Finnish for busy people

Words ending in -nto/-ntö

Words ending in -ntO (the large O means it can be both -nto and -ntö according to the vowel harmony rules) usually have a verb at the base of them. A noun ending in -ntO will use the weak stem of the verb. This is not a productive wordtype (aka no new words are made using this pattern), and Finnish contains about 40 words ending in -ntO. Below are the most common ones.

Verb English Noun English
johtaa to lead johdanto introduction
käyttää to use käytäntö practice
tuottaa to produce tuotanto production
laskea to count laskento arithmetic
lukea to read luento lecture
olla to be olento being, creature
keksiä to invent keksintö invention
periä to inherit perintö heritage, legacy
miettiä to  think mietintö report
nauttia to enjoy nautinto enjoyment, pleasure
sopia to make up, agree sovinto reconciliation
toimia to function, operate toiminto function, facility
uskoa to believe uskonto religion
asua to live asunto residency, housing
istua to sit istunto session
lausua to state, recite lausunto statement, testimonial
avata to open avanto hole in the ice
havaita to detect, observe havainto observation
hallita to govern hallinto government
palkita to recognize, pay palkinto reward, prize
ravita to nourish ravinto nourishment
luoda to create luonto nature

Next, you can find each of the words above in a sentence, to give you more of an idea how they’re used.

Finnish English
Johdanto on ensimmäinen osio. The introduction is the first part.
On hyvä käytäntö palkita ahkeruutta. It’s a good practice to reward hard work.
Tehdas laajentaa tuotantoaan. The factory expands its production.
Koulussa opiskellaan laskentoa. Arithmetic is studied in school.
Luento kesti kolme tuntia. The lecture lasted three hours.
Mikä tuo olento on? What is that creature?
Kenen keksintö hehkulamppu on? Whose invention is the light bulb?
Perintö jaetaan tasan. The inheritance is divided equally.
Tutustun työryhmän mietintöön. I check out the team’s report.
Sauna on yksinkertainen nautinto. The sauna is a simple pleasure.
Tehdään sovinto! Unohdetaan asia! Let’s reconciliate! Let’s forget it!
Puhelimeen tuli uusi toiminto. A new function came to the phone.
Islam on suosittu uskonto. Islam is a popular religion.
Asuntoni on liian pieni. My apartment is too small.
Istunto on vanhentunut. The session has expired.
Tarvitsen lääkärin lausunnon. I need a doctor’s statement.
Avanto on jäätynyt. The hole in the ice has frozen.
Tein havainnon, että… I made the observation that…
Hyvä hallinto ei ole itsestäänselvyys. A good management is not self-evident.
Sain palkinnon vasta jälkeenpäin. I got the reward only later.
Hyvä ravinto on elintärkeä asia. Good nutrition is a vital issue.
Luonto kärsii. Nature is suffering.
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