Breakdown of Onko se vielä sinkku?
olla
to be
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
vielä
yet / still
sinkku
single
Questions & Answers about Onko se vielä sinkku?
Why does the sentence use se (it) when the English translation says "he"?
In spoken Finnish (puhekieli), it is extremely common to refer to people using se instead of the standard language pronoun hän (he/she).
Since se replaces hän, does it specifically mean "he" or "she"?
It can be either! Just like the formal pronoun hän, the spoken pronoun se is completely gender-neutral when referring to a person. You have to rely on context to know who is being discussed.
Is the word sinkku an English loanword?
Yes, sinkku is a very common spoken-language borrowing from the English word "single". A formal written equivalent would be naimaton (unmarried), but sinkku is what Finns actually use in everyday conversation to talk about relationship status.
Could I say Vieläkö se on sinkku? instead of Onko se vielä sinkku?
Yes! You can attach the question particle -ko / -kö to almost any word to change the focus of the question. Vieläkö se on sinkku? heavily emphasizes the word "still" (Is he STILL single?), whereas Onko se vielä sinkku? is just a standard, neutral question.
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