Expressing Opinions and Feelings in Finnish

In Brief

Use minusta or mielestäni before a statement to mean “in my opinion”: Minusta se on hyvä idea. For a person’s emotional state, use olla + adjective: Olen iloinen (“I am happy”). To describe the impression or sensation something gives, use tuntua + an adjective ending in -lta/-ltä: Tuntuu hyvältä (“It feels good”).

Overview

Finnish offers several everyday ways to separate an opinion from a fact and to say how somebody feels. At A2, the most useful patterns are minusta and mielestäni for opinions, olla (“to be”) plus an adjective for a person’s state, and tuntua (“to feel, seem”) plus an adjective for an impression or sensation.

These patterns do not map word for word onto English. English uses the verb think very freely, but Finnish often frames an opinion as “from me” or “from my mind”: minusta and mielestäni. English also uses feel both for emotions and impressions. Finnish normally distinguishes Olen surullinen (“I am sad”) from Tuntuu surulliselta (“It feels sad”).

The core patterns are short, but their endings matter. Finnish uses cases (word endings that show a word’s role) where English often uses prepositions. Learning the opinion phrase and the required adjective form as complete chunks will make your Finnish sound much more natural.

How It Works

Opinions with minusta

Minusta is the elative form of minä (“I”). The elative case normally has the ending -sta/-stä and often means “out of” or “from.” In an opinion phrase, minusta means “in my opinion,” “to me,” or simply “I think.”

The basic pattern is:

minusta + complete statement

• Minusta tämä kirja on kiinnostava. — In my opinion, this book is interesting.
• Minusta meidän pitäisi lähteä. — I think we should leave.

The phrase usually comes first, but it can also appear later when the opinion is added as an aside:

• Tämä on minusta liian kallis. — This is too expensive, in my opinion.

The same pattern works with other people. Pronouns take the elative ending, while a named person or noun phrase can use -sta/-stä too.

Person whose view it is	Finnish	Meaning
I	minusta	in my opinion
you, singular	sinusta	in your opinion
he/she	hänestä	in his/her opinion
we	meistä	in our opinion
you, plural/formal	teistä	in your opinion
they	heistä	in their opinion
Anna	Annasta	in Anna’s opinion

Context is important because the same forms can have other meanings. Mitä sinusta tuntuu? means “How do you feel?”, while Pidän sinusta means “I like you.” The surrounding verb and sentence reveal whether sinusta identifies an opinion holder, an experiencer, or something else.

Opinions with mielestäni

Mielestäni also means “in my opinion” or “to my mind.” It is built from mieli (“mind, view”), an elative ending, and the possessive suffix -ni (“my”). A possessive suffix is an ending attached to a word to show whose it is.

Person	Form	Meaning
I	mielestäni	in my opinion
you, singular	mielestäsi	in your opinion
he/she	mielestään	in his/her opinion
we	mielestämme	in our opinion
you, plural/formal	mielestänne	in your opinion
they	mielestään	in their opinion

The sentence pattern is the same as with minusta:

• Mielestäni se on väärin. — I think it is wrong.
• Tämä väri on mielestäni kaunis. — In my opinion, this colour is beautiful.

For a beginner, minusta and mielestäni are usually interchangeable when they introduce an evaluation. Minusta is very common and conversational. Mielestäni makes the “opinion” meaning especially explicit and fits both speech and writing.

To ask somebody’s opinion, use either phrase:

• Mitä mieltä olet? — What do you think? / What is your opinion?
• Mitä sinä ajattelet tästä? — What do you think about this?
• Onko tämä sinusta hyvä idea? — Do you think this is a good idea?

Notice the fixed expression olla jotakin mieltä (“to be of some opinion”). In Mitä mieltä olet?, mieltä is the partitive form of mieli. The partitive case is an ending used for several purposes, including after the question word mitä in this expression. It is best to learn the question as a whole.

Feelings with olla + adjective

To state a person’s emotional or physical condition directly, use a form of olla (“to be”) followed by an adjective in its basic form:

person + olla + adjective

• Olen iloinen. — I am happy.
• Hän on surullinen. — He/She is sad.
• Olemme väsyneitä. — We are tired.

For one person, the adjective is normally singular: olen iloinen, olet vihainen, hän on huolestunut. With a plural subject, the predicative adjective (an adjective after “be” that describes the subject) is often plural partitive: Olemme iloisia; He ovat väsyneitä. At A2, concentrate first on the singular pattern and learn frequent plural phrases as complete models.

A feeling can be followed by a clause beginning with että (“that”):

• Olen iloinen, että tulit. — I am glad you came.
• Olemme surullisia, että loma loppuu. — We are sad that the holiday is ending.

Useful adjectives include iloinen (happy/glad), surullinen (sad), vihainen (angry), huolestunut (worried), tyytyväinen (satisfied), pettynyt (disappointed), väsynyt (tired), and innostunut (excited/enthusiastic).

Impressions and sensations with tuntua

Tuntua describes how something seems or feels to an experiencer. Its adjective normally takes the ablative case, whose ending is -lta/-ltä. In plain terms, change the adjective from the basic form to the “feels like” form:

Basic adjective	With tuntua	Meaning
hyvä	hyvältä	good
paha	pahalta	bad
mukava	mukavalta	pleasant/nice
outo	oudolta	strange
vaikea	vaikealta	difficult
helppo	helpolta	easy
kylmä	kylmältä	cold
surullinen	surulliselta	sad

The basic pattern is:

(experiencer in -sta/-stä) + tuntua + adjective in -lta/-ltä

• Minusta tuntuu hyvältä. — I feel good. / It feels good to me.
• Tämä tuntuu vaikealta. — This feels difficult.
• Tuntuuko sinusta kylmältä? — Do you feel cold?

The experiencer can be omitted when it is obvious:

• Tuntuu hyvältä olla kotona. — It feels good to be at home.
• Tuntuu oudolta. — It feels strange.

Finnish often keeps the verb in third-person singular tuntuu, even when the English translation has “I” or “we” as its subject. In Minusta tuntuu pahalta, minusta is the person experiencing the feeling, not the grammatical subject that controls the verb.

Do not confuse tuntua with tuntea, which means “to feel an emotion,” “to sense,” or “to know a person/place.” Compare:

• Tämä kangas tuntuu pehmeältä. — This fabric feels soft.
• Tunnen iloa. — I feel joy.
• Tunnen hänet. — I know him/her.

Examples in Context

Finnish	English	Note
Minusta se on hyvä idea.	In my opinion, it is a good idea.	Everyday opinion with minusta
Mielestäni se on väärin.	I think it is wrong.	Explicit personal view
Tämä elokuva on minusta liian pitkä.	I think this film is too long.	Opinion phrase placed mid-sentence
Onko tämä sinusta reilua?	Do you think this is fair?	Asking for the listener’s view
Mitä mieltä olet uudesta opettajasta?	What do you think of the new teacher?	Fixed question with mieltä
Hänestä suunnitelma toimii hyvin.	In his/her opinion, the plan works well.	Another person’s view
Olen iloinen, että tulit.	I am glad you came.	Feeling followed by että
Hän on vähän huolestunut.	He/She is a little worried.	olla plus an adjective
Olemme tyytyväisiä tulokseen.	We are satisfied with the result.	Plural feeling adjective
Tuntuu hyvältä olla taas kotona.	It feels good to be home again.	General sensation; experiencer omitted
Tämä tehtävä tuntuu vaikealta.	This task feels difficult.	Impression caused by a thing
Minusta tuntuu tänään väsyneeltä.	I feel tired today.	Experiencer in the elative
Tuntuuko sinusta kylmältä?	Do you feel cold?	Question about a sensation
Uusi työ tuntuu aluksi oudolta.	The new job feels strange at first.	Changing first impression

Common Mistakes

Using the basic adjective after tuntua

• Wrong: Tuntuu hyvä.
• Right: Tuntuu hyvältä.
• Why: An adjective after tuntua normally takes the ablative ending -lta/-ltä.

Translating “I feel” word for word

• Wrong: Minä tuntuu surullinen.
• Right: Olen surullinen. / Minusta tuntuu surulliselta.
• Why: Use olla + adjective for your emotional state. Use minusta tuntuu + ablative adjective when presenting it as an experience or impression. Tuntuu remains third-person singular in the latter pattern.

Adding a separate possessive word to mielestäni

• Wrong: minun mielestäni when practising the neutral basic form
• Right: mielestäni
• Why: The suffix -ni already means “my.” Minun mielestäni is possible when minun is stressed or contrasted, but it is unnecessary in a neutral sentence.

Confusing minusta with mielestäni in every context

• Wrong: assuming that minusta always means “in my opinion”
• Right: interpret it from the construction: Minusta tämä on hyvä is an opinion, but Hän pitää minusta means “He/She likes me.”
• Why: Case forms have several functions. The verb and the rest of the sentence determine the meaning.

Copying English “I think that” too rigidly

• Less natural for a simple evaluation: Ajattelen, että tämä kahvi on hyvää.
• Natural: Minusta tämä kahvi on hyvää.
• Why: Ajatella can mean “to think” or “to think about,” but minusta or mielestäni is often more idiomatic for a straightforward opinion.

Usage Notes

Both minusta and mielestäni can soften a claim by marking it as personal rather than absolute. Compare Tämä on väärin (“This is wrong”) with Minusta tämä on väärin (“I think this is wrong”). The second leaves more room for disagreement.

In everyday conversation, minusta is compact and frequent. Mielestäni is also entirely normal and can sound a little more deliberate, especially in discussion or writing. Neither form is inherently rude or excessively formal. Intonation and surrounding words still affect how strong the statement sounds.

Spoken Finnish often shortens pronoun forms. You may hear musta for minusta and susta for sinusta: Musta se on hyvä. These are common colloquial forms, but use the full forms in standard writing and learn them first.

Finnish tuntua covers both physical sensations and less concrete impressions. A surface can tuntua kylmältä (“feel cold”), a task can tuntua vaikealta (“seem difficult”), and a decision can tuntua oikealta (“feel right”). The English translation therefore varies between “feel” and “seem.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these patterns at A2, but they explain forms you will meet later.

Tuntua + kuin introduces a comparison: Tuntuu kuin olisin kotona means “It feels as if I were at home.” The verb olisin is conditional (a verb form used here for an imagined situation). A related pattern uses siltä, että: Näyttää siltä, että sataa (“It looks as though it is raining”).

Finnish can distinguish an immediate impression from a considered belief with different verbs:

• Minusta tämä on totta. — In my opinion, this is true.
• Luulen, että tämä on totta. — I think/suppose this is true.
• Uskon, että tämä on totta. — I believe this is true.

For more precise emotional language, tuntea + partitive noun names the emotion itself: tunnen iloa (“I feel joy”), tunnen pelkoa (“I feel fear”). Another advanced pattern is tuntea itsensä + translative adjective, where the translative case (an ending often meaning “into a state”) appears in forms such as iloiseksi: Tunnen itseni iloiseksi (“I feel happy”). In ordinary A2 conversation, Olen iloinen is simpler and usually sufficient.

The third-person forms mielestään and hänestä can require careful interpretation when several people are mentioned. Finnish possessive suffixes often point back to the subject: Anna sanoi, että hänen mielestään elokuva oli hyvä usually means that the opinion is Anna’s. In complex writing, repeat the person’s name if clarity matters.

Practice Tips

1. Build three versions of one idea. Take an adjective such as hyvä: Minusta idea on hyvä (opinion), Olen iloinen (personal state), and Se tuntuu hyvältä (impression). Say what changes in both meaning and ending.
2. Ask and answer real opinion questions. Practise Mitä mieltä olet tästä? and answer with both Minusta… and Mielestäni…. Use topics from daily life rather than isolated vocabulary.
3. Learn adjective pairs. Record the basic and ablative forms together: outo–oudolta, helppo–helpolta, kylmä–kylmältä. When listening to Finnish, notice whether the speaker uses on or tuntuu before the adjective.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Adjective Agreement — reviews how Finnish adjectives change form and how adjectives describe a subject.