Possessive Suffixes

01

The Owner Endings

• -ni - my
• -si - your (singular)
• -nsa / -nsä - his / her / its / their
• -mme - our
• -nne - your (plural)

• kirja → kirjani

  book → my book

• Nimeni on Mary.

  My name is Mary.

• Missä autosi on?

  Where is your car?

• Tämä on huoneemme.

  This is our room.

02

Used Together With the Separate Word

The ending usually appears alongside minun, sinun, hänen — the words for my, your, his/her. Both say the same thing, and saying it twice is standard rather than redundant. Careful Finnish keeps the pair; casual speech often drops the ending and keeps only the word.

• minun kirjani

  my book

• sinun nimesi

  your name

• hänen ystävänsä

  his/her friend

03

The Owner Ending Comes Last

If the noun already carries an ending of its own, the owner ending goes after it, at the very end of the word. Read such a word in layers.

• Kirja on laukussani.

  The book is in my bag.

• lauku- bag — the kk of laukku softens to k
• -ssa the "in" ending
• -ni the owner, my, last of all

Three pieces in one word, and they always come in that order.

• Asun talossani.

  I live in my house.

• Puhun ystävästäni.

  I'm talking about my friend.

04

One Form for "his", "her", "its", "their"

The third-person ending -nsa/-nsä covers all four alike, matching hän, which is itself both "he" and "she". Context tells you which is meant.

• Hän rakastaa kotiaan.

  He/she loves his/her home.