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Minä olen kotoisin täältä.

Minä olen kotoisin täältä.
I am from here.
From Lesson 52:Where to and where from (minne, sinne, täältä)·Finnish

Breakdown of Minä olen kotoisin täältä.

minä
I
olla kotoisin
to be from, to come from
täältä
from here

Questions & Answers about Minä olen kotoisin täältä.

Why do we use both kotoisin and täältä if täältä already means from here?
While täältä does mean from here, Finnish often adds the word kotoisin when talking about your roots, hometown, or home country. Together with the verb olla (to be), it forms a set phrase that means to be originally from somewhere.
Is kotoisin related to the Finnish word for home?
Exactly! It is built from the word koti (home). While its grammatical form is an old, frozen one, at the beginner level you can just think of olla kotoisin as a fixed phrase meaning to have one's home in or to originate from.
Why does the sentence use täältä instead of täällä?
The word täällä simply means here (at this location). Because you are talking about your origin, you must use a from ending. The ending -ltä changes it to täältä, meaning from here. In Finnish, verbs and phrases of origin always require the location to be in a from case.
Can I just say Minä olen täältä without the word kotoisin?
Yes, you can! Minä olen täältä also translates to I am from here. However, adding kotoisin makes it completely clear that you are talking about where you grew up or your permanent roots, rather than just the place you traveled from today.

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