Hänen kotinsa on siisti.

His home is tidy.

Breakdown of Hänen kotinsa on siisti.

• olla: to be
• koti: the home
• siisti: tidy
• hänen: his

Questions & Answers about Hänen kotinsa on siisti.

What does Hänen mean in this sentence?

Hänen is the genitive form of the pronoun hän (“he/she”). In Finnish you mark the possessor with a genitive pronoun, so hänen here means “his” or “her” (Finnish doesn’t distinguish gender).

Why do we also see the suffix -nsa on koti (i.e. kotinsa) when we already have hänen?

When a noun is possessed by a personal pronoun in Finnish, you use two markings:

1. The pronoun in genitive (hänen).
2. A possessive suffix on the noun (for 3rd person that’s -nsa/-nsä).
   So hänen kotinsa literally is “his/her-GEN home-POSS,” i.e. “his/her home.”

Could I drop hänen and say kotinsa on siisti?

Yes—if the context already makes clear whose home you mean, you can rely on the suffix alone (kotinsa on siisti). But if you introduce the person for the first time, speakers usually include hänen for clarity.

Why isn’t it hänen koti on siisti (no suffix)?

Possession in Finnish is always shown by a suffix on the possessed noun. A bare noun plus genitive pronoun (hänen koti) would be ungrammatical. You need the possessive suffix: kotinsa.

What case is kotinsa in? Is it really nominative?