Hän on suosikki.

to be

Breakdown of Hän on suosikki.

• hän: he/she
• suosikki: the favourite

Questions & Answers about Hän on suosikki.

Why does Finnish use hän for both he and she?

Finnish does not grammatically mark gender in third-person singular pronouns.
Hän simply means he / she / they (that one person).

Whether it refers to a man, a woman, or any other gender is understood from context (or from earlier mention like poika “boy”, tyttö “girl”, ystävä “friend” etc.). There is no separate feminine or masculine form to learn.

How do I know if hän means he or she in a sentence like Hän on suosikki?

You only know from context, not from the word itself. For example:

• If people were just talking about your brother, hän will naturally be understood as he.
• If they were talking about your sister, hän will be understood as she.

If it is not clear, Finns will usually clarify by adding a noun:

• Hän on se poika. – He is that boy.
• Hän on se tyttö. – She is that girl.

But grammatically, hän itself is always neutral.

Can I leave out hän and just say On suosikki?