Questions & Answers about Selkäni on kipeä tänään.
Why does it say selkäni instead of minun selkä?
In standard written Finnish, you show ownership by adding a possessive suffix to the end of the noun. Here, the suffix -ni (my) is attached to selkä (back) to make selkäni. You can add the word minun (my) in front of it, but it is completely optional because the -ni already tells us whose back it is.
Does adding the -ni ending change the spelling of the root word selkä?
Not in this case. Because selkä is in its basic dictionary form and ends in a vowel, you simply attach -ni directly to the end of the word.
How would I say "your back is sore" using these endings?
You would swap the -ni (my) suffix for the -si (your) suffix. The phrase "your back" becomes selkäsi, making the sentence: Selkäsi on kipeä tänään.
Could I use the word sairas instead of kipeä here?
Usually not. Kipeä means "sore" or "hurting" and is the right choice for specific body parts in pain. Sairas means "sick" or "ill" in a general way, like having the flu.
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