Word
Minä olen yhdeksänkymmentäyhdeksän vuotta vanha!
Meaning
I am ninety-nine years old!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Minä olen yhdeksänkymmentäyhdeksän vuotta vanha!
How do you break down that massive number word, yhdeksänkymmentäyhdeksän?
It looks scary, but it is built from three simple parts. yhdeksän means nine, kymmentä is a form of the word for ten, and the last yhdeksän means nine. Put it together and you get nine tens nine, or ninety-nine.
Why is the word for years (vuotta) in the partitive form?
In Finnish, any number greater than one must be followed by a noun in the partitive singular form. Because it comes directly after a number, the basic word for year (vuosi) changes to its partitive form, vuotta.
Since we are talking about 99 years, why isn't the word for old (vanha) plural?
The adjective vanha describes the subject of the sentence (minä, meaning I), which is singular. The word vuotta just measures the age, but the adjective must match the person it describes.
Is it necessary to include Minä (I) at the beginning?
No, you can safely drop it and just say Olen yhdeksänkymmentäyhdeksän vuotta vanha! The verb olen (am) already makes it clear that you are talking about yourself. Including Minä just adds a bit of emphasis.