Tuolla Tuolta Tuonne – “Over There” in Finnish
In this article, we look at these three words: tuolla tuolta tuonne, which are adverbs formed from demonstrative pronoun tuo. Tuolla, tuolta and tuonne all mean “over there”, but are used in different contexts. You might want to get acquainted with the missä, mistä and mihin forms first.
1. Tuolla (Missä?)
Tuolla typically refers to a static – large – location the speaker to which is close enough to look at and point at (it can be on a map as well): “over there”. Tuolla refers to a relatively expansive area without clear borders. This is in contrast with tuossa, which refers to a relatively small area with clear borders.
Finding examples where tuolla isn’t followed by a noun (#1) proved to be a little harder than for täällä. Usually, tuolla is used as a demonstrative pronoun (#2).
Tuolla “there, over there”
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| Katso, tuolla näkyy joutsen! | Look, you can see a swan over there! |
| Minä asun tuolla. | I live over there. |
| Mitä jos tuolla on joku? | What if there’s someone there? |
| Tuo talo tuolla on myynnissä. | That house over there is for sale. |
| Tuolla kauempana näkyy kirkko. | Over there, further away, a church is visible. |
| Hän istui [tuolla tuolilla]. | He sat [on that chair]. |
| Hän jäi [tuolla bussipysäkillä]. | He got off [at that bus stop]. |
| [Tuolla autolla] en uskalla ajaa. | I don’t dare to drive [that car]. |
2. Tuolta (Mistä?)
Tuolta typically refers to a movement away from a relatively large location that the speaker is in close enough proximity to see and point at: “from there”.
Tuolta carries the idea that the relatively expansive area doesn’t have clear borders. This is in contrast with tuosta, which refers to a relatively small area with clear borders. Both, however, mean a movement away from this area.
Tuolta “from there, from over there”
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| Anttiko tuolta tulee? | Is Antti the one who comes from over there? |
| Ota ne tuolta kaapista. | Take them from over there out of the cupboard. |
| Tule tuolta tälle puolelle! | Come to this side from there! |
| Katso, tuolta tulee pallo! | Look, a ball comes from over there! |
| Kopioin pääkohdat tuolta. | I copy the main points from there. |
In spoken language, tuolta will often be said as tolta, e.g. “Kato, pallo tulee tolta!“.
3. Tuonne (Mihin?)
Tuonne is used to express a movement towards a relatively large area, or a fairly vaguely defined area. What’s important is that the speaker can see it and point at it: over there.
Tuonne “to there, that way”
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| Ei tee mieli lähteä tuonne. | Don’t feel like going out there. |
| Tuonne kannattaa mennä! | It’s worth going there! |
| Se lensi tuonne. | It flew that way. |
| Menkää tuonne odottelemaan. | Go sit and wait over there. |
| Tuonne on 5 kilometriä matkaa. | It’s 5 kilometers away. |
In spoken language, tuonne will often be said as tonne, e.g. “Tonne kannattaa mennä!“
