"Water" in Finnish: vesi, and why it changes shape

vesi

Say it: VEH-si. In Finnish, stress is always on the first syllable.

Vesi means "water". Its other forms use a different stem: veden, vettä, vedessä.

The forms of vesi

Case	Form	Used for
Basic	vesi	water (as a subject)
Genitive	veden	of the water
Partitive	vettä	some water, for example juon vettä
In	vedessä	in the water
Into	veteen	into the water
From	vedestä	from the water

Notice that the stem changes from vesi to vete- / vede-. This kind of change is common in Finnish and is a big reason why looking up forms you meet while reading is so useful.

Water words

Hanavesi is tap water, kylmä vesi is cold water, and lasillinen vettä is "a glass of water". A lake is a järvi and the sea is meri.

Example sentences

Haluaisin lasillisen vettä.I would like a glass of water.
Juon vettä.I'm drinking water.
Vesi on kylmää.The water is cold.
Hanavesi on hyvää.The tap water is good.

Common questions

How do you say "water" in Finnish?

Vesi.

How do you say "a glass of water, please" in Finnish?

Lasillinen vettä, kiitos.

Related words

Meet a Finnish word you don't know?

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