Nämä

Nämä is the plural demonstrative pronoun in Finnish, used to refer to multiple items that are near the speaker or otherwise in focus. It is the plural form of tämä and translates to "these" in English. As a demonstrative, nämä can function as both a determiner and a stand-alone pronoun.

In grammar, nämä inflect for case like other Finnish demonstratives. The base form is nominative plural, asemantically equivalent to "these." Other cases express relationships such as proximity, direction, or source. For example, näitä (partitive plural) can appear when referring to some or an indefinite amount of items, näiden (genitive plural) marks possession or association, and näihin or näissä indicate movement toward or location in these items, respectively. Finnish often places nämä before the noun, as in Tämä talo versus Nämä talot, but it can also stand alone as a pronoun: Nämä ovat uusia kirjoja.

Usage notes include that nämӓ, like other demonstratives, clarifies which items are being discussed and can add emphasis. In everyday Finnish, nämä is common in conversation and writing when pointing to or listing nearby objects, for example, "Nämä kirjat ovat minun" (These books are mine). It contrasts with nuo (those near the listener) and ne (those farther away).

Etymology traces these demonstratives to a common Proto-Finnic root related to この/この, forming a system of proximal demonstratives that evolves with case inflection. See also related forms: tämä (this), tuo (that), ne (those).