Questions & Answers about Terve, mies! Missä sinä asut?
Why does terve mean "hey" when it usually means "healthy"?
You are perfectly right! Terve literally means "healthy". However, it has become one of the most common casual greetings in Finnish, similar to wishing someone good health when you meet them.
Why is "where" translated as missä here?
In Finnish, "where" changes depending on whether you are staying in a place, going to it, or coming from it. Because living is a stationary action, we use missä, which literally means "in where".
Could I drop the word sinä from this sentence?
Yes, you can! The verb asut (you live) ends in -t, which already tells us that "you" are the one doing the action. Saying Missä asut? is very natural. Adding sinä just gives a little extra emphasis to the person.
Does the verb asut mean "live" in the sense of being alive?
No, the basic form of this verb is asua, and it strictly means "to reside" or "to live in a house or city". To talk about being alive, Finnish uses a completely different verb, elää.
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