Tarvitsen voidetta, koska iho on kuiva.

I need ointment, because the skin is dry.

Breakdown of Tarvitsen voidetta, koska iho on kuiva.

• minä: I
• olla: to be
• tarvita: to need
• koska: because
• iho: the skin
• kuiva: dry
• voide: the ointment

Questions & Answers about Tarvitsen voidetta, koska iho on kuiva.

Why is it tarvitsen and not just tarvita?

Tarvita is the basic dictionary form, meaning to need.

In the sentence, the verb is conjugated for I, so it becomes tarvitsen = I need.

A quick breakdown:

• tarvita = to need
• tarvitsen = I need
• tarvitset = you need
• tarvitsee = he/she/it needs

The ending -n is the usual first person singular ending in Finnish.

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Why is there no separate word for I?

In Finnish, the subject pronoun is often left out when the verb ending already makes the person clear.

So:

• Tarvitsen already means I need
• Minä tarvitsen also means I need, but minä is optional here

Using minä can add emphasis, contrast, or clarity, but in ordinary sentences it is often omitted.

So this sentence could also be:

• Minä tarvitsen voidetta, koska iho on kuiva.

But the version without minä is very natural.

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Why is it voidetta instead of voide?

This is one of the most common questions, because Finnish objects often change form.

• voide = cream / ointment / lotion
• voidetta = some cream / cream (as an uncounted amount)

Here, voidetta is in the partitive singular.

That is used because the speaker needs some cream, not a specific complete item in the sense of a clearly bounded object. In Finnish, with things like substances, materials, food, liquids, and similar mass nouns, the partitive is very common.

So:

• Tarvitsen voidetta = I need some cream

If you were talking about one specific cream, the form could be different, for example:

• Tarvitsen sen voiteen = I need that cream / that particular cream

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Is voidetta partitive because of the verb tarvita, or because cream is an uncountable substance?

Mostly because of the object meaning here: it refers to an indefinite amount of cream.

With tarvita, the object is often in the partitive when the thing needed is:

• uncountable
• abstract
• indefinite
• only part of a whole

So voidetta feels natural because cream is a substance, and the sentence means something like I need some cream.

Compare:

• Tarvitsen vettä. = I need water.
• Tarvitsen apua. = I need help.
• Tarvitsen rahaa. = I need money.

But with a specific countable thing, Finnish may use another object form:

• Tarvitsen avaimen. = I need the key / a key

So yes, the choice is strongly connected to both the kind of noun and the meaning of the object.

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What does koska mean, and how is it used?

Koska means because in this sentence.

It introduces a reason:

• Tarvitsen voidetta = I need cream
• koska iho on kuiva = because the skin is dry

So koska works like a conjunction linking the main clause and the reason clause.

Be careful: koska can also mean when in some contexts, especially in questions or indirect questions:

• Koska tulet? = When are you coming?

But in your sentence, it clearly means because.

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Why is there no word like the before iho?

Finnish does not have articles like a/an or the.

So:

• iho can mean skin, the skin, or sometimes a skin, depending on context

In this sentence, English uses the skin or more naturally just my skin depending on how you translate it, but Finnish does not need an article at all.

This is very normal in Finnish:

• Koira on pihalla. = The dog is in the yard.
• Minulla on auto. = I have a car.

You understand whether it is definite or indefinite from the situation, not from an article.

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Why is it iho and not ihoni?

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things.

• iho = skin / the skin
• ihoni = my skin

In Finnish, possession is not always stated if it is obvious from context. Since the speaker is talking about needing cream, it is easy to understand that it is probably their own skin.

So:

• Tarvitsen voidetta, koska iho on kuiva. = I need cream because my skin is dry / because the skin is dry.
• Tarvitsen voidetta, koska ihoni on kuiva. = I need cream because my skin is dry.

The version with ihoni is more explicit. The version with just iho is still natural.

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Why is it on kuiva? Why doesn’t kuiva change form?

Here kuiva is a predicate adjective after the verb on (is).

In Finnish, after olla (to be), predicate adjectives are often in the nominative singular when the subject is singular.

So:

• iho = skin
• on = is
• kuiva = dry

That gives:

• iho on kuiva = the skin is dry

The adjective agrees with the subject in number:

• iho on kuiva = the skin is dry
• kädet ovat kuivat = the hands are dry

So kuiva is in its basic singular form because iho is singular.

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Could the word order be changed?

Yes. Finnish word order is fairly flexible, although not completely free.

The sentence could also be:

• Koska iho on kuiva, tarvitsen voidetta.

That means the same thing: Because the skin is dry, I need cream.

The original version is probably the most neutral if you want to state the need first:

• Tarvitsen voidetta, koska iho on kuiva.

Changing the order can affect emphasis:

• first clause = what is most immediately presented
• second clause = supporting information

So Finnish allows both, much like English.

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Why is there a comma before koska?

Because koska iho on kuiva is a subordinate clause.

Finnish normally uses a comma between a main clause and a subordinate clause:

• Tarvitsen voidetta, koska iho on kuiva.

This is standard Finnish punctuation.

So the comma works very much like in English when you separate clauses, though Finnish comma rules are often a bit more regular in clause boundaries.

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How do you pronounce voidetta?

A few useful pronunciation points:

• Finnish stress is usually on the first syllable
• so voidetta is stressed like VOI-detta
• oi is a diphthong, something like the oy in boy
• tt is a long consonant, so it is held a little longer than a single t

Roughly:

• voi-det-ta

Also remember that Finnish spelling is very regular, so what you see is usually what you say.

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Is voide exactly the same as English cream?

Not always exactly.

Voide is a general word for a substance spread on the skin, and depending on context it can mean:

• cream
• lotion
• ointment
• salve

So in this sentence, the exact English translation depends on context. If this is about dry skin, cream is a very natural translation, but lotion or ointment could also fit in some situations.

This is common in language learning: one Finnish word may match several English words depending on context.

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Can I say Tarvitsen rasvaa instead?

Sometimes, yes, but it is not always exactly the same.

• voide = a skin product, cream/ointment/lotion
• rasva literally means fat/grease, but in some contexts it can also mean a greasy cream or ointment

If you are talking generally about skin cream, voidetta is a safe and neutral choice.

Rasvaa might sound more like a greasy product, or in some contexts even actual fat/grease, so it depends on what you mean.

So for a learner, voidetta is the better general word here.