Breakdown of Olen naimisissa, mutta siskoni on vielä naimaton ja hänellä on uusi tyttöystävä.
olla
to be
hän
he/she
minun
my
uusi
new
Questions & Answers about Olen naimisissa, mutta siskoni on vielä naimaton ja hänellä on uusi tyttöystävä.
Why is it olen naimisissa instead of a verb like “I marry” or “I am married”? What exactly does naimisissa mean?
Finnish treats “being married” as a state expressed with the verb olla (to be) plus the word naimisissa.
- olen = I am
- naimisissa = literally “in marriage” (historically an inessive form of a noun), but in modern Finnish it’s just a fixed adjective‑like word meaning married.
So Olen naimisissa = I am married (describing your current status), not an action like I marry.
If you talk about the action of getting married, you need another verb, e.g.:
- Menin naimisiin = I got married / I went and married (someone).
So:
- Olen naimisissa = I am married (state now).
- Menin naimisiin = I got married (action in the past).
What’s the difference between naimisissa and naimaton?