Questions & Answers about Nauru puistossa on hauskaa.
A natural translation is:
- "Laughing in the park is fun."
You can also translate it more literally as:
- "Laughter in the park is fun."
Finnish uses the noun nauru ("laughter") where English would very often use a -ing form ("laughing").
Word by word:
- nauru = laughter
- puisto = park
- puisto-ssa = in the park
(inessive case: inside / in something) - on = is (3rd person singular of olla, "to be")
- hauska = fun, amusing
- hauska-a = (partitive form of hauska, used here predicatively)
So, very literally: "Laughter in-the-park is fun‑(partitive)."
In Finnish, it’s extremely common to use nouns to talk about activities in a general way, where English would use a verb or a gerund:
- nauru = laughter (the act/phenomenon of laughing)
- tanssi = dance, dancing
- laulu = song, singing
So:
- Nauru puistossa on hauskaa.
= Literally "Laughter in the park is fun."
= Naturally: "Laughing in the park is fun."
The verb would be nauraa ("to laugh"), but using a bare infinitive like *nauraa puistossa on hauskaa is not grammatical. You either:
- Turn it into a noun:
Nauru puistossa on hauskaa. - Or use an infinitive structure:
On hauskaa nauraa puistossa. ("It is fun to laugh in the park.")
Both can describe the activity, but they feel slightly different:
nauru puistossa on hauskaa
Focuses on "laughter" as a general phenomenon in the park.
Very natural and idiomatic.nauraminen puistossa on hauskaa
Uses nauraminen = "the act of laughing", a more explicit "doing" noun.
Perfectly correct, slightly more formal or "activity‑like":
"The activity of laughing in the park is fun."
In practice, nauru puistossa on hauskaa sounds a bit lighter and more typical, while nauraminen puistossa on hauskaa emphasizes the process/activity more.
Both can be translated as "Laughing in the park is fun."
Finnish usually marks location using cases, not prepositions:
- puisto = park (basic form)
- puistossa = in the park (inessive case: -ssa/-ssä)
So to say "in the park", you must change the word form:
- Nauru puistossa on hauskaa.
= "Laughter in the park is fun."
Saying *Nauru puisto on hauskaa is ungrammatical; puisto without a case ending does not mean "in the park".
In Finnish, when you say that an activity or an abstract thing "is fun", the adjective is very often in the partitive:
- On hauskaa. = "It is fun."
- Ulkoilu on terveellistä. = "Outdoor activity is healthy."
- Odotteleminen on tylsää. = "Waiting is boring."
So:
- Nauru puistossa on hauskaa.
Here, hauskaa is the partitive singular of hauska.
This pattern is especially common when:
- Talking about activities or states in a general sense.
- Using an impersonal or "it is X" type expression.
Using hauska (nominative) instead:
- *Nauru puistossa on hauska.
sounds off or wrong in standard Finnish in this meaning. The partitive hauskaa is the natural choice.
Grammatically, hauskaa is an adjective (hauska) in the partitive singular.
It functions as a predicative complement to the verb on:
- (Nauru puistossa) on (hauskaa).
Subject – copula – predicative adjective.
Even though in English we might translate it with something that looks adverbial ("is fun"), in Finnish it's still an adjective agreeing (in a loose, abstract way) with the whole situation.
Yes, you can say both, and both are natural:
Nauru puistossa on hauskaa.
- Structure: [Noun phrase] + on + hauskaa
- Emphasis: "Laughter in the park" is being presented as something fun.
- Closer to: "Laughter in the park is fun."
On hauskaa nauraa puistossa.
- Structure: On hauskaa + [1st infinitive]
- Emphasis: It is fun to do this action.
- Closer to: "It is fun to laugh in the park."
The meaning is very similar. The second version focuses more clearly on the act of laughing; the first treats "laughter in the park" almost as a thing or phenomenon.
No, not in the same way.
English has a subtle distinction:
- in the park = physically inside the park
- at the park = at the general location (park area), sometimes a bit looser
Finnish uses the inessive case -ssa/-ssä for "in":
- puistossa = in the park
Usually, to express both "in the park" and "at the park" as a place where something happens, Finnish will still say puistossa.
If you needed different nuances, Finnish might choose a different case or phrase, but there is no direct simple pair exactly mirroring "in" vs "at" the way English has it.
Finnish has no articles (no "a", "an", "the"), so nauru puistossa can be interpreted in several ways depending on context:
- "Laughter in the park is fun."
- "Laughter in a park is fun."
- "Laughter in parks is fun." (if you mean it generally)
The Finnish sentence itself doesn’t force you to choose definite or indefinite; that choice is made when you translate it into English, based on what you mean in the broader context.
No. The verb olla ("to be") is required here:
- Nauru puistossa on hauskaa. ✅
- *Nauru puistossa hauskaa. ❌ (ungrammatical)
Finnish often drops "on" in certain structures (especially in colloquial speech like "Missä kaveri?" instead of "Missä kaveri on?"), but with this kind of "[subject] is [predicative]" sentence in neutral style, you keep on.