Jostakin

Jostakin is a Finnish adverb meaning “from somewhere” or “from some source.” It is used to indicate an unspecified origin for information, material, or phenomena, and is common in both spoken and written Finnish.

Usage notes

Jostakin signals that the source is not known or not specified. It can introduce elements such as rumors, reports, or explanations where the origin is unclear. Examples: Olen kuullut tästä jostakin. (I’ve heard about this from somewhere.) Jostakin syystä hän ei tullut. (For some reason, he didn’t come.) It also appears in phrases like jostain päin or jostain muualta to mean “from somewhere nearby/elsewhere.” In many contexts, jostakin functions as a flexible, neutral way to refer to an origin without naming it.

Grammatical notes

Jostakin is formed with the elative suffix -sta/-stä attached to a demonstrative-pronoun element, creating an adverbial expression. It behaves as a postpositional adjunct within clauses and is compatible with a wide range of verbs and noun phrases that denote sources, origins, or causes. It is common in everyday language and carries no particular stance beyond indicating unspecified origin.

Related phrases

Common collocations include jostain syystä (“for some reason”) and jostain päin (“from somewhere”). These variants illustrate the breadth of jostakin’s use in expressing indeterminacy of source or cause.

See also

Finnish grammar on postpositions and the elative case; Finnish demonstratives and pronouns.