Reitti on minulle tuttu.

The route is familiar to me.

Breakdown of Reitti on minulle tuttu.

• minä: I
• olla: to be
• reitti: the route
• tuttu: familiar

Questions & Answers about Reitti on minulle tuttu.

What case is minulle, and what function does it have here?

minulle is the allative case of minä, marked by the suffix -lle. In this sentence it indicates the person to whom something is familiar. Finnish uses the allative with adjectives like tuttu to show “to whom” the description applies:
• Reitti on minulle tuttu. = “The route is familiar to me.”

Why is the verb on used here instead of olen, olet, etc.?

The subject of the sentence is reitti (“route”), which is third person singular. The verb olla (“to be”) must agree with its subject, so you use the third-person singular form on. If the subject were minä (“I”), you would say olen.

What is the difference between tuttu and tunnettu?

• tuttu means “familiar (to someone), personally known.”
• tunnettu is the past participle of tuntea and means “well-known” or “famous” in the sense of “known by many people.”
  So Reitti on minulle tuttu = “The route is familiar to me,” whereas Reitti on tunnettu = “The route is well-known/famous.”

How do you say “The route is not familiar to me” in Finnish?

Negate with ei and keep the same word order:
• Reitti ei ole minulle tuttu.

Can the word order change? For example, Minulle reitti on tuttu or Tuttu reitti on minulle?

Yes. Finnish has flexible word order. All of these are grammatical, though they shift emphasis:
• Reitti on minulle tuttu. (neutral)
• Minulle reitti on tuttu. (emphasizes “to me”)
• Tuttu reitti on minulle. (fronting the phrase “familiar route”)

How would you say “a route familiar to me” in Finnish? Can tuttu be used before reitti?

Yes. Use tuttu attributively together with the allative:
• minulle tuttu reitti
If you need other cases, it declines like this:

• Genitive: minulle tutun reitin (“of a route familiar to me”)
• Partitive: minulle tuttua reittiä

Are there other adjectives that use the allative to show “to whom” they apply, like tuttu?

Yes. Many adjectives expressing feelings or perceptions take the allative for the experiencer. For example:

• Hän on minulle rakas. (“He/she is dear to me.”)
• Tämä asia on minulle tärkeä. (“This matter is important to me.”)
• Tämä paikka on minulle vieras. (“This place is unfamiliar to me.”)