Questions & Answers about Minä olen pahoillaan.
Why does it end in -an if the subject is minä? Shouldn't it be pahoillani?
You are exactly right! In standard written Finnish, "I am sorry" is Minä olen pahoillani, using the first-person possessive suffix -ni. However, in spoken Finnish, it is very common to use the third-person form pahoillaan for everyone, regardless of who is speaking.
What does the word pahoillaan literally translate to?
It is based on the word paha, which means "bad". It is made up of the plural form pahoilla (literally meaning "on the bads") attached to the possessive suffix -an (his/her). Finnish uses many of these physical location-based idioms to express internal emotions.
Can I drop the word minä here?
Yes! Because the verb olen (am) already shows that the subject is "I", the pronoun minä is completely optional. Dropping it sounds very natural in both written and spoken Finnish.
Learn Minä olen pahoillaan and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free