Breakdown of Hän on pahoillaan viasta.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
vika
fault
pahoillaan
sorry (as in "to be sorry")
Questions & Answers about Hän on pahoillaan viasta.
Why does "pahoillaan" end in "-an"? Do I need to change it for different people?
Yes! The word for "sorry" takes a possessive suffix that must match the person. For "he" or "she", it is pahoillaan. If you wanted to say "I am sorry", it changes to olen pahoillani, and "you are sorry" is olet pahoillasi.
Why do we use the "-sta" ending in "viasta"?
In Finnish, when you express an emotion about something (like being sorry, happy, or angry), you usually use the elative case (-sta/-stä). Here, it translates perfectly to being sorry "about" the fault.
The dictionary word for fault is "vika". Why did the "k" disappear in "viasta"?
This is a classic example of consonant gradation. Adding the -sta ending closes the syllable, forcing the word into its weak grade. For vika, the k simply drops out, leaving the stem via- before the ending.
What does "pahoillaan" literally mean?
It comes from the word paha, which means bad. Literally, olla pahoillaan is a plural form meaning something like "to be on one's bads." It is a very common fixed idiom used to say that someone is sorry or feels bad about a situation.
Learn Hän on pahoillaan viasta 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