minua

Minua is the Finnish partitive form of the first-person singular pronoun minä. It functions primarily as the experiencer or patient in clauses where the action or state is expressed in the partitive, and it is also used in phrases meaning “for me” or “to me” in certain constructions. The form is one of several cases around the pronoun minä, reflecting Finnish’s rich system of inflection.

In usage, minua appears in sentences that describe feelings, perceptions, or effects on the speaker. For example, minua pelottaa means “I am scared” or “that scares me,” and minua kiinnostaa translates as “this topic interests me.” The phrase minua varten means “for me,” as in a gift prepared for me. Minua can also appear with verbs that express personal experience or attitude, such as minua naurattaa “it makes me laugh,” or minua hymyilyttää “it makes me smile.”

Etymologically, minua derives from the base pronoun minä, with the partitive suffix -a/ä resulting in minua. It contrasts with other forms of the same pronoun, most notably nominative minä and possessive minun, which marks ownership. In standard Finnish, the distinction between subject and object forms is essential for natural sentence structure, and minua is a core element for expressing the speaker’s relation to the action or state described.

See also: Finnish pronouns, Finnish grammar, partitive case.