# äänen/ääntä



## 盲人瞎馬

Kuulin ääntä
I heard a noise but I don't know what it is.


Kuulin äänen
I heard a noise and I know where it came from/what it is.


Is this accurate?


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## Finland

Hello!

Your interpretation is not entirely correct. It can be as you explain but also:

Kuulin ääntä.
I heard (some) noise: I noticed something was making a noise, and then it faded away (and maybe started again and went away again).

Kuulin äänen.
I head *a* sound: I heard a single sound, clear-cut.

Similarly:

Jostain kuului ääntä.
One could hear noise coming from somewhere. (Continuous noise)

Jostain kuului ääni.
A sound (a thud, a bleep etc.) came from somwhere. (Single sound)

HTH
S


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## 盲人瞎馬

Finland said:


> Hello!
> 
> Your interpretation is not entirely correct. It can be as you explain but also:
> 
> Kuulin ääntä.
> I heard (some) noise: I noticed something was making a noise, and then it faded away (and maybe started again and went away again).
> 
> Kuulin äänen.
> I head *a* sound: I heard a single sound, clear-cut.
> 
> Similarly:
> 
> Jostain kuului ääntä.
> One could hear noise coming from somewhere. (Continuous noise)
> 
> Jostain kuului ääni.
> A sound (a thud, a bleep etc.) came from somwhere. (Single sound)
> 
> HTH
> S



So, in phrases like this one, the partitive is used to transform the noun into a mass noun?


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## Finland

Hello!

Yes, you are right. It's more or less the same thing as: "Join kahvia" (I drank coffee) ~ "Join kahvin" (I drank a (cup of) coffee).

HTH
S


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