What do you do?

In Finnish there is a very easy way to make a word which means "professional who does X" - take the verb "to X", and then: if the verb ends in -aa remove one "a" and add -ja, whereas if the verb ends in -a then add -aja. So, for example:

matkustaa - to travel
matkustaja - traveller, passenger

ohjata - to steer, pilot, or direct
ohjaaja - director (especially a film director)

There's an extra rule in the case above: if the verb ends in -ta, remove it and add -aja. At some point in the future we'll look at the different kinds of verb endings there are, how to construct the root from them, and then this will all make a bit more sense. In the meantime, here are some more professions:

hoitaa - to take care off
hoitaja - nurse

kirja - a book
kirjaaja - clerk, or registrar

That last one was constructed from a noun, not a verb! Finnish may be a very logical and consistent language, but even it has it's quirks. Fortunately even the exceptions can sometimes be logical.

So here is a simple short test: the verb for "to drive" is ajaa. So what is the Finnish word for a driver?

(Answer: ajaja)