Questions & Answers about Taide on minusta kaunis.
What does minusta mean literally, and how does it end up meaning “in my opinion”?
Minusta is the elative case of minä (I). Literally it means “from me”:
- minä = I
- minusta = from me
In Finnish, opinions are very often expressed with this “from X” structure:
- Minusta taide on kaunis.
= From me, art is beautiful → I think art is beautiful / In my opinion, art is beautiful.
The idea is “starting from my point of view / coming from me”. This pattern is completely normal and very common in Finnish for giving subjective opinions:
- Sinusta tämä kirja on tylsä. – You think this book is boring.
- Meistä se oli hyvä elokuva. – We think it was a good movie.
Why is it minusta and not minä or minun?