Why doesn’t kk change to k? Kpt changes are baffling.

30/7/2024

Myat asks: 

Why doesn’t “kirkko” change kk to k in location cases?

Hi Myat!

Thank you for the question! Kpt-changes definitely baffle a lot of learners of Finnish. So here we go, it’s time to talk about every Finnish learner’s favorite topic: kpt-changes also known as consonant gradation, astevaihtelu and kpt-vaihtelu. 

Kirkko ‘church’ actually does have a kpt change where one k disappears (kk:k), it just doesn’t happen in every location case. Let’s take a look at the different stems or forms that you add endings to: 

kirkko – nominative or dictionary form
weak stem: kirko-
strong stem: kirkko-

To get to the weak stem, we have removed one of the two k’s in the nominative form.

In this word type, you need the weak stem for most forms of the word, including the location cases Missä (inessive) and Mistä (elative):

kirkossa – inside the church
kirkosta – from the church (from inside the church)

We also need the weak stem for all the outside versions of the location cases:

kirkolla – at the church 
kirkolta – from the church, outside version 
kirkolle – to the church

For the Mihin or illative form of the word, you need the strong stem kirkko-:

kirkkoon – into the church

Whenever a word ends in o, it follows this type of pattern for kpt changes: the stem is strong in the nominative or dictionary form (kirkko), in the Mihin-form or illative (kirkkoon) as well as in the essive (kirkkona, ‘as a church’) and the partitive (kirkkoa). All the rest of the singular forms are made with the weak stem, kirko-.

This also goes words that end in one ö, u, y, a or ä.

If you would like to read more about kpt changes, the website Uusi kielemme does a phenomenal job of explaining it all. I also recommend Leila White’s A Grammar Book of Finnish, which is my go-to for double checking grammar rules. 

However, remember that choosing the wrong stem isn’t the end of the world. Whatever you do, don’t get stuck on perfecting your kpt-changes before moving on to other topics, these will come in time! 

Me mentiin naimisiin tässä kirkossa. – We got married in this church.
Me käveltiin yhdessä kirkkoon. – We walked to church together. 

Vilppulan kirkko, kuva: Vesahjr, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons