Questions & Answers about Onko sinulla aikaa nyt?
Onko is on (is/exists) + the question clitic -ko/-kö, so it literally means is it / is there? In Finnish, yes/no questions are often formed by attaching -ko/-kö to the word you want to “question,” and that word typically comes first.
So Onko sinulla aikaa nyt? is literally something like Is there (for you) time now?
-ko/-kö is a yes/no question marker. It attaches to a word (most often the verb) to turn the whole sentence into a yes/no question.
It follows vowel harmony:
- Use -ko after back vowels (a, o, u) → on + ko = onko
- Use -kö after front vowels (ä, ö, y) → e.g. tuleeko vs tuleekö depends on the stem’s vowels (common example: onko vs menetkö)
sinulla is sinä (you) in the adessive case (-lla/-llä), which often expresses “at/on/by someone.”
Finnish commonly expresses possession or “having” with the structure:
- X-lla on Y = X has Y (literally At X is Y)
So: - sinulla on aikaa = you have time (literally at you is time)
It can be omitted if the context is clear, but it’s often kept for clarity. For example:
- Onko sinulla aikaa? = explicitly Do you have time?
- Onko aikaa? = Is there time? / Do we have time? (more general; could mean “Does anyone have time?” or “Is there time available?”)
aikaa is the partitive singular of aika (time). After existential/possessive on-sentences, Finnish often uses the partitive to express an indefinite amount:
- sinulla on aikaa = you have (some) time / time available
Using aika (nominative) would sound like you mean a specific, complete unit of time in a more “counted/whole” way, which is not the usual idea here.
The partitive singular ending often appears as -a/-ä (or -ta/-tä, etc.), and aika → aikaa is a common pattern where the stem lengthens.
The “feel” here is:
- partitive = an unspecified quantity, “some,” “any,” or “available amount”
So Onko sinulla aikaa? is about availability, not a particular scheduled block.
nyt means now and sets the time frame. Finnish word order is fairly flexible, and moving nyt changes emphasis:
- Onko sinulla aikaa nyt? = neutral: do you have time now (as opposed to later)?
- Onko sinulla nyt aikaa? = emphasizes now (right at this moment)
- Nyt, onko sinulla aikaa? = Now, do you have time? (discourse-style lead-in)
Yes, it’s very close in meaning. The difference is emphasis:
- Onko sinulla aikaa nyt? puts aikaa earlier and feels slightly more neutral.
- Onko sinulla nyt aikaa? highlights nyt more strongly: “Do you have time right now?”
You’d use teillä (adessive of te, formal you or plural you):
- Onko teillä aikaa nyt? = Do you (formal/plural) have time now?
Informal singular is sinulla as in the original sentence.
Common short answers:
- On. = Yes. (literally “Is.”)
- Ei ole. = No. (literally “Is not.”)
More explicit: - On (minulla) aikaa. = I have time.
- Ei ole (minulla) aikaa. = I don’t have time.
Use Eikö (negative + question clitic):
- Eikö sinulla ole aikaa nyt? = Don’t you have time now? / Haven’t you got time now?
Here ole is the negative form of on used with ei-negation.
Yes. In casual speech, sinulla often becomes sulla, and minulla becomes mulla:
- Onks sulla aikaa nyt? (very common)
Here Onks is a spoken contraction of Onko.