Minua harmittaa, että en ehtinyt museoon.

I am annoyed that I didn’t make it to the museum.

Breakdown of Minua harmittaa, että en ehtinyt museoon.

• minä: I
• ei: not
• museo: the museum
• ehtiä: to make it

Questions & Answers about Minua harmittaa, että en ehtinyt museoon.

Why is it minua and not minä at the beginning?

In this structure, minua is in the partitive case, and it marks the experiencer of the emotion, not the grammatical subject.

Finnish often uses this pattern for feelings and physical sensations:

• Minua väsyttää. – I am tired. (literally: “It tires me.”)
• Minua pelottaa. – I am scared. (literally: “It frightens me.”)
• Minua harmittaa. – I am annoyed / I regret it. (literally: “It annoys me.”)

In these, the feeling is seen as something that happens to you, so you appear in the partitive. Using minä harmittaa would be ungrammatical; it must be minua here.

What exactly does harmittaa mean, and how is it used?