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Apteekissa neuvotaan myös, miten päänsärkyä, nuhaa ja pieniä haavoja hoidetaan kotona.

Apteekissa neuvotaan myös, miten päänsärkyä, nuhaa ja pieniä haavoja hoidetaan kotona.
At the pharmacy they also advise how headaches, colds, and small wounds are treated at home.

Breakdown of Apteekissa neuvotaan myös, miten päänsärkyä, nuhaa ja pieniä haavoja hoidetaan kotona.

kotona
at home
pieni
small
myös
also
ja
and
neuvoa
to advise
miten
how
apteekki
the pharmacy
-ssa
in/at
nuha
the cold
päänsärky
the headache
haava
the wound
hoitaa
to treat
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Questions & Answers about Apteekissa neuvotaan myös, miten päänsärkyä, nuhaa ja pieniä haavoja hoidetaan kotona.

What does apteekissa mean, and what does the ending -ssa do?

Apteekissa means in the pharmacy or at the pharmacy.

The ending -ssa is the inessive case, which usually means in. In Finnish, this case is also often used where English would say at a place.

  • apteekki = pharmacy
  • apteekissa = in/at the pharmacy
Why is there no normal subject like they in this sentence?

Because Finnish is using the passive/impersonal form.

In neuvotaan and hoidetaan, the doer is left unspecified. This is very common when talking about general actions, services, instructions, or what people do in general.

So Apteekissa neuvotaan myös... is like saying:

  • At the pharmacy, they also advise...
  • Advice is also given at the pharmacy...
  • You can also get advice at the pharmacy...

Finnish often prefers this structure instead of naming a subject.

What exactly is neuvotaan?

Neuvotaan is the present passive form of neuvoa, which means to advise.

So neuvotaan means something like:

  • people advise
  • advice is given
  • one advises
  • you are advised

The exact English translation depends on context, but the Finnish idea is general and impersonal.

What does myös mean, and why is it placed there?

Myös means also or too.

Its position is natural Finnish word order. Here it adds the idea that, at the pharmacy, advice is also given about this topic.

Finnish word order is more flexible than English word order, and moving myös can slightly change what is being emphasized. In this sentence, its placement is very normal.

What is miten doing in the sentence?

Miten means how.

Here it introduces an indirect question or content clause:

  • miten ... hoidetaan kotona = how ... are treated at home

So the pharmacy gives advice about how these things are treated at home.

Finnish does not need an extra word like that here. The clause can begin directly with miten.

Why are päänsärkyä, nuhaa, and pieniä haavoja in the partitive?

They are in the partitive because they are being talked about in a general, non-specific way.

The sentence is not about:

  • one particular headache
  • one particular cold
  • one particular set of wounds

It is about treating these kinds of problems in general.

That is why Finnish uses the partitive here:

  • päänsärkyä
  • nuhaa
  • pieniä haavoja

A rough way to feel this is: how to treat headache, runny nose, and small wounds at home.

Why is pieniä haavoja plural, but päänsärkyä and nuhaa are singular?

Because Finnish and English do not always handle countability the same way.

In Finnish, illnesses and symptoms are often expressed in the singular when speaking generally:

  • nuhaa = runny nose / a cold, in a general sense
  • päänsärkyä = headache, in a general sense

But haavoja is plural because small wounds naturally refers to multiple possible wounds as a category.

So the mix of singular and plural here is normal Finnish usage.

Why do both words change in pieniä haavoja?

Because in Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun in case and number.

Here the noun is haavoja, which is plural partitive of haava = wound. The adjective pieni = small must match it, so it becomes pieniä.

  • pieni = small
  • haava = wound
  • pieniä haavoja = small wounds

Both words are plural partitive.

Why is it päänsärkyä and not pääsärkyä?

The basic word is päänsärky, which means headache.

It is a compound:

  • pään = of the head
  • särky = ache, pain

So the word is built with pään-, not pää-. Then in this sentence, that whole word is put into the partitive:

  • päänsärky → päänsärkyä

This is just the normal dictionary word plus the case ending.

What does kotona mean, and why not kotiin or kodissa?

Kotona means at home.

With koti, Finnish commonly uses these forms:

  • kotona = at home
  • kotiin = to home, homeward
  • kotoa = from home

So hoidetaan kotona means are treated at home.

Kodissa would sound more literal, like being physically inside the house/building, and it is not the natural everyday choice here.

Why is hoidetaan also passive?

For the same reason as neuvotaan: the sentence is talking about a general practice, not about one named person doing the action.

Hoidetaan is the present passive of hoitaa, meaning to treat, to take care of, or to manage.

So:

  • miten ... hoidetaan kotona = how ... are treated at home
  • or more naturally in English, how to treat ... at home

It is a general instruction-style statement.

How is the whole sentence structured?

It has two main parts:

  • Apteekissa neuvotaan myös = At the pharmacy, advice is also given
  • miten päänsärkyä, nuhaa ja pieniä haavoja hoidetaan kotona = how headache, runny nose, and small wounds are treated at home

So the second part explains what the advice is about.

In other words, the pharmacy gives advice about home treatment for these problems.