5. Vowel harmony

The vowels in Finnish are divided into three groups.

The vowels À, ö and y are called front vowels. They do not usually occur in the same word with back vowels a, o and u. Neutral vowels e and i can occur together with either front or back vowels or by themselves:

Äiti juo kahvia.

Mother drinks coffee.
IsÀ lukee lehteÀ.

Father reads a newspaper.

All these vowel groups can occur together in compound words:

Pikkutyttö juo kevytmaitoa.

The little girl drinks semi-skimmed milk.

Due to vowel harmony, there are two variants of most endings:

Äiti ei nukkunut hyvin.

Mother didn’t sleep well.
HÀn ei herÀnnyt herÀtyskelloon.

She didn’t wake up with the alarm.
He asuvat pienessÀ talossa Vantaalla.

They live in a small house in Vantaa.
He kÀyvÀt töissÀ HelsingissÀ.

They go to work in Helsinki.

If a word contains a, o or u, you choose an ending with a, o or u:

nukku + nut

(didn’t) sleep

asu + vat

they live

talo + ssa

in a house

Vantaa + lla

in Vantaa

If a word contains À, ö or y, or only neutral vowels e and i, you choose an ending with À, ö or y:

herÀ + nnyt

(didn’t) wake up

kÀy + vÀt

they go

töi + ssÀ

to (at) work

Helsingi + ssÀ

in Helsinki

piene + ssÀ

inside something small

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