Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen.

The local café is peaceful.

Breakdown of Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen.

• olla: to be
• rauhallinen: peaceful
• kahvila: the café
• paikallinen: local

Questions & Answers about Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen.

Why is there no word for a or the in Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen?

Finnish has no articles like a/an or the.

• Paikallinen kahvila can mean a local café or the local café, depending on context.
• The listener figures out which one you mean from the situation or previous sentences, not from a separate word.

So the same Finnish sentence covers both English possibilities:

• Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen.
  → A local café is peaceful.
  → The local café is peaceful.

Why is the word order Paikallinen kahvila, and not kahvila paikallinen?

In Finnish, descriptive adjectives almost always come before the noun they describe, like in English.

• paikallinen kahvila = local café
• iso talo = big house
• uusi auto = new car

Putting the adjective after the noun (kahvila paikallinen) is not normal Finnish in this kind of sentence and sounds wrong or poetic/marked at best.

What exactly does paikallinen mean here? Is it “nearby” or “locally owned”?

Paikallinen is a bit flexible and can mean:

• A café that is nearby / in this area
• A café that is local rather than part of a big chain
• Sometimes both at the same time

The exact nuance depends on context, but in everyday speech paikallinen kahvila is usually understood as the café in this neighborhood / town, often also with the idea of being a local, familiar place.

Why is it kahvila and not kahvilassa (in the café)?

Kahvila is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence:

• Paikallinen kahvila (subject)
• on (verb)
• rauhallinen (predicate adjective)

If you say:

• Kahvila on rauhallinen.
  → The café is peaceful (as a place, in general).

But if you say:

• Kahvilassa on rauhallista.
  → It is peaceful *in the café.*

Now the focus changes:

• kahvila (in kahvilassa) becomes a location (where),
• and rauhallista describes the atmosphere there, not a permanent quality of the café as an object.

Why is rauhallinen in that form, and not rauhallista?

In sentences with olla (on = is), a predicate adjective normally agrees with the subject in case and number:

• Subject: kahvila → nominative singular
• Predicate adjective: rauhallinen → also nominative singular

So:

• Kahvila on rauhallinen. ✅

You use rauhallista (partitive) in different structures, for example:

• Kahvilassa on rauhallista.
  Here rauhallista describes an indefinite state or atmosphere, and the construction is more like there is peacefulness in the café.

So with a straightforward X is Y sentence and a concrete subject (kahvila), you use rauhallinen, not rauhallista.

Why do both paikallinen and rauhallinen end in -nen? Is that a special ending?

Yes. -nen is a very common adjective ending in Finnish. It often turns a noun or root into an adjective:

• rauha (peace) → rauhallinen (peaceful)
• paikka (place) → paikallinen (local, of that place)

Adjectives in -nen have a special pattern when they change form:

• nominative: paikallinen, rauhallinen
• genitive: paikallisen, rauhallisen
• partitive: paikallista, rauhallista

So you will see -nen change to -se- in some cases:
paikallinen kahvila → paikallisen kahvilan omistaja (the owner of the local café).

Why is there on but no word for it? Why not Se paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen?

In Finnish, the verb form already shows the person and number, so a separate it is not needed:

• Kahvila on rauhallinen.
  Subject is kahvila (the café), verb is on (3rd person singular). No pronoun is required.

You can say:

• Se paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen.

This is also correct, but it adds emphasis — something like:

• That local café is peaceful (you know which one I mean).

So:

• Without se = neutral statement about a café already understood from context.
• With se = you are pointing out or contrasting that particular café.

Can I change the word order to Kahvila on paikallinen ja rauhallinen?

Yes, that is grammatically fine, but the meaning shifts slightly.

• Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen.
  Focus: the local café (as a type/place) is peaceful.

• Kahvila on paikallinen ja rauhallinen.
  Focus: you are listing two properties of the café:

  1. It is local.
  2. It is peaceful.

The first version sounds more like you are talking about a known local café; the second sounds like you are describing what kind of café it is (local + peaceful) in a more “listing” way.

Does rauhallinen mean the same as hiljainen?

They are related but not identical:

• rauhallinen = peaceful, calm

  • Emphasizes calm atmosphere, no stress, relaxed feeling.
  • Could still have some soft background noise.

• hiljainen = quiet, silent

  • Emphasizes low volume / little sound.
  • Could be quiet but not necessarily relaxing (e.g., a tense, silent room).

So:

• Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen.
  → The café feels calm and relaxed.

• Paikallinen kahvila on hiljainen.
  → There is not much noise there.

In practice, the two often overlap, but the nuance is different.

How do you pronounce Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen?

Syllables (each syllable has one vowel sound):

• Pai-kal-li-nen kah-vi-la on rau-hal-li-nen

Key points:

• Stress is on the first syllable of each word: PAI-kal-li-nen KAH-vi-la ON RAU-hal-li-nen.
• Double consonants (kk, ll) are held a bit longer than single ones:
  • kal-li vs. kali → keep the ll longer.
• ai in pai is like English eye.
• au in rau is like ow in now, but shorter and clearer.
• Every vowel is clearly pronounced; nothing is swallowed.

Why is on used here, and what are the other forms of the verb olla?

On is the 3rd person singular form of the verb olla (to be).

Present tense forms of olla:

• minä olen – I am
• sinä olet – you are (singular)
• hän/se on – he/she/it is
• me olemme – we are
• te olette – you are (plural / polite)
• he/ne ovat – they are

In Paikallinen kahvila on rauhallinen, kahvila behaves like hän/se (3rd person singular), so the correct form is on.

Can I add intensifiers like very or really, for example very peaceful?

Yes. Common intensifiers are:

• tosi – really
• hyvin – very / quite
• erittäin – very / extremely (a bit more formal)
• aika – pretty / quite

Examples:

• Paikallinen kahvila on tosi rauhallinen.
  → The local café is really peaceful.

• Paikallinen kahvila on hyvin rauhallinen.
  → The local café is very peaceful.

• Paikallinen kahvila on aika rauhallinen.
  → The local café is quite/pretty peaceful.

Is kahvila the general word for “café”? Are there other related words?

Yes, kahvila is the standard word for café.

Related words:

• kahvi – coffee
• kahvila – café (a place where you drink coffee etc.)
• kahvinkeitin – coffee maker
• kahvilatyöntekijä – café worker

So paikallinen kahvila is literally the local café-place.