# it sure isn't true?



## svensken

How can I say this in Finnish, where I am sure something I see/hear must not be true. (In Swedish, for example, "det kan väl inte stämma?")


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## Tiuhti

Hi! The first one that comes to mind is _ei voi pitää paikkaansa. _


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## Hakro

In my opinion, _ei voi pitää paikkaansa_ is a colloquial phrase that literally means "it can't be true, it's impossible that it's true".

I'd translate "it sure isn't true" for example _se ei varmaankaan ole totta_ or _tuskin se on totta_.


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## Tiuhti

Hakro, you're right, _ei voi pitää paikkansa _does have a sense of certainty, but doesn't the Swedish _det kan väl inte stämma _also have that? I personally wouldn't call it colloquial, but I do agree that it's definetly more a spoken than written language type of phrase. Svesken, are you looking for a spoken or written language version? For spoken language, I might use _mahtaakohan olla totta _or _mahtaakohan pitää paikkansa_.


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## sakvaka

As the Swedish 'väl' is usually translated 'kai' in Finnish, I'd look for different translations.

_Ei kai se voi pitää paikkaansa?_

However, _mahtaakohan se olla totta_ / _tuskin se on totta_ are just as good phrases.


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## Hakro

Tiuhti said:


> Hakro, you're right, _ei voi pitää paikkansa _does have a sense of certainty, but doesn't the Swedish _det kan väl inte stämma _also have that? I personally wouldn't call it colloquial, but I do agree that it's definetly more a spoken than written language type of phrase.


"Ei voi pitää paikkaansa" is of course grammatically perfect Finnish, also in written text, but it's used only in spoken language to express "it sure isn't true". This was my idea to call it colloquial.


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