Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa, mutta luen uutiset mieluummin kirjakielellä.

In my opinion, spoken Finnish is easier, but I prefer to read the news in standard Finnish.

Breakdown of Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa, mutta luen uutiset mieluummin kirjakielellä.

• olla: to be
• lukea: to read
• mutta: but
• mieluummin: rather
• helpompi: easier
• -llä: in
• minusta: I think
• uutinen: the news
• puhekieli: spoken Finnish
• kirjakieli: standard Finnish

Questions & Answers about Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa, mutta luen uutiset mieluummin kirjakielellä.

What does Minusta literally mean, and why is it used here?

Minusta is the elative case (the -sta/-stä form) of minä (I).

• minä = I
• minusta = from me → in this context: in my opinion / I think

In Finnish, a common way to express an opinion is:

• minusta + olla + adjective
  
  • Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa.
    = In my opinion, spoken language is easier / I find spoken language easier.

Other persons work the same way:

• sinusta (from you → in your opinion)
• hänestä (from him/her → in his/her opinion)
• meistä, teistä, heistä

So minusta is not “me” as a subject; it’s an adverbial of opinion, literally “from my point of view”.

Why is helpompaa used instead of helppo or helpompi?

Helpompaa is the partitive singular of the comparative adjective helpompi (easier).

Forms of helppo (easy):

• positive: helppo (easy)
• comparative (basic form): helpompi (easier)
• comparative, partitive singular: helpompaa

In this type of opinion sentence (minusta + olla + adjective), Finnish very often uses the partitive form of the adjective:

• Minusta puhekieli on helppoa. – I think spoken language is easy.
• Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa. – I think spoken language is easier.

If you compare two things directly, you’d usually see the nominative:

• Puhekieli on helpompi kuin kirjakieli.
  = Spoken language is easier than standard language.

So:

• helpompi: the basic comparative form (e.g. in lists, or with kuin)
• helpompaa: comparative + partitive, very natural after minusta on when describing how something feels to you.

What is the difference between puhekieli and kirjakieli?

Both are specific terms about register in Finnish.

• puhekieli

  • literally “speech language”
  • everyday spoken Finnish, including colloquial forms, reductions, dialectal features
  • what people actually use in daily conversation

• kirjakieli

  • literally “book language”
  • standard written Finnish used in books, newspapers, official texts, formal writing
  • also used in very formal speeches, news reading, etc.

The gap between puhekieli and kirjakieli is much bigger than between casual and formal English. It’s not just slang; grammar, verb forms, and pronouns can change. So the sentence says: spoken Finnish is easier, but for reading the news, the speaker prefers the standard written form.

Why is it kirjakielellä with -llä, instead of just kirjakieli?

Kirjakielellä is the adessive case (ending -lla/-llä) of kirjakieli.

• kirjakieli (nominative)
• kirjakielellä (adessive) = with/using written language

The adessive case here expresses manner or instrument – “by means of, using”:

• luen uutiset kirjakielellä
  ≈ I read the news using standard language / in standard language.

Similar patterns:

• kirjoitan kynällä – I write with a pen.
• puhun mieluummin puhekielellä – I prefer to speak in colloquial language.

So kirjakielellä does not mean “on the written language” but rather “with / in the style of written language” as the manner of reading.

Why is uutiset plural, when English news is uncountable?

In Finnish, uutiset is normally used in the plural to mean the news:

• uutinen = a (single) piece of news, a news item
• uutiset (plural) = the news (all the items, or the news program / news section)

So:

• Luen uutiset. – I read the news (e.g. all the news in today’s paper, or the news section).
• Katson uutiset. – I watch the news (on TV).

Where English has an uncountable noun news, Finnish most often uses the plural uutiset for the everyday concept of “the news”.

Could you also say luen uutisia instead of luen uutiset? What’s the difference?

Yes, luen uutisia is also correct, but it has a different nuance.

• luen uutiset (total object, plural)

  • suggests you read all the news items in a certain set:
    today’s news, the news section of a website, tonight’s TV news, etc.
  • more “complete” or specific.

• luen uutisia (partitive plural)

  • means you read some news, news in general, an indefinite amount
  • you don’t imply that you covered everything.

In the example sentence, luen uutiset mieluummin kirjakielellä implies reading the news as a whole (e.g. “the news broadcast / all the news articles”) rather than just some random bits.

What exactly does mieluummin mean, and how is it related to mielellään and mieluiten?

These three are degrees of the same adverb:

• mielellään – gladly, willingly
• mieluummin – more gladly → rather, preferably
• mieluiten – most gladly → most preferably / preferably above all

So:

• Luen mielellään. – I like reading / I gladly read.
• Luen mieluummin kirjoja kuin lehtiä. – I’d rather read books than magazines.
• Luen mieluiten iltaisin. – I prefer to read most in the evenings.

In the sentence, luen uutiset mieluummin kirjakielellä means:

• I prefer to read the news in standard language
• I would rather read the news in standard language.

Don’t confuse mieluummin (preference) with enemmän (more in quantity):

• Luen kirjoja enemmän. – I read more books (quantity).
• Luen kirjoja mieluummin. – I prefer reading books (preference).

Can minusta go somewhere else in the sentence, like Puhekieli on minusta helpompaa?

Yes. Word order in Finnish is quite flexible for elements like minusta, and both of these are normal:

• Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa.
• Puhekieli on minusta helpompaa.

The difference is mostly about focus:

• Starting with Minusta highlights that this is your opinion.
• Starting with Puhekieli highlights spoken language as the topic first, then adds “in my opinion”.

Both are natural and mean essentially the same thing in everyday speech.

Can I just leave out minusta? Does the meaning change?

You can leave it out; the sentence will still be grammatical:

• Puhekieli on helpompaa, mutta luen uutiset mieluummin kirjakielellä.

Without minusta, the statement sounds more general or objective, like a fact: “Spoken language is easier…”. With minusta, you clearly frame it as your personal opinion:

• Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa… = I think / I feel that spoken language is easier…

Since mieluummin (“rather, prefer”) already shows a personal preference, learners will often hear both versions in real life; including minusta just makes the subjectivity explicit.

What is the subject of Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa? Is minusta the subject?

The subject is puhekieli, not minusta.

Breakdown:

• Minusta – adverbial of opinion, “in my opinion / from my point of view” (elative case of minä)
• puhekieli – subject (nominative singular)
• on – 3rd person singular of olla (to be)
• helpompaa – predicate adjective (comparative + partitive)

So the structure is:

• [Opinion-adverbial] [Subject] [Verb] [Predicate adjective]
• Minusta (in my opinion) puhekieli (spoken language) on (is) helpompaa (easier).

This is why the verb is 3rd person singular (on) agreeing with puhekieli, not with minä.

Why is there a comma before mutta?

In Finnish punctuation, when mutta (but) joins two main clauses, there is almost always a comma before it:

• Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa, mutta luen uutiset mieluummin kirjakielellä.

Two main clauses:

1. Minusta puhekieli on helpompaa.
2. Luen uutiset mieluummin kirjakielellä.

They are joined by mutta, so they’re separated by a comma. This is a regular rule in written Finnish, more systematic than English comma usage.