Isäni

Isäni is a Finnish noun phrase meaning “my father.” It is formed from the noun isä, meaning “father,” with the first-person singular possessive suffix -ni, which marks ownership. In standard Finnish, this suffixed form is the common way to express “my [X],” and the separate possessive pronoun minun is often omitted in ordinary speech.

Usage and grammar

Isäni functions as a noun phrase that can serve as the subject, object, or a part of a larger construction. The possessive suffix -ni attaches directly to the noun without requiring a possessive within a full noun phrase. For example: Isäni on opettaja. (My father is a teacher.) This form is also used in phrases like isäni talo (my father’s house) or isäni vanha auto (my father’s old car). The form is flexible across different grammatical cases, as Finnish nouns decline within a sentence while the possessive suffix remains a marker of the first-person possessive.

Etymology and related forms

Isä is a native Finnish word with cognates in other Finnic languages, such as Estonian isa and Karelian isä. The suffix -ni is the standard first-person singular possessive marker, shared across many Finnish noun phrases, and is used to indicate ownership without repeating pronouns.

Notes

Beyond its literal meaning, isäni is used as part of family-related vocabulary and reflects Finnish possessive morphology, which often favors attached possessive suffixes over separate pronouns in everyday language.