Muilla

Muilla is a Finnish linguistic form: the adessive plural of the adjective muu, meaning “other” or “else.” In Finnish, the adessive case marks location or possession with certain verbs, including the existential construction olla (to have). Therefore muilla functions to indicate that something belongs to or is possessed by others.

In practice, muilla is used when referring to a group other than the speaker or the listener. A common example is muilla on auto, which translates to “the others have a car.” The form also appears in idiomatic expressions such as muilla tavoin (“in other ways”) or muilla keinoilla (“by other means.”) When used in different phrases, muilla remains the adessive plural form, while the rest of the noun or adjective may be adapted to the surrounding syntax.

Etymology and related forms: muilla derives from the root muu (“other”) plus the adessive suffix -lla. Related forms include muu in its various cases (e.g., minulla for “on me,” teillä for “on you all” in the adessive).

Usage notes: muilla is a third-person plural reference and is especially common in everyday Finnish when contrasting groups or discussing alternative scenarios. It should not be confused with other Finnish forms like muka “as if” or muu alone, which has different functions. In many contexts, the exact meaning depends on the surrounding clause and case endings.

See also: muu, muut, minulla, teillä.