Tämä kohta on minulle vielä epäselvä.

This point is still unclear to me.

Breakdown of Tämä kohta on minulle vielä epäselvä.

• olla: to be
• tämä: this
• vielä: still
• minulle: me
• epäselvä: unclear
• kohta: the point

Questions & Answers about Tämä kohta on minulle vielä epäselvä.

What does tämä kohta mean here?

In this sentence, tämä kohta means something like this point, this part, or this passage/section, depending on context.

The noun kohta has several meanings in Finnish, including:

• point
• spot/place
• section/passage
• sometimes even soon in other contexts

Here, it most naturally means this point or this part of the text/explanation.

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Why is it tämä and not something like tämän?

Tämä is in the nominative case because it is part of the subject: tämä kohta = this point/part.

In the sentence:

• tämä kohta = the subject
• on = is
• epäselvä = unclear

You would use tämän in other grammatical roles, for example:

• Tämän kohdan merkitys... = the meaning of this passage/point...

So here tämä is correct because the phrase is functioning as the subject.

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What case is kohta, and why?

Kohta is also in the nominative singular.

That is because tämä kohta is the subject of the sentence:

• Tämä kohta = this point/part
• on epäselvä = is unclear

So both words in the subject phrase are in their basic form:

• tämä
• kohta

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Why is it minulle and not minä or minua?

Minulle is the allative form of minä and means to me or for me.

Finnish often uses this structure with adjectives like selvä (clear) and epäselvä (unclear):

• Se on minulle selvä. = It is clear to me.
• Se on minulle epäselvä. = It is unclear to me.

So the idea is not literally I am unclear, but rather:

• This point is unclear to me.

Forms:

• minä = I
• minua = me (object/partitive contexts)
• minulle = to me / for me

Here, only minulle fits.

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What exactly does vielä mean here?

Vielä here means still.

So the sentence suggests:

• this point is still unclear to me
• maybe the speaker expects that it will become clear later

That gives the sentence a sense of unfinished understanding.

Compare:

• Tämä kohta on minulle epäselvä. = This point is unclear to me.
• Tämä kohta on minulle vielä epäselvä. = This point is still unclear to me.

So vielä adds the idea of not yet resolved.

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What does epäselvä mean, and how is it formed?

Epäselvä means unclear, not clear, or sometimes ambiguous depending on context.

It is made from:

• selvä = clear
• prefix epä- = un-, in-, non-, not

So:

• selvä = clear
• epäselvä = unclear

This is a very common Finnish way to form opposites.

Other examples:

• varma = certain
• epävarma = uncertain

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Why is it epäselvä and not epäselvää?

Because the subject tämä kohta is singular and in the nominative, the predicate adjective is also in the nominative singular:

• Tämä kohta on epäselvä.

So:

• kohta = singular
• epäselvä = singular form agreeing with it

You might see epäselvää in other structures, especially with the partitive:

• Tässä kohdassa on jotain epäselvää. = There is something unclear in this point/section.

But in your sentence, epäselvä is correct because it is a normal predicate adjective after on.

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Is the word order fixed, or could vielä and minulle be moved?

The word order is fairly flexible, but different orders change the emphasis slightly.

The original:

• Tämä kohta on minulle vielä epäselvä.

Other possible versions:

• Tämä kohta on vielä minulle epäselvä.
• Minulle tämä kohta on vielä epäselvä.
• Tämä kohta on epäselvä minulle. (possible, but less natural in many contexts)

The original sounds natural and neutral.
Placing minulle before vielä epäselvä works well because Finnish often places the experiencer there.

If you start with minulle, it may emphasize for me:

• Minulle tämä kohta on vielä epäselvä. = As for me, this point is still unclear.

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Does Finnish have articles here? How do I know whether it means this point, this passage, or the point?

Finnish has no articles like a/an or the.

So Finnish relies on:

• context
• demonstratives like tämä (this)
• word meaning

Here, tämä clearly gives the meaning this:

• tämä kohta = this point/part

Without tämä, kohta alone could mean:

• a point
• the point
• a section depending on context.

So English needs an article, but Finnish does not.

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Is this sentence talking about a text, a conversation, or something else?

It could be used in several contexts.

Kohta is broad enough to refer to:

• a point in an explanation
• a section in a text
• a part of a lecture
• an item in a list
• a point in an argument

So the exact English translation depends on context:

• This point is still unclear to me.
• This part is still unclear to me.
• This section is still unclear to me.

All of those can be valid.

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Could I also say En ymmärrä tätä kohtaa vielä? Is that the same?

Yes, you could say that, but it is not exactly the same.

• Tämä kohta on minulle vielä epäselvä.

  • This point is still unclear to me.
  • focuses on the state of the point from your perspective

• En ymmärrä tätä kohtaa vielä.

  • I do not understand this point yet.
  • focuses more directly on your lack of understanding

Both are natural, but the original sounds a bit more neutral and less direct.

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What kind of tone does this sentence have? Is it formal or informal?

It is neutral and works well in both spoken and written Finnish.

It sounds:

• polite
• natural
• not too blunt

That makes it useful in:

• class
• language learning
• work discussions
• emails
• asking for clarification

It is a good phrase when you want to say that something is not clear without sounding harsh.

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Does vielä imply that I expect to understand it later?

Yes, usually it does.

By saying vielä (still), the speaker suggests:

• the matter is not clear at this moment
• but it may become clear later

That is why the sentence often sounds slightly softer and more hopeful than the version without vielä.

Compare:

• Tämä kohta on minulle epäselvä. = simply unclear
• Tämä kohta on minulle vielä epäselvä. = still unclear, perhaps for now only

So vielä adds a sense of ongoing progress or expectation.