The Finnish passive (passiivi) doesn't work like the English one. It isn't "the object becomes the subject" — it's an impersonal form: the action is stated, but who does it isn't named. "Finnish is spoken here", "in Finland one drinks a lot of coffee" — that's the passive.
The essence: the passive means "one does / it is done", with no stated doer. And one more important thing: in spoken Finnish, the same form replaces "we" — me mennään instead of me menemme. So passiivi isn't just for signs — it's everyday speech.
How the passive is formed (present tense)
The passive is built from the verb, and the exact method depends on the verb type (and often involves consonant gradation). The easiest start is to learn common verbs as ready forms:
| Verb | Passive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| puhua | puhutaan | one speaks / is spoken |
| syödä | syödään | one eats |
| mennä | mennään | one goes |
| tehdä | tehdään | one does / is done |
| ostaa | ostetaan | one buys |
| lukea | luetaan | one reads |
Rule of thumb: the passive has a signature ending -taan/-tään (or -daan/-dään, -laan, etc.). Hear "...taan/...dään" at the end and it's almost certainly the passive.
Negative and past tense
| Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Present | Täällä puhutaan suomea. | Finnish is spoken here. |
| Negative | Täällä ei puhuta ruotsia. | Swedish isn't spoken here. |
| Past | Eilen puhuttiin paljon. | There was a lot of talking yesterday. |
| Perfect | On jo puhuttu. | It's already been discussed. |
Note that the negative drops the final -an/-än: puhutaan → ei puhuta, mennään → ei mennä.
"me mennään" — the passive for "we"
In everyday speech, Finns almost always say not me menemme ("we go", the book form) but me mennään — the pronoun me + the passive. It isn't a mistake; it's the spoken-language norm:
| Written (kirjakieli) | Spoken (puhekieli) |
|---|---|
| me menemme | me mennään |
| me ostamme | me ostetaan |
| me syömme | me syödään |
Where you'll meet the passive
- Signs and rules: Täällä ei polteta — "No smoking here."
- General statements: Suomessa juodaan paljon kahvia — "In Finland one drinks a lot of coffee."
- Instructions and recipes: Ensin lämmitetään uuni — "First heat the oven."
- Everyday speech for "we": Mennäänkö kahville? — "Shall we go for coffee?"
For how the passive fits into the tense system, see Finnish verb tenses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the passive (passiivi) in Finnish?
It's an impersonal form: the action is named but the doer isn't. For example, Täällä puhutaan suomea — "Finnish is spoken here." Unlike English, the Finnish passive doesn't turn the object into the subject; it simply drops the "who".
How is the Finnish passive formed?
From the verb, with the method depending on its type; the signature ending is -taan/-tään (puhutaan, mennään, syödään, ostetaan). Consonant gradation often applies.
How do you make the passive negative?
With ei and dropping the final -an/-än: puhutaan → ei puhuta, mennään → ei mennä, ostetaan → ei osteta.
Why do Finns say 'me mennään'?
In spoken Finnish the passive replaces the book form of "we": instead of me menemme they say me mennään, instead of me ostamme — me ostetaan. It's the norm of everyday speech, not an error.
What does the passive look like in the past tense?
Present puhutaan → past puhuttiin (there was talking), mennään → mentiin (people went). The perfect is on puhuttu (it's been discussed).