lautaseltaan

Lautaseltaan is a Finnish adverbial form that literally means “on his/her/its plate” and is used to describe what is placed on a plate belonging to the subject of the clause, or, figuratively, what is on that person’s plate in terms of tasks or responsibilities. The expression can refer to a physical portion of food in a sentence about a meal or to metaphorical implications like obligations someone must handle.

Etymology and form: the word is built from lautanen (plate) with the stem lautas- combined with the ablative-like suffix -eltaan, which signals origin or place, and the possessive reference to the subject. The result is a compact way to attribute something to the plate belonging to a particular person or entity.

Usage and examples: in literal usage, Lautaseltaan oli keitto means “There was soup on his/her plate.” Lautaseltaan ei ollut mitään means “There was nothing on his/her plate.” In a figurative sense, one might say: Lautaseltaan on nyt paljon töitä, meaning “There is a lot of work on his/her plate now” or more roughly, “a lot of tasks for him/her to deal with.”

Notes: lautaneltaan is more common in written or formal Finnish and can feel literary in everyday speech. In casual conversation, speakers often use simpler or more concrete phrases to convey the same ideas, such as describing the plate directly or using other expressions for one’s responsibilities.