Ltä

ätta? The term ltä is a Finnish postpositional suffix used to express origin, source, or starting point. In Finnish, the suffix -lta/-ltä attaches to nouns and personal pronouns to convey ideas like “from,” “off,” or “out of.” It is a core element of the Finnic postpositional system and appears with a broad range of concrete and abstract references.

Usage and forms. The ltä form is widely used with places, objects, and people to indicate departure from a location or source. Examples include pöydältä (from the table), katolta (from the roof), maalta (from the countryside), minulta (from me), teiltä (from you all), and häneltä (from him/her). The choice between -lta and -ltä aligns with Finnish phonology and vowel harmony, and both variants occur across different stems.

Syntactic role. ltä functions similarly to prepositional phrases in languages that use case-like markers. It typically follows the noun to which it is attached, forming a noun phrase that can serve as an origin or source modifier in a sentence. It also appears in compound noun forms and set phrases, extending its range beyond simple location-based meaning.

Related forms and notes. -lta/-ltä is part of a family of postpositional endings in Finnish that mark origin or starting point from various kinds of referents. The suffix can interact with consonant clusters and vowels in the stem, sometimes producing phonological adjustments for fluid pronunciation. In pronoun forms, it yields words like minulta, sinulta, häneltä, meiltä, teiltä, heiltä.

See also: Finnish grammar, postpositional phrases, elative and other case markers in Finnic languages.