Finnish Pronouns with English Explanation
This is the last part of MODULE 1, now you will learn the pronouns , the real Finnish starts now. Pronouns in Finnish are quite simple because they don’t change for gender (there is no "he" or "she", just one word for both HÄN). Here is a list of personal pronouns and other common pronouns in Finnish.
1. Personal Pronouns (Persoonapronominit). 👉 Note: Hän is used for both he and she, making Finnish a gender-neutral language.
| Finnish | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Minä | I | MEE-na |
| Sinä | You (singular) | SEE-na |
| Hän | He / She | HAN |
| Me | We | MEH |
| Te | You (plural/formal) | TEH |
| He/Ne | They | HEH |
2. Possessive Pronouns (Omistuspronominit)
These show ownership. Instead of using "my" or "your," Finnish often adds a suffix to the noun.
| Finnish | English | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minun | My | MEE-nun | Minun talo on iso. (My house is big.) |
| Sinun | Your (singular) | SEE-nun | Sinun kirja on pöydällä. (Your book is on the table.) |
| Hänen | His / Her | HA-nen | Hänen auto on uusi. (His/her car is new.) |
| Meidän | Our | MEI-dan | Meidän koulu on hyvä. (Our school is good.) |
| Teidän | Your (plural/formal) | TEI-dan | Teidän ystävä on mukava. (Your friend is nice.) |
| Heidän | Their | HEI-dan | Heidän koira on suloinen. (Their dog is cute.) |
3. Demonstrative Pronouns (Demonstratiivipronominit)
These are used to point out things like "this" or "that".
| Pronoun | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Tämä | This | Tämä on kirja. (This is a book.) |
| Tuo | That | Tuo on auto. (That is a car.) |
| Se | It/That | Se on kaunis. (It is beautiful.) |
| Nämä | These | Nämä ovat kukkia. (These are flowers.) |
| Ne/Nuo | Those | Nuot ovat taloja. (Those are houses.) |
4. Interrogative Pronouns (Kysyvät pronominit)
These are question words used to ask about people or things.
| Finnish | English | Usage | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| kuka | who | Used to ask about people | Kuka on siellä? (Who is there?) |
| mikä | what | Used to ask about things | Mikä tämä on? (What is this?) |
| missä | where | Used to ask about location | Missä olet? (Where are you?) |
| milloin | when | Used to ask about time | Milloin tapaamme? (When shall we meet?) |
| miksi | why | Used to ask about reasons | Miksi olet surullinen? (Why are you sad?) |
| kuinka/kumpi |
how/Which | Used to ask about manner or process | Kuinka menee? (How is it going?) |
5. Reflexive Pronoun (Refleksiivipronomini)
- Itse – "Self" (Example: Hän teki sen itse. = He/she did it himself/herself.)
6. Indefinite Pronouns (Määrittelemättömät pronominit)
These are used when referring to someone or something unknown.
| Pronoun | Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| joku | someone, somebody | Joku soitti minulle. (Someone called me.) |
| jokin | something | Jokin meni pieleen. (Something went wrong.) |
| mikä | what (used for unknown things) | Älä kysy, mikä tapahtui. (Don’t ask what happened.) |
| kenen | whose | Sen kysymyksen vastauksia en tiedä, kenen hän on. (I don't know the answer to that question, whose it is.) |
| molemmat | both | Molemmat saivat lahjan. (Both received a gift.) |
| kaikki | everyone, everything | Kaikki ovat tervetulleita. (Everyone is welcome.) |
| mitään | nothing (negative form) | En nähnyt mitään. (I didn’t see anything.) |
| jotkut | some (plural) | Jotkut ihmiset saapuvat myöhään. (Some people arrive late.) |
Summary & Key Takeaways
✔ Finnish pronouns do not change based on gender.
✔ Possession is often shown with suffixes instead of separate words.
✔ Finnish has separate words for singular and plural "you" (sinä vs. te).
✔ "This" and "that" have plural forms in Finnish.
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