Mielestään

Mielestään is a Finnish adverb meaning “in one’s own opinion” or “as one thinks.” It is used to attribute a subjective view to the subject of the sentence, signaling that the following assessment reflects that person’s personal judgment rather than an objective fact.

The expression is typically formed from mieli (mind, opinion) with a possessive suffix indicating the subject (for example, his/her/its words) and functions as a fixed phrase that can modify an entire clause. It is most commonly used with third-person references, as in Mielestään hän teki oikean ratkaisun (In his opinion, he made the right decision) or Mielestään se on hyvä (In his view, it is good).

Mielestään often contrasts with more objective statements and can introduce a stance that may be disputed by others. It can appear at the beginning of a sentence or immediately before the main clause, and it is compatible with various tenses and moods, depending on the sentence.

Related expressions express similar ideas of subjectivity. For first-person opinion, the parallel form is mielestäni (in my opinion). Another common construction is omasta mielestäni (to my mind / in my own view), which adds emphasis on the speaker’s personal perspective.

Notes on usage: mielestään is widely used in everyday Finnish, both in speech and writing, and it helps to distance a claim by foregrounding the speaker’s personal stance. It does not convey certainty; it simply marks that the assertion reflects someone’s subjective view.

Examples:

- Mielestään hänen lausuntonsa on relevantti.

- Mielestään kaupungin päätökset ovat oikeita.

- Mielestään tämän pitäisi olla ratkaistu jo aikaisemmin.