Learn Hardcore Finnish: Terveyden kannalta on parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia. - From the point of view of health, it is better to drink water than too much coffee.

Terveyden kannalta on parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia.

From the point of view of health, it is better to drink water than too much coffee.

Breakdown of Terveyden kannalta on parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Finnish now

Questions & Answers about Terveyden kannalta on parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia.

What does terveyden kannalta literally mean, and why is terveyden in the genitive?

Terveyden kannalta literally means “from the standpoint of health” or “in terms of health”.

kanta = base, standpoint, position
kannalta = from that standpoint (elative case: -lta/-ltä)
terveys → terveyden = genitive singular

Kannalta is a postposition that takes the genitive:

terveyden kannalta = from the point of view of health
talouden kannalta = from an economic point of view
ympäristön kannalta = from the environmental point of view

So terveyden is in the genitive because postpositions like kannalta normally require the preceding noun to be in the genitive case.

Why is there no subject like se (“it”) before on parempi juoda?

Finnish often uses impersonal sentences where English would use “it”:

On parempi juoda vettä…
= It is better to drink water…
= You/one should rather drink water…

There is no pronoun because:

The sentence makes a general statement about what is better.
Finnish doesn’t need a “dummy subject” like English it.

You could say Se on terveyden kannalta parempi, että juot vettä…, but that is more complex and more specific. The natural everyday way is the impersonal On parempi juoda….

Why is juoda in the infinitive and not a personal form like juot?

The structure on parempi + infinitive is very common in Finnish:

On parempi juoda vettä…
= It is better to drink water…

Here:

on = is
parempi = better
juoda (1st infinitive) = to drink

This infinitive construction:

expresses a general recommendation (not tied to I/you/he specifically),
works almost exactly like English “it is better to do X”.

If you used a personal form like juot (“you drink”), the structure would change, e.g.:

On parempi, että juot vettä… = It’s better that you drink water…

This is grammatical but more complex and less neutral/general.

Why are vettä and kahvia in the partitive case?

Both vesi (water) and kahvi (coffee) are mass nouns in this context – they refer to an unspecified amount rather than a specific, countable unit.

In Finnish, objects of verbs like juoda (to drink) are in the partitive when:

the amount is indefinite or not delimited
the action does not refer to finishing a whole known quantity

So:

juoda vettä = to drink (some) water
juoda kahvia = to drink (some) coffee

Also:

liikaa (“too much”) requires its complement in the partitive:
- liikaa kahvia = too much coffee

So both vettä and kahvia are partitive because they are indefinite amounts, and liikaa specifically demands the partitive.

Could we say juoda vesi or juoda kahvi instead? How would the meaning change?

Yes, but the meaning changes.

juoda vettä = drink (some) water, water in general, indefinite amount
juoda vesi = drink the water (a specific, whole quantity of water)

Similarly:

juoda kahvia = drink (some) coffee
juoda kahvi = drink the coffee (e.g. the cup of coffee you have)

In this sentence, you are comparing general habits:

juoda vettä vs juoda liikaa kahvia

So you want indefinite, habitual drinking, which is why the partitive (vettä, kahvia) is the natural choice. Saying juoda vesi / juoda kahvi would sound like you are talking about finishing a specific portion.

What exactly is the role of kuin in this sentence?

Kuin is the usual word for “than” in comparisons involving a comparative form, like parempi:

parempi X kuin Y = better X than Y

So:

on parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia
= it is better to drink water than (to drink) too much coffee

Points to note:

You don’t need to repeat juoda after kuin; it’s understood:
- juoda vettä kuin (juoda) liikaa kahvia
kuin is used after comparatives like parempi, suurempi, enemmän, etc.

Why is it liikaa kahvia and not liian paljon kahvia or liika kahvi?

All of these are possible in Finnish, but they differ slightly:

liikaa kahvia
- liikaa is the partitive form of liika used adverbially = too much
- liikaa kahvia = too much coffee (very usual, compact expression)
liian paljon kahvia
- liian = too
- paljon = much/a lot
- liian paljon kahvia = too much coffee (also very natural)
- Slightly more explicit; style-wise both are fine.
liika kahvi
- This is unusual here. liika as an adjective/nominal means excess, surplus.
- liika kahvi would sound more like “the excess coffee / surplus coffee”,
  not “too much coffee (drinking)” in a general sense.

So liikaa kahvia (or liian paljon kahvia) are the correct, natural ways to say “too much coffee” in this context. The sentence uses the shorter liikaa kahvia.

Can terveyden kannalta appear in another position in the sentence? Does word order change the meaning?

Yes, you can move terveyden kannalta around. The basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis changes slightly.

Some options:

Terveyden kannalta on parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia.
– Neutral: topic first, like “From the health point of view, it is better…”
On terveyden kannalta parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia.
– Still neutral; the focus is a bit more on on parempi as a statement.
On parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia terveyden kannalta.
– Possible, but terveyden kannalta feels a bit tagged on at the end;
more like “…better to drink water than too much coffee, health-wise.”

Putting terveyden kannalta early is the most typical and smooth choice, because it sets the context first.

Are there other common ways to say “for your health” or “health-wise” in Finnish?

Yes, several:

terveyden kannalta
– from the point of view of health, health-wise
terveyden vuoksi
– for the sake of health, because of health
– Terveyden vuoksi on parempi juoda vettä…
terveydelle parempi
– literally “better for (the) health”
– Vesi on terveydelle parempi kuin liika kahvi.
More personal:
- Sinun terveytesi kannalta… = from the point of view of your health
- Sinun terveytesi vuoksi… = for the sake of your health

The original terveyden kannalta is a very natural, standard way to say “health-wise”.

Does the sentence talk about your health, or health in general? How would I make it clearly personal?

As written:

Terveyden kannalta on parempi juoda vettä…

it talks about health in general or people’s health in general. It can be understood as a general recommendation: “Health-wise, it’s better to drink water…”.

To make it clearly personal, you can specify:

Sinun terveytesi kannalta on parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia.
= From the point of view of your health, it is better to drink water than too much coffee.

Or more concise:

Sinulle on terveyden kannalta parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia.
= For you, health-wise, it is better to drink water than too much coffee.

What is parempi grammatically, and does it agree with anything?

Parempi is the comparative form of the adjective hyvä (good):

hyvä = good
parempi = better
paras = best

In this sentence:

on parempi juoda vettä…
= (it) is better to drink water…

Parempi here is a predicative adjective; there is no explicit subject to agree with. Unlike in some languages, there is:

no gender,
and no visible number agreement in this context (there’s just an implied “it”).

If the subject were explicit and plural, parempi might change accordingly (e.g. parempia in some structures), but in this impersonal pattern on parempi + infinitive, parempi just stays in that basic comparative form.

Could we say on parempi juoda vettä kuin kahvia liikaa, or must liikaa come before kahvia?

The natural word order is:

liikaa kahvia = too much coffee

So in this sentence, the normal, idiomatic version is:

on parempi juoda vettä kuin liikaa kahvia

You could say kahvia liikaa, but that sounds marked and unusual here. It might appear in special contexts for emphasis (e.g. “En juo kahvia liikaa.” = I don’t drink coffee too much), but even there, liikaa kahvia is more straightforward.

So in your sentence, liikaa should precede kahvia.