Naapuri on kotona, mutta minä olen matkalla kauppaan.

The neighbor is at home, but I am on my way to the store.

Breakdown of Naapuri on kotona, mutta minä olen matkalla kauppaan.

• minä: I
• olla: to be
• kotona: at home
• mutta: but
• matkalla: on the way
• naapuri: neighbor
• kauppa: store

Questions & Answers about Naapuri on kotona, mutta minä olen matkalla kauppaan.

Why does Finnish use on in the first clause and olen in the second?

They are different present-tense forms of the verb olla (to be):

• (hän) on = he/she is (3rd person singular)
• minä olen = I am (1st person singular)

Finnish verbs conjugate for person, so the ending changes depending on who the subject is.

Do I have to say minä? Could the sentence be Naapuri on kotona, mutta olen matkalla kauppaan?

You usually don’t have to say minä, because olen already shows I.
So Naapuri on kotona, mutta olen matkalla kauppaan is completely natural.

You include minä when you want emphasis/contrast (roughly: but I am on my way to the store).

What case is kotona, and why is it used?

kotona is the inessive case (ending -ssa/-ssä), which often means in/inside at.
With koti (home), the inessive form kotona is the standard way to say at home.

So it’s not talking about “inside a physical house” so much as the general state/location at home.

What case is kauppaan, and why is it different from kotona?

kauppaan is the illative case (often -Vn, -seen, or -hVn), which expresses motion into/to a place.

• kotona (inessive) = location/state: at home
• kauppaan (illative) = direction/goal: to the store

Finnish typically uses different cases for being somewhere vs going somewhere.

What does matkalla literally mean, and what case is it?

matkalla is the adessive case (ending -lla/-llä), often meaning on/at.
Literally it’s something like on a journey/on the road.

In everyday Finnish, olla matkalla (jonnekin) means to be on the way (to somewhere).

Could I also say Olen menossa kauppaan? Is it the same as olen matkalla kauppaan?

Yes, and it’s very common.

• Olen menossa kauppaan = I’m going / I’m heading to the store (focus on intention/going)
• Olen matkalla kauppaan = I’m on my way to the store (focus on being en route)

They overlap a lot, but matkalla highlights that you’re already “in transit”.

Why is it mutta here, and does word order after mutta change?

mutta means but and introduces a contrast between the two clauses.

Word order after mutta is flexible, but the most neutral pattern is still: subject + verb + other info
So mutta minä olen… is neutral, and mutta olen… is also neutral (because the verb form already marks the subject).

Finnish has no articles—how do I know if naapuri means a neighbor or the neighbor?

Context does the work. Naapuri can mean a neighbor or the neighbor depending on what’s already known in the conversation.

If you need to be more specific, Finnish often adds something else instead of an article, e.g.:

• meidän naapuri = our neighbor
• se naapuri = that/the (specific) neighbor (colloquial)

Could Naapuri be Naapurini? What’s the difference?

Yes.

• Naapuri = (a/the) neighbor
• Naapurini = my neighbor (possessive suffix -ni = my)

In Finnish you can mark possession on the noun itself, often without needing minun (my) in front.

How is this sentence typically pronounced (especially Naapuri, kotona, matkalla, kauppaan)?

A few useful pronunciation points:

• Stress is usually on the first syllable: NAA-pu-ri, KO-to-na, MAT-kal-la, KAUP-paan
• Double letters are longer:
  • pp in kauppaan is a longer p
  • aa in kauppaan is a longer a
• au in kauppa is a diphthong like ow (but keep it Finnish-clear, not too English-slurred)