Minä herään kotona.

I wake up at home.

Breakdown of Minä herään kotona.

• minä: I
• kotona: at home
• herätä: to wake up

Questions & Answers about Minä herään kotona.

Why is the pronoun minä included here?

In Finnish, personal pronouns are often optional because the verb endings convey who is doing the action. However, including minä can add emphasis or clarity, especially for beginners who are still getting used to verb conjugation patterns.

What verb is herään from, and why does it end in -ään?

Herään is the first-person singular (present tense) form of the verb herätä (to wake up). Finnish uses specific verb endings that indicate person and tense. The -n at the end shows the first-person singular form, and the -ää- part appears as part of the conjugation for herätä in the present tense.

What is the difference between kotona, kotiin, and kotoa?

All of these forms come from koti (home), but they express different cases:
• kotona (inessive) means “at home” – referring to a location.
• kotiin (illative) means “into home” or “to home.”
• kotoa (elative) means “from home.”
In Minä herään kotona, kotona is correct because you’re talking about the location where you wake up.

How would this sentence change if we dropped minä?

You could say Herään kotona without minä. The meaning stays the same, because the verb ending -n still indicates “I.” However, using minä may sound a bit more direct or emphatic.