Learn Finnish: Mä meen takas asuntolaan. - I'm going back to the dormitory.

The root word is asunto (apartment or dwelling). By adding the location suffix -la, it becomes asuntola, meaning a building made of dwellings, such as a dormitory or student residence. Finally, the -an ending is the illative case, meaning you are going 'into' it.

Does the root word asunto also come from a derivation?

Yes! It originally comes from the verb asua (to live or reside). The suffix -nto turns the verb into the noun asunto (apartment), and then this lesson's suffix -la turns that into asuntola (dormitory). Finnish loves stacking suffixes to build new vocabulary!

Are the words 'Mä meen takas' considered slang?

They are standard spoken Finnish (puhekieli), which is essential for everyday life, rather than street slang. In formal written Finnish (kirjakieli), this would be Minä menen takaisin. Shortening pronouns to mä, condensing verbs to meen, and clipping words like takas are completely normal spoken forms.

Could I say asuntolalle instead of asuntolaan?

You should use asuntolaan. When using the verb mennä (to go) with a physical building that you intend to enter, Finnish strongly prefers the internal location case (the illative -an) over the external location case (the allative -lle).