Personal pronouns are some of the most common words in Finnish. You’ll see them in conversations, social media posts, news articles, and everyday speech.

The good news is that Finnish has fewer personal pronouns than English because the same word is used for both men and women.

Finnish Personal Pronouns

English	Finnish
I	minä
you (singular)	sinä
he / she	hän
we	me
you (plural)	te
they	he

Minä = I

Use minä when talking about yourself.

Examples:

• Minä olen Anna. = I am Anna.
• Minä asun Suomessa. =I live in Finland.

Sinä = You

Use sinä when talking to one person.

Examples:

• Sinä olet opiskelija.
• Sinä puhut suomea hyvin.

Hän = He or She

One thing that surprises many learners is that Finnish does not have separate words for “he” and “she”.

Instead, Finnish uses hän for both men and women.

Examples:

• Hän on opettaja.
• Hän asuu Helsingissä.

These sentences could refer to either a man or a woman.

How Do Finns Know If Hän Means He or She?

Usually, the answer comes from the context.

Names

Often the person’s name appears earlier in the conversation.

Example:

• Matti on lääkäri. Hän työskentelee sairaalassa.

Because Matti is a male name, we know that hän means “he”.

Another example:

• Anna on opiskelija. Hän opiskelee yliopistossa.

Because Anna is a female name, we know that hän means “she”.

The Situation

Sometimes the context tells us who the person is.

Example:

• Minun äitini on opettaja. Hän työskentelee koulussa.

We know that hän refers to the mother.

Me = We

Use me when talking about yourself and other people together.

Examples:

• Me asumme Suomessa.
• Me opiskelemme suomea.

Te = You (Plural)

Use te when talking to more than one person.

Examples:

• Te olette ystäviä.
• Te puhutte suomea.

Te (Capital T)

Sometimes you may see Te written with a capital letter.

In this case, it does not mean several people.

Instead, it is a polite and formal way to address one person.

For example:

• Missä Te asutte?
• Haluatteko Te kahvia?

You may see this in customer service, formal emails, official letters, or business communication.

In everyday conversations, most Finns simply use sinä.

He = They

Use he when talking about several people.

Examples:

• He ovat suomalaisia.
• He asuvat Tampereella.

Spoken Finnish (Puhekieli)

In everyday spoken Finnish, people often use different forms.

Standard Finnish	Spoken Finnish
minä	mä
sinä	sä
hän	se
me	me
te	te
he	ne

Examples:

• Mä oon väsyny. =Minä olen väsynyt = I’m tired.
• Sä oot oikeas. =Sinä olet oikeassa = You’re right.
• Se on opettaja. = Hän on opettaja.= He/she is a teacher.
• Ne assuu Espoos.= He asuvat Espoossa.= They live in Espoo.

A Note About Hän and Se

In standard Finnish, hän is used for people.

However, in everyday spoken Finnish, many people use se when talking about another person.

Example:

Standard Finnish:

• Hän on kotona.

Spoken Finnish:

• Se on kotona.

This is completely normal in everyday conversation. But in standard Finnish ”se” is used for an object.

Personal Pronouns with the common verb OLLA

TIME TO PRACTICE!!!