Spoken Pronouns
In everyday spoken Finnish (puhekieli), people almost never use the standard written forms for common pronouns. Instead, they use sharply reduced versions.
Here are the core subject pronouns you will hear constantly:
| Written | Spoken | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| minä | mä | I |
| sinä | sä | you |
| tämä | tää | this |
| tuo | toi | that |
| Do you know who this guy is? | Tiedätkö sä, kuka tää tyyppi on? |
| I don't know who that guy is. | Mä en tiedä, kuka toi tyyppi on. |
Genitive Forms: mun and sun
When indicating possession, the written forms minun and sinun drop their middle syllables.
| Written | Spoken | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| minun | mun | my |
| sinun | sun | your |
| This is my apartment. | Tää on mun kämppä. |
| What's your mood like? | Mikä sun fiilis on? |
Partitive Forms: mua and sua
When pronouns act as the object of certain verbs, or with verbs that express feelings, you need the partitive case.
| Written | Spoken | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| minua | mua | me (partitive) |
| sinua | sua | you (partitive) |
For example, moikata ("to say hi to") and jännittää ("to feel nervous" / "to make nervous") both require the partitive.
| I'll say hi to you tomorrow. | Mä moikkaan sua huomenna. |
| I am really nervous. | Mua jännittää tosi paljon. |
Location Cases: mulla and mulle
This same reduction pattern holds true for location cases like the adessive ("I have" / "on me") and allative ("to me").
| Written | Spoken | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| minulla | mulla | I have / on me |
| minulle | mulle | to me |
| I'm in a good mood. | Mulla on hyvä fiilis. |
| This is really important to me. | Tää on mulle tosi tärkeä. |
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