Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä.

May Day is my favourite of the holidays.

Breakdown of Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä.

• olla: to be
• minun: my
• suosikki: the favorite
• juhlapäivä: the holiday
• Vappu: May Day

Questions & Answers about Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä.

Why is the verb on used here instead of olen?

In Finnish, the verb olla (to be) always agrees with the subject of the sentence.

• Vappu is the subject.
• Vappu is third person singular.
• The third person singular form of olla is on.

So:

• Vappu on … = May Day is …
• Minä olen … = I am …

You cannot say Vappu olen here, because that would wrongly use the I am form with a third-person subject.

What does the ending -ni in suosikkini mean?

The ending -ni is a possessive suffix meaning my.

• suosikki = favourite
• suosikkini = my favourite

So suosikkini literally means my favourite (one).

This suffix often corresponds to English my, your, etc., attached directly to the noun:

• kirja = book → kirjani = my book
• koira = dog → koirani = my dog
• suosikki = favourite → suosikkini = my favourite

Can I also say minun suosikkini? How is that different from just suosikkini?

Yes, you can say minun suosikkini juhlapäivistä.

• minun = my (genitive pronoun)
• suosikkini = my favourite (with the suffix -ni)

So minun suosikkini literally has “my my favourite” in form, but in Finnish that is normal and correct. The pronoun minun is optional:

• Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä.
• Vappu on minun suosikkini juhlapäivistä.

Both are grammatical and natural. Adding minun usually gives a bit more emphasis on my:

• Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä.
  = May Day is my favourite of the holidays.

• Vappu on minun suosikkini juhlapäivistä.
  = May Day is my favourite of the holidays (implying: maybe not yours).

Why is it juhlapäivistä and not just juhlapäivät?

Juhlapäivistä is in the elative plural case.

Breakdown:

• juhla = celebration, festivity
• päivä = day
• → juhlapäivä = holiday, festive day
• juhlapäivät = holidays (nominative plural, “the holidays”)
• juhlapäivistä = from / among the holidays (elative plural)

The elative plural -ista / -istä is used here to express “from among a group”, which in English is usually translated with of:

• suosikkini juhlapäivistä
  = my favourite (one) from among the holidays
  ≈ my favourite of the holidays

So juhlapäivät would just mean the holidays, but juhlapäivistä makes it clear we are picking one from that set.

Why isn’t it juhlapäivistäni (“of my holidays”) if it means my favourite of my holidays?

Juhlapäivistäni would literally mean “from my holidays” (with my attached to the holidays).

The sentence Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä is more neutral:

• suosikkini already shows that the favourite belongs to me.
• juhlapäivistä just describes the category: (the) holidays in general.

If you said:

• Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistäni.

it would sound more like:

• “May Day is my favourite from my own holidays,”

which is a bit odd unless you are talking about your personal holidays (for example, a set of days off you have, not the general calendar holidays).

So:

• juhlapäivistä = from (the) holidays (as a general group)
• juhlapäivistäni = from my holidays (my own set of holidays)

What is the literal, word‑for‑word structure of the sentence?

Word-by-word:

• Vappu = May Day (a proper noun, the holiday)
• on = is (3rd person singular of olla)
• suosikkini = my favourite (suosikki + -ni “my”)
• juhlapäivistä = from (among) the holidays (juhlapäivä + plural + elative)

Very literal sense:

• Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä.
  = May Day is my favourite from (among) the holidays.

Can I change the word order, for example to Suosikkini juhlapäivistä on Vappu?

Yes, that is possible and grammatical:

• Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä.
• Suosikkini juhlapäivistä on Vappu.

Both mean the same thing.

Differences:

• Starting with Vappu is the most neutral and common: the topic is the holiday.
• Starting with Suosikkini juhlapäivistä puts slight emphasis on the phrase “my favourite of the holidays” – for example, if you’ve just been talking about favourites.

Finnish word order is flexible, but the original version is the most typical in everyday speech.

Could I say Vappu on suosikkijuhlapäiväni instead? Does it mean the same?

You can say:

• Vappu on suosikkijuhlapäiväni.

Breakdown:

• suosikki‑juhla‑päivä‑ni
  = favourite‑festival‑day‑my
  → “my favourite holiday”

Meaning-wise, it is very close:

• Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä.
  = May Day is my favourite of the holidays (explicitly among a group).

• Vappu on suosikkijuhlapäiväni.
  = May Day is my favourite holiday (the group is implied, not spelled out).

Both are natural; the original sentence makes the “among the holidays” idea more explicit with juhlapäivistä.

Are there other very natural ways to say the same thing in Finnish?

Yes, several variants are common. For example:

1. Vappu on lempijuhlani.

   • lempi = favourite (more colloquial than suosikki in this use)
   • Very natural, especially in speech.

2. Vappu on yksi suosikkijuhlapäivistäni.

   • “May Day is one of my favourite holidays.”
   • Here yksi = one, and juhlapäivistäni = from my holidays.

3. Vappu on suosikkijuhlani.

   • “May Day is my favourite celebration/holiday.”

The original sentence is slightly more “textbook-style precise” because it clearly shows:

• possessor (-ni)
• set of things (juhlapäivistä)

Why is Vappu capitalized?

In Finnish, names of specific holidays are written with a capital letter, because they act like proper nouns:

• Vappu = May Day
• Joulu = Christmas
• Pääsiäinen = Easter

So Vappu is capitalized just like John or Finland would be. The common noun vappu does not exist; it is a specific name.

How do you pronounce Vappu on suosikkini juhlapäivistä?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English terms):

• Vappu → VAHP-poo
  
  • double p = short break + strong p
• on → on (like English on, but shorter)
• suosikkini → SWO-sik-ki-nee
  
  • uo = like English wo in wore, but as one vowel
  • double k = short break + strong k
  • final i = like ee in see
• juhlapäivistä → YUH-hla-pai-vist-ah
  
  • ju = yu as in you but very short
  • hl = both sounds pronounced: h
    • l
  • ä = like a in cat
  • päi = like pai in pie
  • stä = stä with ä as above

Stress is always on the first syllable of each word:

• VAP‑pu on SUO‑sik‑ki‑ni JUH‑la‑päi‑vis‑tä