Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.

The small café is peaceful.

Breakdown of Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.

• olla: to be
• rauhallinen: peaceful
• kahvila: the café
• pieni: little

Questions & Answers about Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.

In English we say “a small café” or “the small café.” How can pieni kahvila mean both when there is no article in Finnish?

Finnish has no articles (a, an, the), so pieni kahvila is neutral. It can mean:

• a small café (introducing something new)
• the small café (if both speakers know which one)

Context and situation tell you whether it’s specific or not. If you really want to emphasize:

• eräs pieni kahvila = a certain small café
• se pieni kahvila = that/the small café (known, specific)

What case are the words pieni, kahvila, and rauhallinen in here?

All three are in the nominative singular:

• pieni – nominative singular adjective
• kahvila – nominative singular noun (subject)
• rauhallinen – nominative singular adjective used as a predicative (describing the subject)

In Finnish, when you have X is Y (subject + olla + adjective/noun), the subject and the describing word usually both appear in nominative singular if they are singular countable things:

• Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.
  The small café is peaceful/quiet.

Why is it rauhallinen and not something like rauhallista at the end?

Because rauhallinen is describing a specific, countable subject (kahvila) in a simple X is Y sentence:

• Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.

When you say that some place or situation is peaceful in a general, impersonal way, you often use the partitive form of the adjective:

• Täällä on rauhallista. = It is peaceful/quiet here.
  (literally “here is peaceful(‑ish)”)

So:

• Specific thing + olla
  • descriptive word → nominative:
    Kahvila on rauhallinen.
• Impersonal “it is X here/there” → partitive:
  Täällä on rauhallista.

What exactly does kahvila mean? Is it just “café” or is it related to “coffee”?

Kahvila is built from:

• kahvi = coffee
• ‑la / ‑lä = place suffix (“place related to X”)

So kahvila literally is something like “coffee‑place”, which corresponds to “café” / “coffee shop” in English.

Some related words:

• kahvi – coffee (the drink)
• kahvila – café
• kahvikuppi – coffee cup
• kahvipannu – coffee pot

Why is the adjective pieni placed before kahvila? Can I say kahvila pieni on rauhallinen?

In Finnish, like in English, adjectives usually come before the noun they modify:

• pieni kahvila = small café
• iso talo = big house

Kahvila pieni on rauhallinen is not normal; it sounds marked or poetic at best. The default neutral order is:

• Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.
• Tämä pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.

Does the verb on always mean “is”? Is it a special verb?

On is the 3rd person singular of the verb olla (“to be”):

• olla = to be
• hän on = he/she is
• se on = it is
• pieni kahvila on = the small café is

You use on whenever the subject is he/she/it or a singular noun:

• Kahvila on rauhallinen. – The café is peaceful.
• Talo on iso. – The house is big.

For plurals you use ovat:

• Kahvilat ovat rauhallisia. – The cafés are peaceful/quiet.

How would I say “Small cafés are peaceful” in Finnish?

You need the plural for both the noun and the adjective:

• Pienet kahvilat ovat rauhallisia.

Breakdown:

• pienet – plural nominative of pieni (small)
• kahvilat – plural nominative of kahvila (cafés)
• ovat – 3rd person plural of olla (are)
• rauhallisia – plural partitive of rauhallinen

The predicate adjective in plural is often partitive (rauhallisia), especially in general, non-exhaustive statements like “(some/typical) small cafés are peaceful.” Using nominative plural (rauhalliset) would sound more like talking about a specific, limited group of cafés.

How do you pronounce pieni kahvila on rauhallinen?

Rough guide (syllables separated by dots):

• pieni → PIE‑ni

  • stress always on the first syllable in Finnish: PIE
  • ie is a diphthong, pronounced smoothly as one sound.

• kahvila → KAH‑vi‑la

  • each vowel is pronounced clearly: a, i, a
  • hv is just h + v, no special combination.

• on → on

  • like English on, but with a pure short o.

• rauhallinen → RAU‑hal‑li‑nen

  • stress on RAU
  • au is a diphthong
  • ll is a double consonant, held a bit longer than a single l
  • all vowels are short here.

Finnish is very phonetic: letters are mostly pronounced the same way every time.

What are the main forms of the adjective pieni that I should know early on?

For beginners, these are key:

• Nominative:

  • pieni – small (subject/predicate):
    Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.

• Genitive (of):

  • pienen – of the small:
    pienen kahvilan terassi – the terrace of the small café

• Partitive (some/part of, object, after many verbs):

  • pientä – (some) small:
    Näen pientä kahvilaa. – I see a small café. (in progress, not completed)

• Plural partitive:

  • pieniä – (some) small ones:
    Näen pieniä kahviloita. – I see (some) small cafés.

You’ll meet these cases all the time, so it’s worth recognizing them.

Is there any gender in words like pieni or rauhallinen? Do they change for masculine/feminine?

No. Finnish has no grammatical gender:

• pieni is the same for “he,” “she,” and “it.”
• rauhallinen is also the same regardless of gender.

So:

• Hän on pieni ja rauhallinen.
  can mean He is small and calm or She is small and calm.

What is the difference between pieni and pikku? Could I say pikku kahvila on rauhallinen?

Both relate to “small/little”, but:

• pieni – neutral “small” in size or degree; works in all registers.
• pikku – more colloquial/affective, often “little” with a warmer or more informal tone.

You can say:

• Pikku kahvila on rauhallinen.

This might sound like “a cute little café is peaceful/quiet,” depending on context. In standard written Finnish, pieni is the safer default.

What’s the nuance difference between rauhallinen and hiljainen? Both are sometimes translated as “quiet.”

Roughly:

• rauhallinen – peaceful, calm

  • Focus on atmosphere, lack of disturbance or stress.
  • A place can have some sound but still be rauhallinen.

• hiljainen – quiet, silent

  • Focus on low noise level.
  • Almost no sound.

So:

• Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.
  → It feels calm and relaxed, maybe some soft background noise.

• Pieni kahvila on hiljainen.
  → It is audibly quiet; few people talking, maybe almost silent.

Could I say Kahvila on pieni ja rauhallinen instead? Does the meaning change?

Yes:

• Kahvila on pieni ja rauhallinen.
  = The café is small and peaceful/quiet.

Difference in focus:

• Pieni kahvila on rauhallinen.
  → Emphasis starts on small café as a unit.

• Kahvila on pieni ja rauhallinen.
  → You first introduce the café, then describe it with two adjectives.

Both are natural; use whichever suits what you want to emphasize.

How would I make this sentence negative: “The small café is not peaceful”?

Use the negative verb ei + base form ole of olla:

• Pieni kahvila ei ole rauhallinen.
  = The small café is not peaceful.

Pattern:

• [subject] + ei ole + [adjective in nominative]

Examples:

• Kahvila ei ole iso. – The café is not big.
• Tämä paikka ei ole rauhallinen. – This place is not peaceful.

What word-for-word parts make up rauhallinen?

Rauhallinen is built from:

• rauha – peace
• ‑llinen – an adjective-forming suffix (a bit like English ‑ful, ‑y, or ‑ly in meaning)

So rauhallinen is roughly “peace‑ful” / “peace‑y” → peaceful, calm.

You’ll see ‑inen / ‑llinen often on adjectives:

• ystävä (friend) → ystävällinen (friendly)
• tapa (habit/manner) → tavallinen (ordinary)
• rauha (peace) → rauhallinen (peaceful, calm)

If I want to ask “Is the small café peaceful?”, how do I turn this sentence into a question?

You usually keep the word order and add ‑ko/‑kö to the verb on:

• Onko pieni kahvila rauhallinen?
  = Is the small café peaceful/quiet?

Details:

• on
  • ‑ko → onko
• No change to pieni kahvila or rauhallinen.

You can also front something else for emphasis, but Onko pieni kahvila rauhallinen? is the basic neutral question form.