

You could say:

että kaikki saavat saman mahdollisuuden oppia = that everyone (all) gets…

This also works, but the original jokainen focuses more on equality at the individual level: every single person.

What exactly does saa mean here? Is it “gets”, “may”, or something else?

Saa is the 3rd person singular of the verb saada.

Saada can mean:

to get / receive
to be allowed to (“may” / “be permitted to”)
sometimes to manage to / succeed in doing in certain constructions

Here it is primarily to get / receive:

jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppia
= everyone gets the same opportunity to learn

You could paraphrase the idea as:

jokaisella on sama mahdollisuus oppia
= everyone has the same opportunity to learn

So saa in this context is best understood as “gets”.

Why is it saman mahdollisuuden and not sama mahdollisuus?

Saman mahdollisuuden is in the object case (genitive form -n) because it’s the object of saa (gets).

Base form: sama mahdollisuus = “same opportunity”
Object form (singular, total object): saman mahdollisuuden

Two things are happening:

Adjective–noun agreement
- sama (same) must agree with mahdollisuus in case:
  - nominative: sama mahdollisuus
  - genitive: saman mahdollisuuden So when mahdollisuus becomes mahdollisuuden, sama becomes saman.
Object case
Saada usually takes a total object when you receive a whole, countable thing:
- sain kirjan = I got a (whole) book
- sain mahdollisuuden = I got an opportunity

Because jokainen saa one whole “same opportunity”, the object is in this genitive form: mahdollisuuden (and its agreeing adjective saman).

Why is oppia in the basic dictionary form? Is that like “to learn”?

Yes. Oppia here is the 1st infinitive of the verb oppia (“to learn”), and it functions much like the English infinitive:

mahdollisuus oppia = an opportunity to learn

This is a common pattern:

mahdollisuus matkustaa = an opportunity to travel
haluan oppia = I want to learn
yritän ymmärtää = I try to understand

So oppia is not conjugated for person here; it’s in its infinitive form, showing what the opportunity is for.

Could you phrase the “opportunity to learn” part differently in Finnish? Are there alternatives to mahdollisuuden oppia?

Yes, there are natural alternatives, with slightly different style:

…että jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppia.
(original; very natural and straightforward)

You could also say:

…että jokaisella on samat mahdollisuudet oppia.
= “that everyone has the same opportunities to learn” (plural mahdollisuudet)
…että jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppimiseen.
= “gets the same opportunity for learning” (using a verbal noun oppiminen in illative oppimiseen)

The original mahdollisuuden oppia is the most neutral, everyday style and matches English “opportunity to learn” very closely.

Is the overall word order fixed, or could the parts be rearranged?

Finnish word order is relatively flexible, and many elements of this sentence can move, with subtle changes in emphasis.

Some possible variants:

Minusta tasa-arvo tarkoittaa, että jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppia.
(original; neutral, focus on “in my opinion”)
Tasa-arvo tarkoittaa minusta, että jokainen saa saman mahdollisuuden oppia.
(focus a bit more on “equality” at the start)
Minusta jokainen saa tasa-arvossa saman mahdollisuuden oppia.
(more complex, brings jokainen forward and uses tasa-arvossa, stylistically heavier)

The original version is clear, natural, and stylistically the best choice in most contexts.