Finnish Conjunctions and Other Connective Elements

In this article, I want to present you with an overview of the types of conjunctions and other connective elements used in Finnish. Connectives are words or phrases that link sentences (or clauses) together. Connectives can be conjunctions, postposition phrases or adverbs. While I’m mostly focusing on connectives between sentences, connectives can also be added between smaller elements in sentences. My list isn’t exhaustive, but I think it’s a good starting point.

Table of Contents

Types of conjunctions and connective elements
Connective elements that add, combine and continue
Connective elements that present alternatives
Connective elements that contrast, oppose and express constraints
Connective elements that express time
Connective elements that express intention
Connective elements that express causes and reasons
Connective elements that express results and consequences
Connective elements that express conditions
Connective elements that express concession
Connective elements used to compare

1. Types of conjunctions and connective elements

1.1. Conjunctions

We can divide conjunctions into groups based on several approaches.

Firstly, syntactically, conjunctions are usually divided into two groups: coordinating and subordinate conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunction: a conjunction that typically connects two main clauses. Coordinating conjunctions connect two clauses, words or phrases of equal importance. Common coordinating conjunctions in Finnish are: ja, sekä, sekä–että, -kä, eli, tai, joko–tai, vai, sillä, mutta, vaan (as well as the contracted conjunctions eikä and muttei).
Subordinate conjunction: a conjunction that typically connects a main clause to a subordinate clause. Common subordinate conjunctions in Finnish are: kun, kuin, kunnes, koska, että, jotta, jos, mikäli, vaikka, ennen kuin, ikään kuin, niin kuin (as well as the contracted conjunctions jollei, vaikkei, ettei, jottei).

Secondly, we can also divide conjunctions into groups based on their meaning. There are, for example, conjunctions that express contrast, causality, or conditions.

Perhaps, while studying English, you’ve come across the acronym “fanboys”, which is used to list the coordinating conjunctions that English uses: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. English has its own system of conjunctions and adverbs: there isn’t a one-to-one correspondence between Finnish and English.

1.2. Postposition phrases, particles and adverbs

While I originally intended to only talk about conjunctions in this article, it soon became apparent that it makes sense to also add other kinds of connective elements.

Postposition phrases: A postposition is a word placed behind the noun it governs. In Finnish, they usually require that noun to be inflected in the genitive case. You can read more about typical postpositions (such as takana, edessä and kanssa) here. I’ve included postposition phrases that are used to connect sentences and parts of sentences on this page. This includes phrases such as sen vuoksi (therefore), sen lisäksi (in addition) and sen tähden (consequently).
Adverbs: Adverbs typically modify a verb; adding information about the manner, place, time or frequency in which something is done. Some adverbs function much like conjunctions. For example, päinvastoin (on the contrary) opposes one statement with another.
Conjunction chains: I’ve also added some chains of words that contain a conjunction. This includes, for example samalla kun (at the same time as, while), mutta jos (but if) and siten että (in such a way as to). I will be covering these in more detail in another article, because they’re a pretty neat way to improve the way you form sentences.

In this article, I’ve opted for specifying in each table whether the connective element in question is a conjunction, an adverb or some kind of connective chain. I don’t personally think it matters what these elements grammatically are classified as, but perhaps this information is useful for some of you.

2. Conjunctions that add, combine and continue

Conjunctions that express addition or continuation of a series of concepts or ideas can be called any of the following in English: additive, cumulative or copulative conjunctions. These are also used to combine sentences. I have previously written about some of those, so I’m linking the articles in question within the table below.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
ja	and	Conjunctions of addition: ja sekä ynnä
sekä	and	Conjunctions of addition: ja sekä ynnä
sekä – että	both – and	Double conjunctions
ynnä	plus	Conjunctions of addition: ja sekä ynnä
eikä	nor, neither	Conjunction contractions (ja + ei)
ei – eikä	neither – nor	Double conjunctions
saati	let alone	Adverb
lisäksi	additionally	Adverb
sen lisäksi	in addition to that	Adverb or postposition
paitsi – myös	not only – but also	Paired adverb
paitsi että	except that	Adverb phrase
ei vaan – vaan myös	not just – but also	Paired adverb

Example sentence of additive connective elements

Finnish	English
Osaan soittaa pianoa ja kitaraa.	I can play the piano and guitar.
Osaan soittaa pianoa ja kitaraa sekä laulaa hyvin.	I can play the piano and guitar as well as sing well.
Osaan soittaa sekä pianoa että kitaraa.	I can play both the piano and the guitar.
Minulta kysyttiin nimeäni ynnä muuta.	They asked me my name among other things.
Hän on sairastunut eikä pääse tulemaan.	He is sick and can not come.
Hän ei soita pianoa eikä kitaraa.	He does not play the piano nor the guitar.
Ei kesälläkään, saati sitten talvella.	Not even in the summer, let alone in the winter.
Lisäksi minulta kysyttiin ammattiani.	Additionally, they asked my profession
Osaan sen lisäksi myös soittaa huilua.	In addition to that, I can also play the flute.
Kissa on paitsi nopea myös ketterä.	The cat is not only fast but also agile.
Tästä ei puhuta, paitsi että tänään puhutaankin.	This is not talked about, except that today we do talk about it.
En mieti vain tätä päivää vaan myös huomista.	I’m not just thinking about today, but also about tomorrow.

3. Conjunctions that present alternatives

Of all the conjunctions which present an alternative between elements, tai and vai are the ones which cause the most confusion, so make sure to read up on the difference.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
vai	or	The difference between tai and vai
tai	or	The difference between tai and vai
taikka	or	Less common version of tai
tahi	or	Archaic, poetic version of tai
joko – tai	either – or	Double conjunctions
eli	in other words, ie.	Conjunction
elikkä	so, in other words	More colloquial version of eli
toisin sanoen	in other words	Adverb phrase

Example sentences of disjunctive connective elements

Finnish	English
Onko tänään tiistai vai keskiviikko?	Is it Tuesday or Wednesday today?
Haluatko jotain syötävää tai juotavaa?	Do you want something to eat or drink?
Ottelu pidetään, satoi taikka paistoi.	The match will be played, rain or shine.
Kuun tahi auringon nähden runotyöhöni lähden.	Seeing moon or sun, I’m off to my poetry work.
Tänään on joko tiistai tai keskiviikko.	Today is either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Nämä ovat konjunktioita eli sidesanoja.	These are conjunctions, ie. connecting words.
Elikkä te molemmat tiesitte ajan ja paikan.	So, you both knew the time and place.
Toisin sanoen olen ollut aika kiireinen.	In other words, I’ve been pretty busy.

4. Conjunctions that contrast, oppose and express constraints

Next up, let’s look at conjunctive elements that express a contrast or opposition such as “but” and “rather”. These are referred to as contrasting or adversative conjunctions in English. The two most important ones are of course mutta and vaan.

I am planning to publish an article that dives deeper into these expressions later. I think it would be beneficial to dive deeper into the types of sentence constructions they are used in.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
mutta	but	*Conjunctions mutta* and vaan explained**
vaan	but rather	*Conjunctions mutta* and vaan explained**
muttei	but not	Conjunction contractions (mutta + ei)
taas	on the other hand	Adverb (also means “again“)
kun taas	whereas, while	Adverbial phrase
kuitenkin	anyway, nevertheless	Adverb
silti	still, yet, nonetheless	Adverb
toisaalta	on the other hand	Adverb
toisaalta – toisaalta	on the one hand – on the other	Double conjunctions
pikemmin(kin)	rather, on the contrary	Adverb
muuten	or else, otherwise	Adverb (also means “by the way“)
muutoin	or else, otherwise	Less common version of muuten
paitsi	except, unless	Adverb
päinvastoin	on the contrary	Adverb
sitä vastoin	by contrast, whereas	Adverb phrase
sen sijaan	instead	Adverb phrase
puolestaan	for one’s part	Adverb

Example sentences of contrasting connective elements

Finnish	English
En lukenut kirjaa mutta suosittelin sitä kyllä.	I didn’t read the book, but I did recommend it.
En lukenut kirjaa vaan kuuntelin sitä äänikirjana.	I didn’t read the book but rather listened to it as an audiobook.
Olen lukenut kirjan mutten voi sitä suositella.	I’ve read the book, but I can not recommend it.
Toiset olivat puolesta, toiset taas vastaan.	Some were for it, others on the other hand against it.
Osa heistä haluaa, kun taas osa ei vaivaudu.	Some of them want to, while some don’t bother.
Kaikki on kuitenkin ollut sen arvoista.	Nevertheless, it has all been worth it.
Silti he eivät olleet varmoja asiasta.	Still, they weren’t sure about it.
Toisaalta se voi olla hyväkin asia.	On the other hand, that can even be a good thing.
Ari on toisaalta nero ja toisaalta hullu.	Ari is a genius on the one hand and a madman on the other.
Pikemminkin luulen, että kaikki johtuu Arista.	Rather, I think it’s all because of Ari.
Lähdetään jo, muuten myöhästymme.	Let’s go already, otherwise we’ll be late.
Sytytä valot, muutoin on liian pimeää.	Turn on the lights, otherwise it’s too dark.
Tulen illalla, paitsi jos sataa.	I’ll come in the evening, unless it rains.
Tavoitteena on päinvastoin kasvattaa myyntiä.	The goal is, on the contrary, to increase sales.
Tänään aikataulu on sitä vastoin tiukka.	Today, on the contrary, the schedule is tight.
Sen sijaan Ari erotettiin.	Instead, Ari was fired.
Moni vastusti. Ari puolestaan ei välittänyt.	Many objected. Ari, for his part, didn’t care.

5. Connective elements that express time

Next, let’s look at some connective elements that express when something happened in relation to another activity. I will have to make a separate article at some point that dives into the differences in meaning and usage between the word chains below.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
kun	when	Kun in written and spoken Finnish
kunnes	until	Conjunction
nyt kun	now that	Word chain with conjunction kun
sitten kun	at such a time when	Word chain with conjunction kun
silloin kun	at such a time when	Word chain with conjunction kun
samalla kun	as, at the same time	Word chain with conjunction kun
sillä aikaa kun	while	Word chain with conjunction kun
siitä lähtien kun	since	Word chain with conjunction kun
sitä ennen	before that	Adposition phrase
ennen kuin	before	Word chain with conjunction kuin

Example sentences of temporal connective elements

Finnish	English
Kun luen, en huomaa mitään muuta.	When I’m reading, I don’t notice anything else.
Odotin, kunnes Ari tuli.	I waited until Ari came.
Nyt kun olen aikuinen, päätän itse.	Now that I’m an adult, I decide for myself.
Rentoudun sitten kun kaikki työt on tehty.	I will relax when all the work is done.
Rentouduin silloin kun se oli mahdollista.	I relaxed at such a time when it was possible.
Ari vilkutti minulle samalla kun nousi bussiin.	Ari waved to me as he got on the bus.
Tein ruokaa sillä aikaa kun Ari kävi kaupassa.	I was cooking while Ari went to the store.
Olen ollut täällä siitä lähtien kun myrsky alkoi.	I’ve been here since the storm started.
Myrsky alkoi viideltä. Sitä ennen oli aurinkoista.	The storm started at 5:00. Before that it was sunny.
Ennen kuin tulin Suomeen, asuin Kreikassa.	Before I came to Finland, I lived in Greece.

6. Connective elements that express intention

Another group consists of connective elements that express the purpose, goal or intention of an action. You can read more in Finnish about the difference between jotta and että on kielitoimisto‘s website. I plan on covering this topic on my website at some point!

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
jotta	so that, in order that	Conjunction
että	so that, in order that	Used as a synonym for jotta in everyday Finnish
jottei	so as not to	Conjunction contractions (jotta + ei)
ettei	so as not to	Used as a synonym for jottei in everyday Finnish
siten että	in such a way that	Adverb
niin että	so that	More colloquial alternative to jotta (read more)

Example sentences of connective elements of purpose

Finnish	English
Nuku nyt, jotta jaksat huomenna keskittyä.	Sleep now so you can focus tomorrow.
Nuku nyt, että jaksat huomenna keskittyä.	Sleep now so you can focus tomorrow.
Puhuin hiljaa, jottei vauva heräisi.	I spoke quietly so as not to wake the baby.
Puhuin hiljaa, ettei vauva heräisi.	I spoke quietly so as not to wake the baby.
Puhuin siten, että kaikki ymmärtäisivät	I spoke in such a way that everyone would understand.
Nuku nyt, niin että jaksat huomenna keskittyä.	Sleep now so you can focus tomorrow.

7. Connective elements that express causes and reasons

The following conjunctions and other elements can be used to answer the question “why”. They express causes or reasons. In addition to listing them here, I have added these words to a separate article draft, where I plan on going into more detail about these differences in usage and style between these connective elements.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
koska	because	Conjunction
sillä	since	Conjunction (slightly more formal that koska)
kun, ku	because, ’cause	Conjunction (alternative for koska in spoken Finnish)
siksi	that’s why	Adverb
siksi, että	because	Adverb + conjunction
sen tähden	for that reason	Postposition phrase (more formal, written version of koska)
sen vuoksi	that is why	Postposition phrase (neutral alternative for sen tähden)
sen ansiosta	thanks to that	Postposition phrase (neutral, in positive contexts)
sen takia	that is why	Postposition phrase (more informal, everyday Finnish)
siitä johtuen	due to that	Adverbial phrase (neutral in usage)

Example sentences of causal connective elements

Finnish	English
En tullut kouluun, koska minulla oli lääkäriaika.	I didn’t come to school because I had a doctor’s appointment.
Jään kotiin, sillä olen sairas.	I will stay at home because I’m sick.
En tullut, kun olin kipeä.	I didn’t come ’cause I was sick.
Minulla on huono olo, siksi en mene kouluun.	I feel unwell, that’s why I’m not going to school.
En tule kouluun siksi, että minulla on huono olo.	I’m not coming to school because I feel unwell.
Sen tähden me juhlimme tätä päivää vuosittain.	That is why we celebrate this day every year.
Sen vuoksi valvontaa tarvitaan.	That is why supervision is needed.
Ari oli ystävällinen. Sen ansiosta päivämme parani.	Ari was kind. Thanks to that, our day got better.
Unohdin avaimeni, sen takia en päässyt sisään.	I forgot my keys; that’s why I couldn’t get in.
Opettaja sairastui, ja siitä johtuen tunti peruttiin.	The teacher got sick, and due to that, the lesson was cancelled.

8. Connective elements that express results and consequences

The result or consequence of a statement can be tagged to the context using the following connective elements.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
siis	so, thus, therefore	Adverb
siispä	so, thus	Adverb, adds a little bit of an emphasis on conclusion
niin	so, that is how/why	Adverb (less formal than siis)
niinpä	so, thus	Adverb, adds a little bit of an emphasis on conclusion
näin/niin ollen	therefore, hence	Adverb (read more in Finnish)
joten	so that, consequently	Adverb

sen johdosta	as a result of that	Postpositional phrase (mostly in formal texts)

Example sentences of consecutive connective elements

Finnish	English
Kello on neljä, on siis aika lähteä.	It’s four o’clock, so it’s time to leave.
Ajattelen, siis olen.	I think, therefore I am.
Siispä sinun ei tarvitse laihduttaa.	Therefore, you don’t have to lose weight.
Ja niin minusta tuli miljonääri.	And that is how I became a millionaire.
Alkoi sataa. Niinpä siirryimme sisätiloihin.	It started to rain. Thus, we moved indoors.
Lopputulos ei näin/niin ollen ole varma.	The outcome is therefore not certain.
Ari ei vastannut puhelimeen, joten jätin viestin.	Ari didn’t answer the phone, so I left a message.
Sen johdosta otettiin käyttöön turvallisuustoimet.	As a result, security measures were implemented.

9. Connective elements that express conditions

Some connective elements, such as “if” and “unless” express conditions that need to be fulfilled.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
jos	if	Conjunction
jos –, niin –	if –, then –	Used just like jos on its own, to emphasise
ellei	unless	Conjunction contractions (jos + ei)
jollei	unless	Synonym for ellei (jos + ei)
mikäli	in case that, provided	Conjunction
kunhan	as long as	Conjunction
sillä ehdolla, että	provided	Adverbial phrase
sen tähden, että	just so, so as to	Postpositional phrase

Example sentences of conditional connective elements

Finnish	English
Jos et saavu ajoissa, en päästä sinua sisään.	If you don’t arrive on time, I won’t let you in.
Jos et saavu ajoissa, niin en päästä sinua sisään.	If you don’t arrive on time, then I won’t let you in.
En aio muuttaa, ellei se ole ihan pakko.	I’m not going to move if it is not absolutely necessary.
En aio muuttaa, jollei se ole ihan pakko.	I’m not going to move if it is not absolutely necessary.
Mikäli tilaat yli 5 kappaletta, toimitus on ilmainen	Provided you order more than 5 pieces, shipping is free.
Kunhan tilaat heti, saat ilmaisen kotiinkuljetuksen.	As long as you order now, you get free home delivery.
Autan sinua sillä ehdolla, että autat minua huomenna.	I will help you provided that you help me tomorrow.
Älä muutu sen tähden, että ihmiset pitäisivät sinusta.	Don’t change just so people would like you.

10. Connective elements that express concession

Words like “although” and “regardless” express concession (myönnytys). The following connective elements can be used in this context.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
vaikka	although, even though	Conjunction
vaikkei	although, even though	Conjunction contractions (vaikka + ei)
sitä paitsi	moreover	Adverbial phrase
silti	even so, still, anyway	Adverb
kuitenkin	anyway, still	Adverb
ei kuitenkaan	anyway, however	Same as kuitenkin but in negative sentences
kumminkin	anyway, regardless	Adverb, synonym for kuitenkin
kummiskin	anyways	Spoken language version of kumminkin
ei kumminkaan	anyway, regardless	Same as kumminkin but in negative sentences
siitä huolimatta	nevertheless, despite that	Adverbial phrase

Example sentences of concessive connective elements

Finnish	English
Ari ei tullut, vaikka oli luvannut tulla.	Ari didn’t come even though he had promised to come.
Ari tuli, vaikkei ollut luvannut tulla.	Ari came even though he had not promised he’d come.
Sitä paitsi olen vanhempi kuin sinä.	Moreover, I’m older than you.
Ari oli sairas. Silti hän päätti mennä töihin.	Ari was sick. Still, he decided to go to work.
Haluan kuitenkin yrittää vielä kerran.	Still, I want to try one more time.
Sinun ei tarvitse kutsua Aria. Hän ei kuitenkaan tule.	You don’t have to invite Ari. He will not come anyway.
He olisivat saaneet tietää sen kumminkin.	They would have found out anyway.
En muista tarkkaa hintaa, mutta se oli kummiskin halpa.	I don’t remember the exact price, but it was cheap anyways.
Ei satanut kumminkaan, vaikka niin ennustettiin.	It didn’t rain after all, even though it was predicted to.
En tiennyt vastausta. Siitä huolimatta yritin vastata.	I didn’t know the answer. Nevertheless, I tried to answer.

11. Connective elements used to compare

Our last group consists of connective elements that allow us to compare things.

Finnish	English	More info & links to other articles
kuin	as, like	Conjunction
ikään kuin	as if	Conjunction phrase
niin – kuin	both – and	Double conjunction
yhtä hyvin kuin	just as well as	Conjunction phrase

Example sentences of comparative connective elements

Finnish	English
Olet kaunis kuin lempeä kevättuuli.	You are beautiful like a gentle spring breeze.
Ari liikkui lavalla ikään kuin olisi syntynyt esiintymään.	Ari moved on stage as if he were born to perform.
Niin lapset kuin aikuisetkin nauttivat esityksestä.	Both the children and the adults enjoyed the performance.
Tämä ratkaisu toimii yhtä hyvin kuin edellinenkin.	This solution works just as well as the previous one.

That’s it for this article on connective elements and conjunctions!

Uusi kielemme: Use of the Comma with Conjunctions and Other Connectives
Uusi kielemme: PART 1: Commas between clauses
Uusi kielemme: PART 2: Commas in phrases and Lists

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Ashton Saari

In 1.1 when talking about subordinate conjunctions, you say “common coordinating conjunctions in Finnish are,” again rather than subordinate conjunctions.

Inge (admin)

Admin

Reply to Ashton Saari

Thank you! 🙂