Questions & Answers about Haluan tulla opettajaksi.
In Finnish, tulla can mean both:
- to come (to a place) – e.g. Tulen kotiin. = I’m coming home.
- to become / to turn into – especially with the translative case (-ksi).
When you say tulla + [noun/adjective in -ksi], it usually means to become X:
- Haluan tulla opettajaksi. = I want to become a teacher.
- Hänestä tuli kuuluisa. = He/She became famous.
So here, tulla is naturally understood as to become because it’s followed by opettajaksi in the translative case.
Opettajaksi is the translative case of opettaja (teacher). The translative ending is -ksi, and it usually means:
- into / to become / as (a role)
It’s used with tulla (among other verbs) to show a change of state or the result:
- opettaja = a teacher (basic form)
- opettajaksi = into a teacher / to be(come) a teacher
So Haluan tulla opettajaksi literally has the idea I want to come into the state of being a teacher, i.e. I want to become a teacher.
The translative case (ending -ksi) often expresses:
Change of state / becoming
- Valmistuin opettajaksi. = I graduated as a teacher / I became a teacher.
- Vesi jäätyi jääksi. = The water froze into ice.
A temporary role / capacity
- Palkkasimme hänet opettajaksi. = We hired him/her as a teacher.
Result of something
- Maalaan seinän valkoiseksi. = I paint the wall white (so that it becomes white).
In Haluan tulla opettajaksi, the translative marks the result of becoming: the future role of teacher.
No, Haluan tulla opettaja is grammatically wrong in Finnish.
After tulla with the meaning to become, a noun expressing what you become needs to be in the translative case (-ksi):
- ✅ Haluan tulla opettajaksi.
- ❌ Haluan tulla opettaja.
Without -ksi, opettaja is just in the basic (nominative) form and does not express the idea of becoming something.
Both can be translated as I want to be a teacher, but the nuance is different:
Haluan tulla opettajaksi.
- Focus on the process or change: you are not yet a teacher, but you want to become one in the future.
- Natural in contexts like career plans, studies, long‑term goals.
Haluan olla opettaja.
- More neutral “I want to be a teacher”; it doesn’t highlight the change as strongly.
- Could mean you want to be (or remain) a teacher as your profession, sometimes more about identity than the process of getting there.
In many situations they overlap, but tulla + -ksi is the clearest way to express becoming something.
Finnish usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:
- haluan = I want
- haluat = you (sg.) want
- hän haluaa = he/she wants
So Haluan tulla opettajaksi is the normal, neutral way to say it.
You can add the pronoun minä for emphasis or contrast:
- Minä haluan tulla opettajaksi.
= I want to become a teacher (as opposed to someone else, or despite something).
But it’s not required.
After verbs like haluta (to want), voida (can), aikoa (to intend), etc., the second verb is usually in the basic infinitive form:
- Haluan tulla = I want to come / become
- Haluan syödä = I want to eat
- Haluan nukkua = I want to sleep
Using tulen (present tense) here would be wrong:
- ❌ Haluan tulen opettajaksi – ungrammatical
So the pattern is:
[haluan] + [infinitive] → Haluan tulla, Haluan olla, Haluan oppia, etc.
Haluta (to want) in the present tense:
- minä haluan – I want
- sinä haluat – you (sg.) want
- hän haluaa – he/she wants
- me haluamme – we want
- te haluatte – you (pl.) want
- he haluavat – they want
In everyday speech, some forms are often shortened (especially haluun, haluut, haluu), but the standard written forms are the ones above.
Yes, Finnish word order is relatively flexible, and changes in order usually change emphasis, not the core meaning.
All of these are possible:
- Haluan tulla opettajaksi. – neutral, most common.
- Haluan opettajaksi tulla. – still understandable, but less common; slight emphasis on opettajaksi.
- Opettajaksi haluan tulla. – emphasizes opettajaksi; e.g. contrasting with other careers:
Opettajaksi haluan tulla, en lääkäriksi. – I want to become a teacher, not a doctor.
For learners, Haluan tulla opettajaksi is the safest and most natural default.
Tulla is the most common general verb for to become, especially with -ksi:
- tulla opettajaksi – to become a teacher
- tulla paremmaksi – to become better
But there are other verbs used in specific situations:
- valmistua opettajaksi – to graduate as a teacher
- muuttua joksikin – to change into something
- alkaa / ruveta tekemään – to start doing (not exactly become, more like begin to).
For a career or new role, tulla + translative is very standard: tulla opettajaksi, tulla lääkäriksi, tulla insinööriksi, etc.
No specific time is given; it just expresses a general desire or goal.
Context decides whether it’s:
- a long‑term goal (e.g. a teenager talking about future plans), or
- something more immediate (e.g. changing careers soon).
The Finnish sentence itself does not specify time beyond present desire: Right now, I want this to happen (sometime).
Yes. The translative -ksi often shows a role or capacity, not only a change:
Palkkasimme hänet opettajaksi.
= We hired him/her as a teacher.Lähetän hänet kouluun opettajaksi.
= I’m sending him/her to school as a teacher.
So in Haluan tulla opettajaksi, it combines both ideas:
role (teacher) + result of becoming.