Learn Hardcore Finnish: Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta.

kuulua = to be heard, to be audible; to belong
- Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta. = Music is heard from the café / Music can be heard from the café.
kuulla = to hear (something), an active verb with a person as subject
- Kuulen musiikkia. = I hear music.

So English might think "I hear music from the café," but Finnish uses an impersonal construction:
> Music is heard from the café → Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta.

No listener is mentioned; the focus is just on the sound being audible.

Why is musiikki in the basic (nominative) form and not musiikkia?

In this sentence, musiikki is the subject of the verb kuuluu, so it appears in the nominative:

Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta.
- musiikki = subject (nominative)
- kuuluu = verb
- kahvilasta = “from the café” (elative case)

If we use musiikkia (partitive), the sentence structure and emphasis change:

Kahvilasta kuuluu musiikkia.
- Now kahvilasta is in the topic/“subject-like” position.
- musiikkia (partitive) describes some music, an indefinite amount.

So:

Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta. – Focus on the music; “The music is coming from the café.”
Kahvilasta kuuluu musiikkia. – Focus on what you hear from the café; “You can hear (some) music from the café.”

Grammatically both are correct; the choice is about word order and emphasis.

Can I also say Kahvilasta kuuluu musiikkia, and what is the difference in meaning?

Yes, Kahvilasta kuuluu musiikkia is very natural Finnish and in many contexts it is actually more typical than Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta.

Differences:

Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta.
- Emphasises the music.
- Almost like: “The music (that we’re talking about) is coming from the café.”
Kahvilasta kuuluu musiikkia.
- Emphasises the source (from the café) and the fact that some music is audible.
- Feels a bit more neutral/natural in spoken Finnish when describing a scene.

So both can translate to “Music is coming from the café,” but the focus in Finnish is slightly different.

What case is kahvilasta, and what does the ending -sta mean?

Kahvilasta is in the elative case (-sta / -stä), which generally means “out of / from inside (something)”.

kahvila = café
kahvilasta = from (the) café

Common patterns with elative:

talosta – from the house
kaupasta – from the shop
pöydästä – from the table (from inside/on it, context-dependent)

In this sentence, kahvilasta expresses the source of the sound: the music is coming from inside the café.

Could we say Musiikki kuuluu kahvilassa instead of kahvilasta?

Musiikki kuuluu kahvilassa is grammatically possible, but it has a different meaning because kahvilassa uses the inessive case (-ssa / -ssä), meaning “in, inside, at (the café)”.

Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta.
- Literally: Music is heard from the café → the café is the source of the sound.
Musiikki kuuluu kahvilassa.
- More like: Music belongs in the café / Music is appropriate in a café.
- Here kuulua is understood in its “to belong” sense:
  - Tämä kappale kuuluu soittolistalle. – This song belongs on the playlist.
  - Hiljaisuus ei kuulu kahvilaan. – Silence doesn’t belong in a café.

So kahvilasta = from the café (source of sound),
while kahvilassa would steer the meaning toward belonging/appropriateness in the café.

How flexible is the word order? Could I say Musiikki kahvilasta kuuluu?

Word order in Finnish is more flexible than in English, but not all orders sound natural.

Natural:
- Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta.
- Kahvilasta kuuluu musiikki.
- Kahvilasta kuuluu musiikkia.
Strange / unnatural in this context:
- Musiikki kahvilasta kuuluu. – Grammatically possible, but sounds marked/poetic or awkward in normal speech.

The basic unmarked pattern for this kind of sentence is:

[What is heard] + kuuluu + [from where]

[From where] + kuuluu + [what is heard]

You usually keep the verb close to the middle, and use word order to highlight either the source (kahvilasta) or the sound (musiikki/musiikkia).

Is kuuluu singular or plural? How would this work with a plural subject?

Kuuluu is the 3rd person singular present tense of kuulua.

Singular subject:
- Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta. – The music is heard from the café.

For a plural subject, you conjugate the verb in the 3rd person plural:

Äänet kuuluvat kahvilasta. – The sounds are heard from the café.
Askeleet kuuluvat portaista. – Footsteps can be heard from the stairs.

Pattern:

hän / se kuuluu – he/she/it is heard
he / ne kuuluvat – they are heard

Is there an implied “I” or “we” in this sentence, like “I hear music from the café”?

No. Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta does not contain an implied “I” or “we”.

In English you might naturally say:
> I can hear music from the café.

Finnish instead focuses on the sound itself, using kuulua:

Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta. – Music is heard from the café / Music can be heard from the café.

You can explicitly mention the hearer with kuulla:

Kuulen musiikkia kahvilasta. – I hear music from the café.
Kuulemme musiikkia kahvilasta. – We hear music from the café.

So:

kuulua → the sound is audible (impersonal)
kuulla → someone hears (personal subject: I/you/we/they)

How do I negate this sentence?

You use the negative verb ei together with the main verb kuulua in its connegative form (kuulu).

Two common versions:

Keeping musiikki as subject:
- Musiikki ei kuulu kahvilasta.
- The music cannot be heard from the café / The music is not coming from the café.
Using partitive for an indefinite amount:
- Kahvilasta ei kuulu musiikkia.
- No music is heard from the café / There’s no music coming from the café.

Both are correct; again, the word order and case change what is being emphasised.

When should I use kuulua, kuulla, and kuunnella for “to hear / listen”?

These three verbs all relate to hearing, but their usage is quite different:

kuulua – to be heard, to be audible; to belong
- Focus on the sound itself being audible.
- Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta. – Music is (being) heard from the café.
- Nimesi kuuluu listalla. – Your name is on the list (belongs there).
kuulla – to hear (a one-time or neutral act)
- Focus on the hearer.
- Kuulen musiikkia. – I hear music.
- Kuulitko sen? – Did you hear that?
kuunnella – to listen (to), often with intention/attention
- You usually mention what you listen to in the partitive.
- Kuuntelen musiikkia. – I’m listening to music.
- Kuuntelemme radiota. – We’re listening to the radio.

In Musiikki kuuluu kahvilasta, kuulua is correct because the emphasis is on what is audible, and from where, not on who is listening.

How do you pronounce kuuluu and kahvilasta?

General rules:

Fixed stress on the first syllable in Finnish words.
Double vowels are long and must be clearly lengthened.

kuuluu

Syllables: kuu-luu
Both uu are long: [kuːluː]
Stress on kuu (first syllable).

kahvilasta

Base word: kahvila (café)
- -sta → kahvilasta
Syllables: kah-vi-las-ta
Pronounce h clearly: kah-vi-las-ta
Stress on kah (first syllable).

Put together, with natural rhythm:

KUU-luu KAH-vi-las-ta (stress on the first syllable of each word).