§ Forgetting Case Endings
The biggest mistake people make with 'kysymys' (and many other Finnish nouns) is forgetting about case endings. Finnish is an agglutinative language, meaning words change their endings depending on their role in a sentence. 'Kysymys' in its basic form (nominative) means 'a question' or 'the question'. But you rarely use it in this form unless it's the subject of a very simple sentence.
Minulla on yksi kysymys.
I have one question.
§ Using 'Kysymys' Instead of 'Kysyä'
'Kysymys' is a noun. It means 'question'. 'Kysyä' is a verb, meaning 'to ask'. Don't mix them up. You ask a question, you don't 'question a question'.
Voinko kysyä sinulta jotain?
Can I ask you something?
§ Incorrect Partitive Usage
The partitive case is crucial in Finnish. When you have 'a question' that is not fully specified or is a part of a larger whole (like asking 'some questions'), you often need the partitive form: 'kysymystä'.
Minulla on sinulle kysymystä.
I have a question for you. (Implies 'some question' or 'a question among others')
§ Plural Forms
When you're talking about more than one question, you need to use the plural. The plural nominative is 'kysymykset'. The plural partitive is 'kysymyksiä'.
- DEFINITION
- kysymykset (plural nominative): questions
Nämä kysymykset ovat vaikeita.
These questions are difficult.
- DEFINITION
- kysymyksiä (plural partitive): questions (some questions, indefinite)
Minulla on monta kysymyksiä.
I have many questions.
§ Common Case Endings with 'Kysymys'
Here are some common cases you'll encounter with 'kysymys'. Get familiar with these forms.
- Inessive (-ssa/-ssä): kysymyksessä (in the question)
- Elative (-sta/-stä): kysymyksestä (from the question, about the question)
- Illative (-an/-än, -seen, -hyn): kysymykseen (into the question, to the question)
- Genitive (-n): kysymyksen (of the question)
Vastaus on kysymyksessä.
The answer is in the question.
Puhutaan tästä kysymyksestä huomenna.
Let's talk about this question tomorrow.
Palataan kysymykseen.
Let's return to the question.
Tämä on kysymyksen ydin.
This is the core of the question.
How Formal Is It?
"Minulla olisi teille eräs kysymys."
"Yksi kysymys vielä."
"Mulla olis yks kysymys."
"Mitä kysymys?"
"Yks nopee kysäri."
Examples by Level
Minulla on yksi kysymys sinulle.
I have one question for you.
Possessive structure, minulla on.
Voinko esittää kysymyksen?
Can I ask a question?
Verb 'esittää' (to present/ask) with partitive 'kysymyksen'.
Se on vaikea kysymys.
That is a difficult question.
Adjective 'vaikea' (difficult) in front of the noun.
En ymmärtänyt kysymystäsi.
I didn't understand your question.
Verb 'ymmärtää' (to understand) takes partitive object 'kysymystäsi'.
Mitä kysymyksiä sinulla on?
What questions do you have?
Plural partitive 'kysymyksiä' after 'mitä'.
Hän vastasi kaikkiin kysymyksiin.
He/she answered all questions.
Verb 'vastata' (to answer) takes allative case 'kysymyksiin'.
Minulla oli monia kysymyksiä asiasta.
I had many questions about the matter.
Plural partitive 'kysymyksiä' with 'monia' (many).
Tämä on tärkeä kysymys tulevaisuudelle.
This is an important question for the future.
Adjective 'tärkeä' (important) and allative 'tulevaisuudelle' (for the future).
Hän esitti niin monimutkaisen kysymyksen, että edes professori ei osannut vastata siihen heti.
He posed such a complex question that even the professor couldn't answer it immediately.
monimutkaisen: genitive form of 'monimutkainen' (complex), agreeing with 'kysymyksen'.
Päällikön kysymys herätti työntekijöissä paljon pohdintaa tulevasta strategiasta.
The manager's question sparked a lot of contemplation among the employees about the future strategy.
Päällikön: genitive form of 'päällikkö' (manager), indicating possession.
Vaikka kysymys oli henkilökohtainen, hän vastasi siihen rehellisesti ja avoimesti.
Although the question was personal, he answered it honestly and openly.
Vaikka: conjunction 'although'.
Tämä on ratkaiseva kysymys, joka vaikuttaa koko hankkeen onnistumiseen.
This is a crucial question that affects the success of the entire project.
ratkaiseva: adjective 'decisive' or 'crucial'.
Opiskelijat esittivät innokkaasti kysymyksiä luennon jälkeen.
The students eagerly asked questions after the lecture.
kysymyksiä: partitive plural of 'kysymys' (question), used after verbs expressing asking.
Hänen jatkuvat kysymyksensä alkoivat jo hieman ärsyttää muita kokouksessa.
His constant questions were starting to annoy others in the meeting a bit.
jatkuvat: plural form of 'jatkuva' (constant), agreeing with 'kysymyksensä'.
Poliitikko kiersi visaisesti toimittajien hankalan kysymyksen.
The politician cleverly evaded the journalists' tricky question.
hankalan: genitive form of 'hankala' (tricky), agreeing with 'kysymyksen'.
Tämä on se kysymys, johon meidän on löydettävä vastaus ennen huomista.
This is the question to which we must find an answer before tomorrow.
johon: illative form of the relative pronoun 'joka' (which), meaning 'to which'.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Imagine a 'kiss' that someone asks 'you, miss'. A kiss you miss? You have a 'question' about it!
Visual Association
Picture a big, bold question mark (?) made out of steam rising from a hot 'kiss' (kysy-) on a 'mess' (mys)y plate. It's a 'question' about the messy kiss.
Word Web
Challenge
Think of three things you might ask someone when you first meet them. Try to form simple sentences using 'kysymys' in Finnish, even if you only know parts of the sentence. For example: 'Onko sinulla kysymys?' (Do you have a question?)
Test Yourself 36 questions
Minulla on yksi ___. (I have one question.)
The sentence requires a noun meaning 'question'. 'Kysymys' is the correct Finnish word for 'question'.
Voinko esittää ___? (Can I ask a question?)
Here, 'kysymys' is in the genitive case, 'kysymyksen', because it is the object of the verb 'esittää' (to ask/present).
Hänellä ei ole yhtään ___. (He/She doesn't have any questions.)
In negative sentences, 'kysymys' takes the partitive case, 'kysymystä'.
Opettaja vastaa ___ heti. (The teacher answers the question immediately.)
When something is answered 'to' a question, the illative case is used: 'kysymykseen'.
Se on tärkeä ___. (That is an important question.)
The sentence needs a noun to be modified by the adjective 'tärkeä' (important). 'Kysymys' fits this context.
En ymmärrä tätä ___. (I don't understand this question.)
With the verb 'ymmärtää' (to understand) and a specific object like 'tätä' (this), 'kysymys' takes the partitive case, 'kysymystä'.
Which word means 'question'?
'Kysymys' is the Finnish word for 'question'. 'Vastaus' means 'answer'.
Choose the correct translation for 'a question'.
'Yksi' means 'one' or 'a'. So, 'yksi kysymys' means 'a question'.
Which of these sentences uses 'kysymys' correctly?
The sentence 'Minulla on yksi kysymys' translates to 'I have a question'. The other options use different nouns.
The word 'kysymys' means 'answer'.
'Kysymys' means 'question', not 'answer'. The word for 'answer' is 'vastaus'.
If you want to ask 'What is your name?', you might use the word 'kysymys'.
Asking 'What is your name?' is indeed a question, and 'kysymys' is the word for 'question'.
You can say 'Hyvä kysymys!' to mean 'Good question!'.
'Hyvä' means 'good', so 'Hyvä kysymys!' correctly translates to 'Good question!'.
This means 'I have a question.' 'Minulla' (I have), 'on' (is/has), 'kysymys' (question).
This means 'Do you have a question?' 'Onko' (is it/do you have), 'sinulla' (you have), 'kysymys' (question).
This means 'What is the question?' 'Mikä' (what), 'on' (is), 'kysymys' (question).
Minulla on yksi ___. (I have one question.)
The sentence requires the word for 'question' which is 'kysymys'.
Voinko esittää sinulle ___? (Can I ask you a question?)
'Kysymys' is the correct noun to complete the phrase 'esittää kysymys' (to ask a question).
En ymmärrä tätä ___. (I don't understand this question.)
The context indicates a lack of understanding, so 'kysymys' (question) fits best.
Oliko sinulla ___? (Did you have a question?)
The sentence asks if a 'question' was had, making 'kysymys' the correct choice.
Hän vastasi minun ___. (He answered my question.)
When something is answered, the object of the answer ('kysymys') takes the allative case (-seen) in Finnish.
Mikä on se ___? (What is that question?)
The sentence asks for the identity of 'that thing', which is a 'question'.
Try to understand the nuance of 'esittää kysymyksesi' in a formal context.
Focus on how 'jätti kysymyksen ilmaan' implies an unanswered question.
Pay attention to the adjective 'monimutkaisempi' modifying 'kysymys'.
Read this aloud:
Millä tavoin aiot lähestyä tätä arkaluonteista kysymystä kokouksessa?
Focus: lähestyä, arkaluonteista
You said:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
Voitko selventää kysymystäsi, sillä en ole täysin varma, mitä haluat tietää?
Focus: selventää, kysymystäsi
You said:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
Meidän on otettava tämä kysymys asialistallemme ja keskusteltava siitä perusteellisesti.
Focus: asialistallemme, perusteellisesti
You said:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Se, ettemme saaneet vastausta tähän ___ herätti epäilyksiä hankkeen läpinäkyvyydestä.
The illative case (-seen) is used here to indicate 'to this question', implying direction or target of the action.
Poliitikko kierteli vastausta keskeiseen ___ useaan otteeseen, mikä lisäsi yleisön turhautumista.
Here, 'kierteli vastausta kysymykseen' means 'avoided answering the question', where the illative case 'kysymykseen' indicates the object of evasion.
Filosofi esitti syvällisen ___ olemassaolon tarkoituksesta, joka jäi pitkäksi aikaa mietityttämään kuulijoita.
The genitive form 'kysymyksen' is used here because 'esitti kysymyksen' means 'presented a question', and 'kysymyksen' acts as the object in a specific, completed action.
Ratkaisematta jääneet ___ roikkuivat ilmassa kokouksen jälkeen, luoden epävarman ilmapiirin.
The nominative plural 'kysymykset' is used as the subject of the sentence, referring to multiple unresolved questions.
Hän ei antanut periksi, vaan palasi jatkuvasti samaan ___ yrittäen saada selkeän vastauksen.
The illative case 'kysymykseen' indicates the direction 'to the same question', showing persistence in seeking an answer.
Tämä on paljon monimutkaisempi ___ kuin aluksi arvelimme, vaatien syvällistä pohdintaa ja asiantuntemusta.
The nominative 'kysymys' is used here as a predicate nominative, describing 'this' as 'a question'.
/ 36 correct
Perfect score!
