Thus, the administrative and economic center for the Kainuu dialect area became the North Ostrobothnian city, Oulu.

The affricate /ts/ present in the standard variety also occurs as different sounds, such as in [ˈmehtæ ~ ˈmetæn] (metsä ~ metsän, "forest") and [ˈohtɑ] for (otsa /ˈotsɑ/ ‘forehead’).

For instance, koira (/ˈkoirɑ/ dog) is [ˈkoe̯rɑ], Kainuu /kɑi̯nuː/ is [kɑe̯nuː], kaula (/kɑu̯lɑ/ neck) is pronounced [kɑo̯lɑ], and täysi (/ˈtæy̯si/ ‘full’) is [tæø̯si].

At the same time, long vowels that are present in the standard variety such as /æː/ in words like määrä /ˈmæːræ/, ‘quantity’) occur as [ˈmeæ̯ræ] in Kainuu Finnish.

[2] Breaking of consonant clusters through vowel epenthesis is also common, such as in [ˈjɑlɑkɑ] for jalka /ˈˈjɑlkɑ/ ‘leg’).

Consonant strengthening (or gemination) in intervocalic contexts is also very common in Kainuu dialects, such as [sɑnːoː] for sanoo [sɑnoː], ‘s/he says’) or [ˈmɑksetːɑːn] for maksetaan /ˈmɑksetɑːn/ (‘it is paid’).