Mä Mää Mie – Pronouns in Spoken Language
Finnish spoken language has its own vocabulary, grammar and rules. In this article, we will be looking solely at how the personal pronouns minä, sinä, hän, me, te and he change in spoken language. Oletko valmis? Mä, mää, mie olen!
Please note that the example sentences used in this article aren’t the only way to say certain things in spoken language. For example, the question tykkäätkö musta (“do you like me”) could also be tykkääksä musta or tykkäätsä musta in spoken language.
| Spoken | Written | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Mä/mää/mie tuun! | Minä tulen! | I’m coming! |
| Sä et tiedä. | Sinä et tiedä. | You don’t know. |
| Auta mua! | Auta minua! | Help me! |
| Rakastan sua. | Rakastan sinua. | I love you. |
| Tykkään susta. | Tykkään sinusta. | I like you. |
| Se ei ymmärrä. | Hän ei ymmärrä. | He/she doesn’t understand. |
1. The pronoun minä in spoken language
Mä, mää and mie are three ways to say minä in Finnish spoken language. There are more than that, e.g. in some dialects in the South-West of Finland, you can hear mnää. We’ll be focusing on mä and mää in this article. These are the two widely used versions with a full inflection paradigm. The forms marked with a star (*) are theoretically possible but not in use.
| Written | Spoken | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | minä | mä, mää | Mä tuun. | I’m coming. |
| Partitive | minua | mua | Mua väsyttää. | I feel tired. |
| Genitive | minun | mun | Se on mun. | That’s mine. |
| Missä | minussa | mussa | Mitä näet mussa? | What do you see in me? |
| Mistä | minusta | musta | Tykkäätkö musta? | Do you like me? |
| Mihin | minuun | muhun | Älä luota muhun. | Don’t trust me. |
| Millä | minulla | mulla | Mulla on kissa. | I have a cat. |
| Miltä | minulta | multa | Näytät multa. | You look like me. |
| Mille | minulle | mulle | Anna se mulle! | Give it to me! |
| Translative | minuksi* | muksi* | – | – |
| Essive | minuna* | muna* | – | – |
| Accusative | minut | mut | Hyväksy mut! | Accept me! |
2. The pronoun sinä in spoken language
Just like mä, mää, mie, you can say sä, sää and sie in spoken Finnish. There are more options than that, e.g. in some dialects in the South-West of Finland, you can hear snää. We’ll be focusing on sä/sää in this article. These are the two widely used versions with a full inflection paradigm. The forms marked with a star (*) are theoretically possible but not in use.
| Written | Spoken | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | sinä | sä, sää | Sä et tuu. | You’re not coming. |
| Partitive | sinua | sua | Rakastan sua. | I love you. |
| Genitive | sinun | sun | Onko tää sun? | Is this yours? |
| Missä | sinussa | sussa | Mitä näin sussa? | What did I see in you? |
| Mistä | sinusta | susta | Pidän susta. | I like you. |
| Mihin | sinuun | suhun | Luotan suhun. | I trust you. |
| Millä | sinulla | sulla | Sulla on koira. | You have a dog. |
| Miltä | sinulta | sulta | Sain sen sulta. | I got it from you. |
| Mille | sinulle | sulle | Annan sen sulle. | I give it to you. |
| Translative | sinuksi | suksi* | – | – |
| Essive | sinuna | suna* | – | – |
| Accusative | sinut | sut | Näin sut. | I saw you. |
3. The pronoun hän in spoken language
Important to note is that se (“it”) will be used in spoken language to replace hän! Just like the pronoun hän, the spoken language se can refer to both men and women. The forms marked with a star (*) are theoretically possible, but rare in spoken language.
| Written | Spoken | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | hän | se | Se ei tuu. | She won’t come. |
| Partitive | häntä | sitä | Vihaan sitä. | I hate her. |
| Genitive | hänen | sen | Sen nimi on Ari. | His name is Ari. |
| Missä | hänessä | siinä* | – | – |
| Mistä | hänestä | siitä* | Tykkään siitä. | I like her. |
| Mihin | häneen | siihen* | Luotatko siihen? | Do you trust her? |
| Millä | hänellä | sillä | Sillä on kultakala. | She has a goldfish. |
| Miltä | häneltä | siltä | Sain sen siltä. | I got it from her. |
| Mille | hänelle | sille | Annoin sen sille. | I gave it to her. |
| Translative | häneksi* | siksi* | – | – |
| Essive | hänenä* | sinä* | – | – |
| Accusative | hänet | sen | Tapasin sen. | I met him. |
4. The pronoun me in spoken language
The main thing that happens to personal pronouns in spoken language is that they’re made shorter. For the pronoun me this means there will be barely any change, because it’s already so short on its own. In fact, some dialects actually make me longer: myö is used in some dialects.
The spoken language form of meidän is interesting because the letter d regularly gets replaced in spoken language with other letters, mainly r (meirän) and j (meijän). Other forms are also possible, for example meiren, meitin and meen. The accusative meidät will also have its d replaced: e.g. meirät, meijät.
| Written | Spoken | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | me | me | Me istutaan. | We’re sitting. |
| Partitive | meitä | meit(ä) | Oota meitä! | Wait for us! |
| Genitive | meidän | meijän | Se on meijän. | It’s ours. |
| Missä | meissä | meis(sä) | Meis on voima. | We have the power. |
| Mistä | meistä | meist(ä) | Tykkäätsä meist? | Do you like us? |
| Mihin | meihin | meihi(n) | Ota yhteyttä meihi. | Contact us. |
| Millä | meillä | meil(lä) | Meil on kiire. | We’re in a hurry. |
| Miltä | meiltä | meilt(ä) | Saat sen meilt. | You get it from us. |
| Mille | meille | meille | Älä valehtele meille! | Don’t lie to us! |
| Translative | meiksi* | meiksi* | – | – |
| Essive | meinä* | meinä* | – | – |
| Accusative | meidät | meijät | Näitkö meijät? | Did you see us? |
5. The pronoun te in spoken language
The main thing that happens to personal pronouns in spoken language is that they’re made shorter. For the pronoun te this means there will be barely any change, because it’s already so short on its own. In fact, some dialects actually make te longer: työ is used in some dialects.
The spoken language form of teidän is interesting because the letter d regularly gets replaced in spoken language with other letters, mainly r (teirän) and j (teijän). Other forms are also possible, for example teiren and teitin. The accusative teidät will also have its d replaced: e.g. teirät, teijät.
| Written | Spoken | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | te | te | Te meette. | You’re (pl.) going. |
| Partitive | teitä | teit(ä) | Ootan teitä. | I will wait for you (pl.). |
| Genitive | teidän | teijän | Teijän takki haisee. | Your (pl.) coat stinks. |
| Missä | teissä | teis(sä) | Teis on voimaa. | There is power in you (pl.) |
| Mistä | teistä | teist(ä) | Tykkään teist. | I like you (pl.). |
| Mihin | teihin | teihi(n) | Mä luotan teihin. | I trust you (pl.). |
| Millä | teillä | teil(lä) | Teil on mut. | You (pl.) have me. |
| Miltä | teiltä | teilt(ä) | Teiltä ei saada mittää. | Can’t get anything from you. |
| Mille | teille | teille | Tää on teille. | This is for you (pl.). |
| Translative | teiksi* | teiksi* | – | – |
| Essive | teinä | teinä | Teinä en tekis noin. | I wouldn’t if I were you. |
| Accusative | teidät | teijät | Haluun tavata teijät. | I want to meet you (pl.) |
6. The pronoun he in spoken language
The pronoun he is the plural of hän. Because of this, you can see a similar change in both: hän becomes se and he becomes ne. Se and ne are usually used for things; not people. However, in spoken language, you will use ne when talking about people, too. The verb will exceptionally be conjugated in the third person singular (find out more).
| Written | Spoken | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | he | ne | Ne ei tuu. | They’re not coming. |
| Partitive | heitä | niitä | Näitkö niitä? | Did you see them? |
| Genitive | heidän | niiden | Toi on niiden talo. | That’s their house. |
| Missä | heissä | niis(sä) | Niis on potentiaalia. | There’s potential in them. |
| Mistä | heistä | niistä | Niistä ei ikinä tiiä. | You never know with them. |
| Mihin | heihin | niihin | Mä luotan niihin. | I trust them. |
| Millä | heillä | niil(lä) | Niil ei oo kissaa. | They don’t have a cat. |
| Miltä | heiltä | niilt(ä) | En kysy niilt. | I won’t ask them. |
| Mille | heille | niille | Anna se niille! | Give it to them! |
| Translative | heiksi* | niiksi* | – | – |
| Essive | heinä* | niinä* | – | – |
| Accusative | heidät | ne | Tapasin ne. | I met them. |
7. More Spoken Language Grammar
Spoken language has its own vocabulary, but it also has its own grammar. There are many differences between written and spoken language in Finnish.
One such difference is the conjugation of the verb in the third person plural. For example, he menevät becomes ne menee in Finnish. Find out more about ne menee, ne tulee, ne katsoo!
Here’s another interesting thing! Spoken language is known for how it’s a condensed/shortened version of written language. Minulla on is a great example of that. There are multiple levels of condensation for this phrase.
| I have a cat. | You have a cat. | She has a cat. |
|---|---|---|
| Minulla on kissa. | Sinulla on kissa. | Hänellä on kissa. |
| Mulla on kissa. | Sulla on kissa. | Hällä/Sillä on kissa. |
| Mullon kissa. | Sullon kissa. | Häl/Sil on kissa. |
| Mull o kissa. | Sull o kissa. | Sill o kissa. |
| Mulon kissa. | Sulon kissa. | Silon kissa. |
That’s it for mä, mää and mie! Did you find these examples useful?
Here in Oulu region also _nää_ is used istead of _sinä_ or _sää_, but not by everyone. Examples: _Mitä nää teet? Tuukkonää illalla? Tiiäkkönää misä on apteekki?_
What do you mean “suksi”, “suna”, “muksi”, “muna” are theoretically possible but not in use? Then what words do you use in those contexts then? Nothing?
Those are completely normal words to use. For example “suna en tekisi tota” or “Se muuttui suks”.
“Suksi” and “muna” have also another meaning, which makes them sound funny in some contexts. You will hear “sinuksi” or “minuna”, even in spoken language. Even then, “minuna” is strange. It took a long time for me to come up with a viable context: “Joku esiintyy minuna“.
You’re right about “suna” though, that one isn’t as weird as it initially “felt” in my mouth!