Minä löydän reitin kauppaan.

I find the route to the store.

Breakdown of Minä löydän reitin kauppaan.

• minä: I
• kauppa: the store
• löytää: to find
• reitti: the route

Questions & Answers about Minä löydän reitin kauppaan.

Why is the subject pronoun Minä used here, and is it necessary?

In Finnish the verb ending -n in löydän already tells you that the subject is “I.” That means Minä is optional and often dropped in everyday speech:
• Löydän reitin kauppaan.
You might include Minä for emphasis (“I, specifically, find the way”) or clarity in longer sentences, but grammatically it isn’t required.

What form is löydän, and how does it relate to the infinitive löytää?

Löydän is the 1st person singular present of löytää (“to find”). The full present‐tense conjugation looks like this:
• minä löydän
• sinä löydät
• hän löytää
— me löydämme
— te löydätte
— he löytävät

The stem löydä- stays intact (no consonant gradation here), and the endings -n, -t, -ää etc. mark person and number.

Why does reitti become reitin in this sentence?

Because reitti (“route”) is the direct object and it’s definite (you’re talking about a specific route). Finnish marks a singular definite object with the genitive/accusative ending -n:
• reitti → reitin
If you wanted an indefinite or partial object (some route, part of a route), you’d use the partitive:
• Löydän reittiä (I find some/part of a route).

What case is kauppaan, and why is it used instead of just kauppa?

Kauppaan is the illative case, which expresses motion into or to a place. The illative for many words is formed with -an/-en/-in, so you get:
• kauppa (store) → kauppaan (into/to the store)
Compare:
– Inessive (inside): kaupassa (“in the store”)
– Elative (out of): kaupasta (“out of the store”)
– Allative (onto/onto the vicinity): kaupalle (“to the store’s vicinity”)
Each case ending has a specific spatial meaning.

What’s the difference between löytää and etsiä? Aren’t they both “to find”?

They’re related but not identical:
• etsiä means “to search for” or “to look for” something.
• löytää means “to find” or “to discover” something you were searching for (or come across unexpectedly).
In a sequence you might say: Etsin kauppaa (“I’m looking for the store”) and then löydän kaupan (“I find the store”).

How is word stress handled in Minä löydän reitin kauppaan, and why does it matter?

Finnish words are always stressed on the first syllable. So you get:
• MI-nä LÖY-dän REI-tin KAUP-paan
Consistent stress helps listeners parse where one word ends and the next begins. Misplacing stress can make speech sound foreign or even change word identity.

Why does kauppaan have a double p, and does that affect pronunciation?

The double pp in kauppa is a geminate consonant, and it stays when you add the illative ending -an: kauppa + an → kauppaan. In Finnish geminates are held longer than single consonants, so you pronounce it roughly as “kawp-paan” with a brief pause or length on the pp. This length can distinguish words (e.g. tapa vs. tappa).