Concepto nuevo

Strong and weak

You've met it again and again: Helsinki → Helsingissä, ottaa → otan, pöytä → pöydällä. This is consonant gradation (astevaihtelu). Certain consonants in the middle of a word have a strong and a weak grade:

Strong Weak Example
kk k pankki → pankin (bank)
pp p kauppa → kaupassa (shop)
tt t tyttö → tytön (girl)
k — (vanishes) jalka → jalan (leg)
p v leipä → leivän (bread)
t d katu → kadulla (street)
nk ng Helsinki → Helsingissä
nt / lt / rt nn / ll / rr ranta → rannalla (shore)

The dictionary form is (usually) the strong one — so you always start from something you can look up.