Finnish Conjunctions – Ja Mutta Koska Sekä Että
November 24, 2019
April 8, 2025
This page contains a list of Finnish conjunctions (for example ja, mutta, koska, vaikka, sekä että). Conjunctions express the relation between parts of speech or sentences. I’ve divided them by meaning in the table below, so you can see what kind of relation they express.
In addition to this list, we have several other articles on conjunctions, their differences and their usage. Check those out by clicking the links! I will be adding articles for the other conjunctions over time.
| Finnish | English | Related articles |
|---|---|---|
| Lisäys | Addition | |
| ja | and | Ja sekä ynnä |
| sekä | and | Ja sekä ynnä |
| sekä – että | both – and | Double conjunctions |
| ynnä | plus | Ja sekä ynnä |
| lisäksi | additionally | |
| sen lisäksi | in addition | |
| eikä | nor, neither | Conjunction contractions |
| ei – eikä | neither – nor | Double conjunctions |
| saati | let alone | |
| Vaihtoehto | Alternative | |
| eli | in other words | |
| elikkä | in other words | |
| tai | or | The difference between tai and vai |
| vai | or | The difference between tai and vai |
| joko – tai | either – or | Double conjunctions |
| Vastakohta | Opposite | |
| mutta | but | The difference between mutta and vaan |
| vaan | but rather | The difference between mutta and vaan |
| muuten | or else | |
| Tarkoitus | Goal | |
| jotta / niin että | so that, in order that | Colloquial conjunctions |
| niinpä / siis | so, thus | |
| Syy | Reason | |
| koska | because | |
| sillä | since | |
| siksi | because of that | |
| sen tähden | for this reason | |
| sen vuoksi | therefore | |
| joten | so that consequently | |
| Aika | Time | |
| kun | when | Kun in written and spoken Finnish |
| nyt kun | now that | |
| sillä aikaa kun | while | |
| sen jälkeen kun | after | |
| kunnes | until | |
| siitä lähtien kun | since (time) | |
| ennen kuin | before | |
| heti kun | once | |
| Ehto | Condition | |
| jos | if | |
| jos -, niin – | if -, then – | |
| ellei / jollei | unless | |
| mikäli | provided | |
| kunhan | provided | |
| Myönnytys | Concession | |
| vaikka | although | |
| joskin | while | |
| sitä paitsi | moreover | |
| kuitenkin | anyway / still | |
| siitä huolimatta | nevertheless | |
| silti | even so |
Related reading
- Oulun kaupunki: Konjunktiot
- Kotus: Konjunktiot
That’s it for Finnish conjunctions on this simple overview page. I will be adding links to related articles as I publish them, so keep checking back!
Conjunctions in english include the FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
I was wondering if vielä (yet) is also a conjunction in finnish or not, and if so, under which list does it belong? Thank you for the great article as always.
Also, is asti a conjunction that falls under ‘time’?
Vielä is an adverb (a word modifying/qualifying a verb), rather than a conjunction (which connect sentences or parts of sentences to one another).
Asti isn’t a conjunction either, its job is to express a duration/length together with a quantifier. It’s a postposition.
I was trying to understand the use of sekä vs ja which above are both listed as meaning “and”. I think I concluded that if I use sekä to mean “as well as” vs just meaning “and” I come closer to the common usage. So this, that and the other would use “ja” and this, that as well as the other would use “sekä”
Does that make any sense?
”ja” is more usual and-type conjuction.
”sekä” has practically the same meaning, but it perhaps gives some more emphasis.
If you have a long list that includes some pairs or triples that you wish to group or separate, you can use ”sekä” as an upper-level and, and ”ja” as a lower-level and.
Like: Famous cartoon characters are Tom and Jerry, and Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Kuuluisia sarjakuvahahmoja ovat Tom ja Jerry sekä Tupu, Hupu ja Lupu.