Elämäntarinansa

Elämäntarinansa is a Finnish noun phrase meaning “one’s life story” or “autobiography” when referring to content belonging to a person. It is formed from the compound elämäntarina (life story) plus the third-person possessive suffix -nsa, yielding elämäntarinansa. The suffix follows Finnish vowel harmony, and the form indicates that the life story discussed belongs to the subject of the sentence. Example: Hän kirjoittaa elämäntarinansa.

Usage and nuance: The term is commonly used in discussions of life-writing and personal memoirs. It is distinct from a published biography written by another author, for which common terms are elämänkerta (biography) or omaelämäkerta (autobiography). “Elämäntarinansa” typically refers to the content of a person’s own life story rather than a standalone biographical work. It can appear in constructions like “tiedot hänen elämäntarinastaan” (the details of his/her life story) or “elämäntarinansa paljastaa…” (his/her life story reveals…).

Relation to related terms: Elämäntarina differs from elämänkerta and omaelämäkerta. Elämäntarina emphasizes the subject’s own narrative of their life, while elämänkerta or elämänkerta/kertomus refers to a biography written by another author. Muistelmat is another related form, typically memoirs or reminiscences.

See also: elämänkerta, omaelämäkerta, muistelmat. Grammar note: other possessive forms include elämäntarinani (my life story) and elämäntarinasi (your life story); elämäntarinamme (our life story).