Learn Hardcore Finnish: Minä haluan voittaa tämän pelin.

Haluan voittaa tämän pelin. – perfectly natural, everyday Finnish
Minä haluan voittaa tämän pelin. – also correct, but adds emphasis on I (as in I want to win this game, maybe unlike others)

So in neutral, everyday speech you will most often hear the version without Minä.

What grammatical form is haluan, and what is the dictionary form of this verb?

Haluan is:

person/number: 1st person singular (I)
tense: present
mood: indicative
verb: haluta (to want)

So:

dictionary form: haluta
full conjugation:
- minä haluan – I want
- sinä haluat – you want
- hän haluaa – he/she wants
- me haluamme – we want
- te haluatte – you (pl.) want
- he haluavat – they want

Why is it voittaa and not voitan?

Because in Finnish, when one verb expresses wanting, being able, starting, etc., and is followed by another verb, the second verb usually appears in the basic infinitive (first infinitive) form.

Haluan voittaa = I want to win
- haluan – conjugated (I want)
- voittaa – basic infinitive (to win)

If you said Haluan voitan, it would be like saying I want I win — ungrammatical.

Pattern to remember:

Haluan syödä. – I want to eat.
Haluan nukkua. – I want to sleep.
Haluan voittaa. – I want to win.

What exactly does tämän mean, and how is it different from tämä?

Both belong to the demonstrative pronoun “this”:

tämä – “this” in the basic (nominative) form
- Tämä peli on hyvä. – This game is good.
tämän – “this” in the genitive/accusative form
- Haluan voittaa tämän pelin. – I want to win this game.

In this sentence, tämän is used because it goes with pelin, which is also in a “total object” form (genitive/accusative). They have to agree:

tämän pelin – “this game” (as a complete object)

What case is pelin, and why is that form used here?

Pelin is in the genitive/accusative singular, functioning as a total object.

dictionary form: peli – game
genitive/accusative: pelin

You use this form (instead of partitive peliä) when:

the object is a whole, completely affected thing, and
the action is bounded/complete in meaning.

Winning a game is naturally seen as a complete, all‑or‑nothing result, so Finnish uses the total object:

Haluan voittaa tämän pelin. – I want to win (all of) this game.

Can the word order be different, like Haluan tämän pelin voittaa or Tämän pelin haluan voittaa?

Yes, Finnish word order is flexible, and changes in order usually change emphasis, not basic meaning.

Haluan voittaa tämän pelin.
– neutral, most natural version
Tämän pelin haluan voittaa.
– emphasizes this game (as opposed to some other game):
“This game is the one I want to win.”
Haluan tämän pelin voittaa.
– possible, but sounds more stylistic/poetic; not as neutral in everyday speech.

In ordinary conversation, stick to:

(Minä) haluan voittaa tämän pelin.
or, if you want to emphasize the object: Tämän pelin haluan voittaa.

How can I make this more polite, like “I would like to win this game”?

Use the conditional form of haluta:

Haluaisin voittaa tämän pelin. – I would like to win this game.

Here:

haluaisin = conditional, 1st person singular of haluta

This sounds softer and more polite than Haluan voittaa tämän pelin, which is more direct.

How do I say “I don’t want to win this game”?

Use the Finnish negative verb plus the main verb in its negative form:

En halua voittaa tätä peliä.

Breakdown:

en – negative verb for minä (I don’t)
halua – negative form of haluta for 1st person singular
voittaa – infinitive (to win)
tätä peliä – object in partitive, because the sentence is negative

Notice the changes from the positive sentence:

tämän pelin → tätä peliä (total object → partitive object)
haluan → en halua (use the negative verb en)

How do I pronounce haluan and voittaa, especially the double consonant?

Key points:

Stress
- Always on the first syllable in Finnish:
  - HA-lu-an
  - VOIT-taa
Vowels
- Say each vowel clearly and separately:
  - haluan: ha-lu-an (three syllables)
  - voittaa: voit-taa (two syllables)
Double consonant (tt) in voittaa
- tt is held longer than a single t:
  - voittaa ≈ VOIT-ttaa (slight pause or extra length on t)
- Compare:
  - ota – take!
  - otta – would have a much longer t sound (if it existed as a word)

English doesn’t lengthen consonants like Finnish does, so exaggerating the tt at first is helpful.

Is this sentence formal or informal, and would Finns actually say it this way?

It’s neutral, suitable for both informal and most semi‑formal contexts.

In casual speech, you will usually hear:
Haluan voittaa tämän pelin. (pronoun dropped)
With Minä included, it can sound:
- more emphatic: Minä haluan voittaa tämän pelin.
- or a bit “learner-like” in everyday conversation, because natives often omit minä.

It’s a completely natural sentence; Finns do say it, especially in contexts like games, sports, competitions, etc.

What is the difference between voittaa and voitan in general?

They are different forms of the same verb voittaa (to win):

voittaa
- basic infinitive form: “to win”
- used after verbs like haluta, aikoa, voida, etc.
- Haluan voittaa. – I want to win.
voitan
- 1st person singular, present indicative: “I win / I will win”
- Minä voitan tämän pelin. – I (will) win this game.

So:

Haluan voittaa. – I want to win.
Haluan, että voitan. – I want that I win. (grammatical, but different structure and feel)

How would I change the sentence if I want to talk about “these games” instead of “this game”?

You need plural forms of both the demonstrative and the noun:

Haluan voittaa nämä pelit. – I want to win these games.

Changes:

tämän → nämä (plural “these” in nominative/accusative)
pelin → pelit (plural “games” in nominative/accusative)

Here nämä pelit functions as a plural total object (I want to win all of these games).