SanojaSanoja › Finnish words › Getting by in Finnish
How to say "I don't understand" in Finnish
en ymmärrä
Say it: en ÜM-mar-rä. In Finnish, stress is always on the first syllable.
En ymmärrä means "I don't understand". Ask Mitä se tarkoittaa? for "What does that mean?".
Phrases for when you are lost
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| En ymmärrä. | I don't understand. |
| En puhu suomea hyvin. | I don't speak Finnish well. |
| Mitä se tarkoittaa? | What does that mean? |
| Voitko selittää? | Can you explain? |
| Voitko kirjoittaa sen? | Can you write it down? |
Finnish has a negative verb
English adds "don't". Finnish uses a small verb that changes with the person, followed by the main verb in its basic stem:
| Person | Negative verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | en | en ymmärrä |
| you | et | et ymmärrä |
| he / she | ei | ei ymmärrä |
| we | emme | emme ymmärrä |
| you (pl.) | ette | ette ymmärrä |
| they | eivät | eivät ymmärrä |
Example sentences
- En ymmärrä.I don't understand.
- Mitä se tarkoittaa?What does that mean?
- Voitko selittää?Can you explain?
- Emme ymmärrä sanaa.We don't understand the word.
Common questions
How do you say "I don't understand" in Finnish?
En ymmärrä.
How does negation work in Finnish?
Finnish uses a negative verb that changes by person (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät) followed by the main verb in its basic form.
Related words
Meet a Finnish word you don't know?
Sanoja is a free browser extension: select any word on a page to see its translation, hear it, and save it to a spaced-repetition list. No account, no ads, no tracking.
Add Sanoja to Chrome