Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä.

Reconciliation feels good.

Breakdown of Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä.

• hyvä: good
• tuntua: to feel
• sovinto: the reconciliation

Questions & Answers about Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä.

Why is hyvältä in this form with -ltä, not just hyvä?

Because tuntua (“to feel, to seem”) normally takes an adjective in the ablative case (ending -lta / -ltä) to describe how something feels or seems.

Structure:

• [subject in nominative] + tuntuu + [adjective in ablative (-lta/-ltä)]

Examples:

• Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä. – Reconciliation feels good.
• Vesi tuntuu kylmältä. – The water feels cold.
• Ajatus tuntuu oudolta. – The idea feels strange.

So hyvä → hyvältä is purely a grammar requirement of tuntua, not a change of meaning like “from good” or “off good” in English.

Could I say Sovinto on hyvä instead of Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä? What’s the difference?

You can say Sovinto on hyvä, but it’s a bit different:

• Sovinto on hyvä.

  • More objective-sounding.
  • “Reconciliation is good” as a statement of fact/opinion.

• Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä.

  • More subjective and experiential.
  • Emphasizes a personal or emotional feeling: “Reconciliation feels good (to me/us).”

In English this is similar to the difference between “It is good” and “It feels good.”

Why is sovinto in the basic form (nominative) here?

Sovinto is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and Finnish usually puts the subject in the nominative:

• Sovinto (NOM) tuntuu hyvältä.

You would use another case for sovinto only if its role changed, for example:

• Ilman sovintoa tuntuu pahalta. – Without reconciliation, it feels bad.
  
  • Here sovintoa is not the subject; it’s in the partitive because of ilman (“without”).

But in your sentence, sovinto is just the subject → nominative.

What is the basic form of tuntuu, and how is it different from tuntea?

• The basic (dictionary) form of tuntuu is tuntua.
• tuntua is an intransitive verb meaning:
  • “to feel” (in the sense “seems, gives the impression”)
  • “to seem/appear (to be something)”

Compare:

• tuntua
  • Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä. – Reconciliation feels good.
  • Se tuntuu mahdottomalta. – It feels impossible.
• tuntea
  • Tunnen sinut. – I know you.
  • Tunnen kylmää. – I feel cold.
    (here it’s more literally experiencing cold)

So:

• tuntua ≈ “to seem/feel (like)”
• tuntea ≈ “to feel / to know (a person, a place, etc.)”

Why does the verb end in -uu (tuntuu)? How is it conjugated?

Tuntua is a type 1 verb (infinitive ending -a/-ä). In the present tense:

• minä tunnun
• sinä tunnut
• hän/ se tuntuu
• me tunnumme
• te tunnutte
• he tuntuvat

In your sentence:

• Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä.
  – The subject is sovinto (3rd person singular), so we use tuntuu (3rd person singular form).

Could I change the word order, like Hyvältä tuntuu sovinto? Is it still correct?

Yes, Finnish word order is flexible, and:

• Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä.
• Hyvältä tuntuu sovinto.

are both grammatically correct.

Differences:

• Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä.
  Neutral, standard order; focus slightly on sovinto as topic.
• Hyvältä tuntuu sovinto.
  Emphasizes hyvältä (“feels good”); stylistically a bit more expressive or poetic, like saying “Good – that’s what reconciliation feels like.”

In everyday speech, the first version is more common.

How do I say “Reconciliation doesn’t feel good” in Finnish?

You negate the verb tuntuu with ei and put the main verb in its negative stem (tunnu):

• Sovinto ei tunnu hyvältä.
  – Reconciliation doesn’t feel good.

Structure of negation:

• [subject] + ei + [verb in negative stem] + [adj in ablative]

Examples:

• Se ei tunnu oikealta. – It doesn’t feel right.
• Tämä ei tunnu helpolta. – This doesn’t feel easy.

How do I say “To me, reconciliation feels good”?

You add an experiencer using minusta (“from my point of view / to me”):

• Minusta sovinto tuntuu hyvältä.
  – To me, reconciliation feels good.

Other persons:

• Sinusta sovinto tuntuu hyvältä. – To you, reconciliation feels good.
• Hänestä sovinto tuntuu hyvältä. – To him/her, reconciliation feels good.

Pattern:

• [Person in elative (-sta/-stä)] + [subject] + tuntuu + [adj in ablative]

What exactly does sovinto mean? Is it the same as kompromissi or sopu?

Sovinto is “reconciliation, settlement, making peace,” especially after a conflict or dispute.

Rough nuances:

• sovinto
  • reconciliation, making peace again
  • can be emotional (between people) or legal (settlement)
• sopu
  • harmony, getting along, peaceable relationship
  • olla sovussa / sopuisa are related
• kompromissi
  • compromise; each side gives up something
  • more about a practical middle ground than emotional peace

In Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä, sovinto suggests the emotional act/state of becoming reconciled or making peace.

Why is it tuntuu and not tuntuvat? What if the subject were plural?

The verb must agree in number with the subject:

• Singular subject:
  • Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä. – Reconciliation feels good.
• Plural subject:
  • Sovinnot tuntuvat hyviltä. – Reconciliations/settlements feel good.
  • Nämä ratkaisut tuntuvat hyviltä. – These solutions feel good.

So:

• tuntuu → 3rd person singular
• tuntuvat → 3rd person plural

Adjective also becomes plural ablative with a plural subject:

• hyvältä → hyviltä

Can I use other adjectives with tuntua the same way as hyvältä?

Yes. This is a very productive pattern:

• Asia tuntuu vaikealta. – The matter feels difficult.
• Elämä tuntuu raskaalta. – Life feels heavy.
• Ratkaisu tuntuu oikealta. – The solution feels right.
• Uusi työ tuntuu jännittävältä. – The new job feels exciting.

Pattern:

• [subject in nominative] + tuntuu + [adjective in ablative (-lta/-ltä)]

Can I extend the sentence, like “Reconciliation feels good when it finally happens”?

Yes. You keep the same core structure and add a clause:

• Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä, kun se vihdoin tapahtuu.
  – Reconciliation feels good when it finally happens.

Other examples:

• Sovinto tuntuu erityisen hyvältä, kun riita on kestänyt kauan.
  – Reconciliation feels especially good when the quarrel has lasted a long time.
• Sovinto tuntuu hyvältä silloin, kun molemmat myöntävät virheensä.
  – Reconciliation feels good when both admit their mistakes.