Once you’ve learned personal pronouns and the verb olla, the next thing you’ll probably want to do is ask questions.

How do you ask:

• What is this?
• Who is that?
• Where do you live?
• When does the train leave?
• Why are you studying Finnish?

To do that, you’ll need Finnish question words (kysymyssanat).

The good news is that many Finnish questions follow a simple pattern:

Question word + verb + rest of the sentence

For example:

• Mikä tämä on?
• Missä sinä asut?
• Milloin kurssi alkaa?

Let’s start with some of the most common question words you’ll encounter as a beginner.

Common Finnish Question Words

Finnish	English
kuka	who
mikä	what / which
mitä	what
missä	where
mihin	where to
mistä	where from
milloin	when
miksi	why
miten	how
kuinka	how
kuinka paljon	how much
kuinka monta	how many

You’ll see these words everywhere in Finnish textbooks, conversations, social media posts, and everyday life.

Kuka? (Who?)

Use kuka when asking about a person.

Examples:

• Kuka hän on? = Who are you?
• Kuka soitti? = Who called?
• Kuka on opettaja? = Who is teacher?

Answers:

• Hän on Anna. = She is Anna.
• Mikko soitti. = Mikko called.
• Minä olen opettaja. = I’m a teacher.

Mikä? and Mitä? — What’s the Difference?

This is one of the first things that confuses many learners.

Both words are often translated as ”what”, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

Mikä

Use mikä when asking about the identity of something. Mikä often goes with the olla – verb (to be).

Examples:

• Mikä tämä on?
• Mikä tuo on?
• Mikä sinun nimesi on?

Answers:

• Tämä on kirja.
• Tuo on koulu.
• Minun nimeni on Phuong.

In these examples, you’re asking:

What is it?

However, when mikä is used with other verbs, it doesn’t always ask for identity. It can ask about an action, an object, an event, or even an animal. The exact meaning depends on the verb and the context.

Mikä + olla (identity)	Mikä + other verbs
Mikä tämä on? → Tämä on kirja. Mikä tuo on? → Tuo on koulu. Here you’re asking: ”What is it?”	Mikä liikkuu tuolla? → Kissa liikkuu tuolla. (What is moving over there?) Mikä haukkuu ulkona? → Koira haukkuu ulkona. (What is barking outside?) Mikä putosi lattialle? → Puhelin putosi lattialle. (What fell on the floor?) Mikä aiheutti ongelman? → Sähkökatko aiheutti ongelman. (What caused the problem?) Mikä tekee sinut onnelliseksi? → Musiikki tekee minut onnelliseksi. (What makes you happy?)

Tip: Don’t think of mikä as only meaning ”what is it?”. In Finnish, mikä often means simply ”what?”, and the verb tells you what kind of answer is expected.

Mitä

Use mitä when asking about actions, activities, or things that are not being identified.

Examples:

• Mitä teet? = What are you doing ?
• Mitä opiskelet? = What are you studying?
• Mitä syöt? = What are you you eating?

Answers:

• Teen kotitehtäviä. = I’m doing my homeworks.
• Opiskelen suomea. = I’m studying Finnish.
• Syön omenan. = I’m eating an apple.

In these examples, you’re asking:

What are you doing?

Notice that the answers usually describe an action or the object of an action.

Mitä + olla

This is where many learners get confused.

Sometimes mitä can also appear with the verb olla.

For example:

• Mitä tämä on?

Even though this looks similar to Mikä tämä on?, the focus is slightly different.

Mikä tämä on?
→ asks about the identity or category of something.

Mitä tämä on?

→ often asks about the nature, content, substance, or what something actually is.

For example:

• Mikä tämä on?
  • Tämä on kakku.
• Mitä tämä on?
  • Tämä on suklaata.

A simple way to think about it is:

• Mikä? → What is it?
• Mitä? → What is it made of? What is it about? What is happening? What is the thing in question?

Don’t worry too much yet

At beginner level, you don’t need to master every difference immediately.
A useful rule is:

• Mikä usually asks for identity or category.
• Mitä often asks about actions, content, substance, or situations.

The more Finnish you read and hear, the more natural the difference will become.

Where Questions

Finnish has several question words related to location.

Notice that the answer usually follows the same location pattern as the question.

When asking location questions in Finnish, the form of the answer depends on the question word you use.

Missä? asks where someone or something is.

• Missä asut?
• Asun Suomessa.

Mihin? asks where someone is going.

• Mihin menet?
• Menen kouluun.

Mistä? asks where someone comes from or where something comes from.

• Mistä olet kotoisin?
• Olen kotoisin Italiasta.

At this stage, you don’t need to understand the grammar behind these forms. Simply learn them as complete question-and-answer patterns.

Later, when you study Finnish location cases, you’ll learn why the words change:

• Suomessa (in Finland)
• kouluun (to school)
• Italiasta (from Vietnam)

For now, focus on recognizing the question words. You will learn the grammar behind them later when you study Finnish location cases.

Milloin? (When?)

Examples

• Milloin juna lähtee? → When does the train leave?
• Milloin kurssi alkaa? → When does the course start?
• Milloin sinulla on aikaa? → When do you have time? / When are you free?

Answers

• Huomenna. → Tomorrow.
• Kello kahdeksan. → At eight o’clock.
• Ensi viikolla. → Next week.

Milloin? means ”When?” and is used to ask about time.

The answer can be:

• a specific time (kello kahdeksan) ( but not always)
• a day (huomenna)
• a longer period of time (ensi viikolla, kesällä, maanantaina)

Examples:

• Milloin tapaaminen alkaa? → Kello yhdeksän.
• Milloin menet Suomeen? → Ensi kuussa.
• Milloin sinulla on lomaa? → Kesällä.

Miksi? (Why?)

Examples:

• Miksi opiskelet suomea? = Why do you study Finnish?
• Miksi olet väsynyt? = Why are you tired?

Answers:

• Koska asun Suomessa. = Because I live in Finland.
• Koska nukuin huonosti. = Because I didn’t sleep well.

You’ll often see this pattern:

Miksi…?

followed by

Koska…

(Why? → Because…)

Miten? (How?)

Use miten when asking about the way something is done, how something works, or how someone feels.

Examples:

• Miten voit? → How are you?
• Miten tämä toimii? → How does this work?
• Miten opit suomea? → How do you learn Finnish?

Answers:

• Hyvin. → Well.
• Se toimii näin. → It works like this.
• Opin lukemalla ja kuuntelemalla. → I learn by reading and listening.

What kind of answers does miten require?

Unlike mikä (what) or milloin (when), miten asks about a method, process, manner, or condition.

The answer often describes:

• a way of doing something
• a process
• a feeling or condition

That’s already enough to ask hundreds of useful questions.

HERE IS USEFUL LESSON FROM OPETTAJA ANNA

TIME TO PRACTICE!!!