A1 Collocation Neutral

Pieni lapsi

Small child

Phrase in 30 Seconds

Pieni lapsi is the standard Finnish way to describe a young child or toddler.

  • Means: A small or young child.
  • Used in: Describing family members, talking about parenting, or observing children in public.
  • Don't confuse: 'Pieni lapsi' (a young child) with 'lapsellinen' (childish).
Small size (pieni) + Child (lapsi) = Young kid

Explanation at your level:

Pieni lapsi means a small child. You use it when you talk about kids.
This phrase describes a young child. It is a common way to talk about family or people you see in the park.
In Finnish, 'pieni lapsi' is the standard collocation for a young child. It is used in both formal and informal contexts to denote age and developmental stage.
The collocation 'pieni lapsi' functions as a primary descriptor for early childhood. It is grammatically flexible, requiring case agreement, and is deeply embedded in everyday Finnish discourse regarding family and social development.
The phrase 'pieni lapsi' represents a fundamental lexical unit in Finnish. It serves as a semantic anchor for describing early human development, demonstrating the language's preference for transparent, descriptive noun phrases in social and familial contexts.
From a cognitive linguistic perspective, 'pieni lapsi' functions as a prototypical category label. It encapsulates the intersection of physical size and developmental maturity, serving as a cornerstone for social categorization in Finnish, often carrying affective connotations of vulnerability and care.

Bedeutung

A young person.

🌍

Kultureller Hintergrund

Finns are very protective of children in public spaces. Children are encouraged to be independent early.

💡

Adjective agreement

Always match the case of the adjective to the noun.

Bedeutung

A young person.

💡

Adjective agreement

Always match the case of the adjective to the noun.

Teste dich selbst

Fill in the blank.

Tämä on ____ lapsi.

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: pieni

Pieni means small, which fits with child.

🎉 Ergebnis: /1

Häufig gestellte Fragen

1 Fragen

No, it is only for young children.

Verwandte Redewendungen

🔄

Pikkulapsi

synonym

Toddler

Wo du es verwendest

🌳

At the park

A: Katso, tuo pieni lapsi juoksee!

B: Niin, hän on tosi nopea.

neutral
🏠

Family visit

Host: Tämä on minun pieni lapsi, Ville.

Guest: Hei Ville, oletpa sinä iso poika!

neutral

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Think of a 'Pee-knee' (pieni) high child (lapsi).

Visual Association

Imagine a toddler standing at your knee height.

Rhyme

Pieni lapsi, leikkii kaksi.

Story

I saw a small child in the park. The small child was laughing. I smiled at the small child.

Word Web

lapsipienivauvaleikkikasvuperhe

Herausforderung

Describe three children you know using 'pieni lapsi' in sentences.

In Other Languages

Spanish high

Niño pequeño

Word order: Adjective-Noun (FI) vs Noun-Adjective (ES).

French high

Petit enfant

French requires articles (un petit enfant) more strictly than Finnish.

German high

Kleines Kind

German requires capitalization of the noun.

Japanese high

小さい子供 (Chiisai kodomo)

Japanese does not use grammatical cases in the same way.

Arabic moderate

طفل صغير (Tifl saghir)

Arabic uses gendered nouns and post-positional adjectives.

Easily Confused

Pieni lapsi vs. Lapsellinen

Sounds like child, but means childish.

Lapsi = noun, Lapsellinen = adjective (childish).

FAQ (1)

No, it is only for young children.

War das hilfreich?

Kommentare (0)

Zum Kommentieren Anmelden
Noch keine Kommentare. Sei der Erste, der seine Gedanken teilt!