Learn Hardcore Finnish: Yksi läheinen asuu kaukana. - One close person lives far away.

The word läheinen usually refers to a close person (emotionally), often a friend, partner, or relative. The possessive “my” is usually understood from context in Finnish and doesn’t have to be said.

Does yksi mean “one” or “a / one of” here?

Yksi is the numeral “one”, but in a sentence like this it often feels like English “one (of them)” or “one (particular)”:

yksi läheinen ≈ “one close person”, “one of my close people”, “a certain close person”

So it’s more specific than English “a close person” (which would be eräs läheinen or just läheinen in some contexts), and closer to “one (particular) close person.”

Why is läheinen in this basic form and not changed somehow?

Läheinen is in the nominative singular, the basic dictionary form. It’s used that way because:

It is part of the subject phrase: yksi läheinen (“one close person”).
With yksi (“one”), the noun stays in the singular nominative:
- yksi ihminen – one person
- yksi ystävä – one friend
- yksi läheinen – one close person

Numerals from kaksi (two) onward require the noun in the partitive singular, but yksi behaves like a normal singular subject:

yksi läheinen asuu – one close person lives
kaksi läheistä asuvat – two close people live

What does läheinen mean exactly? Is it “close” in distance?

Läheinen as a noun usually means:

a close person, emotionally close:
- Close relative
- Close friend
- Spouse / partner
- Any person important and close to you

As an adjective, läheinen can mean “close” in the sense of emotionally close or sometimes “nearby / close” in more abstract senses (läheinen suhde = close relationship).

For spatial “near” as an adverb, Finnish normally uses lähellä (“near, nearby”), not läheinen. So here läheinen is about emotional closeness, not physical distance.

Why isn’t it ”my close one” explicitly, like minun läheiseni?

Finnish often omits possessives when context makes them obvious. In many contexts, läheinen already suggests “someone close to me” unless otherwise specified.

Possible versions:

Yksi läheinen asuu kaukana.
“One close person (of mine) lives far away.” (possessor implied)
Yksi läheiseni asuu kaukana.
“One of my close ones lives far away.” (explicit “my” via possessive suffix)
Yksi läheisistäni asuu kaukana.
“One of my close ones lives far away.” (emphasizes “one of my group of close people”)

All are correct; the original just leaves “my” implicit, which is very natural in Finnish.

Why is the verb asuu and not some other form like asun or asuvat?

Asua is the verb “to live / reside.”

asua – dictionary form (to live)
asuu – 3rd person singular present (“he/she/it lives”)
asun – 1st person singular (“I live”)
asuvat – 3rd person plural (“they live”)

The subject is yksi läheinen (one close person) → singular, so the verb must be asuu:

Yksi läheinen asuu kaukana.
“One close person lives far away.”

Why is there no word for “he” or “she”? Why not Hän asuu kaukana?

Finnish does not need a separate pronoun when the subject is already expressed:

Yksi läheinen asuu kaukana.
Subject = “one close person” → no pronoun needed.

You could say:

Yksi läheinenni asuu kaukana. Hän on Saksassa.
“One of my close ones lives far away. He/She is in Germany.”

Here the pronoun hän in the second sentence refers back to yksi läheinen. But you don’t double it inside the same simple clause.

What does kaukana mean, and is it related to kauas or kaukaa?

All three are related and express distance:

kaukana – “far away” (location, static)
- Hän asuu kaukana. – He/she lives far away.
kauas – “far (to somewhere)” (movement towards)
- Hän muutti kauas. – He/she moved far away.
kaukaa – “from far away” (movement from)
- Hän tuli kaukaa. – He/she came from far away.

In Yksi läheinen asuu kaukana, we’re talking about where they live (static location), so kaukana is the correct form.

Could the word order be different, like Kaukana asuu yksi läheinen?

Yes, Finnish word order is fairly flexible. Both are correct:

Yksi läheinen asuu kaukana.
Neutral, subject-first: “One close person lives far away.”
Kaukana asuu yksi läheinen.
Emphasizes the location (“Far away lives one close person”), often used for stylistic or slightly dramatic effect.

What is not natural is:

✗ Läheinen yksi asuu kaukana. – wrong order for this meaning.

Why don’t you need the verb “to be” (on) anywhere here? In English we say “is living”.

In Finnish, asua already means “to live / reside”, so you do not combine it with olla (“to be”):

Hän asuu Helsingissä. – He/she lives in Helsinki.
(NOT ✗ Hän on asuu…)

If you used olla, you’d be saying “is” + something:

Hän on kaukana. – He/she is far away. (using olla
- adverb)
Hän asuu kaukana. – He/she lives far away. (using asua alone)

If yksi läheinen is singular, how would I say “Some close ones live far away”?

You’d use a plural subject:

Jotkut läheiset asuvat kaukana.
“Some close ones live far away.”

or:

Monet läheiset asuvat kaukana.
“Many close ones live far away.”

Note the plural agreement:

läheiset (plural noun)
asuvat (3rd person plural verb)

Why isn’t it yksi läheistä (partitive) after yksi, like with other numbers?

The rule is:

With yksi, the noun stays in nominative singular:
- yksi läheinen, yksi ihminen, yksi talo
With kaksi, kolme, neljä, …, the noun is usually in partitive singular:
- kaksi läheistä – two close people
- kolme ystävää – three friends

So yksi läheinen is the regular, correct form. Using ✗ yksi läheistä here would be incorrect.

Can yksi läheinen refer to something non-human, like “a close place”?

In everyday language, läheinen as a noun very strongly suggests a close person (emotionally): a friend, relative, partner, etc.

For places, you’d typically use something else:

lähellä oleva paikka – a place that is nearby
läheinen paikka can exist as an adjective + noun (“close/nearby place”), but that’s different from the noun use “a close one.”

So in this sentence, any Finn will automatically understand yksi läheinen as “one close person (to me)”, not a place.

How would I say clearly: “One of my close relatives lives far away.”?

Some natural options:

Yksi läheisistäni asuu kaukana.
“One of my close ones lives far away.”
Yksi läheisistä sukulaisistani asuu kaukana.
“One of my close relatives lives far away.” (more explicit)
Yksi läheinen sukulaiseni asuu kaukana.
“One close relative of mine lives far away.”

The original sentence Yksi läheinen asuu kaukana already can mean this, but these versions specify the “my” and “relative” parts more clearly.