Selässä

Selässä is the inessive form of the Finnish noun selkä, meaning “on the back” or “at the back.” It is used to indicate location on the back of a person, animal, or object. Common uses include describing something that lies, rests, or exists on the back, such as a tattoo, scar, or rider on an animal.

Grammatical notes: The suffix -ssa expresses location inside or on a surface. When indicating possession, a possessive suffix can be attached to form forms like selässäni (“on my back”), selässäsi (“on your back”), or selässään (“on his/her back”). The base form selässä does not specify ownership, while selässäni or selässään clarifies whose back is being referred to.

Usage examples:

- Selässäni on arpi. (There is a scar on my back.)

- Hänen selässään on tatuointi. (There is a tattoo on his/her back.)

- Ratsastaja on hevosen selässä. (The rider is on the horse’s back.)

Context and nuance: Selässä is frequently used in descriptive or factual statements about body features, injuries, or adornments, as well as in sentences describing position or contact between a back and another object (for example, a saddle, bag, or clothing). It can also appear in figurative expressions when referring to “on the back” of something, though such uses are less common.

See also: selkä, Finnish body parts, Finnish grammar.