Finnish Postpositions
Learning the Finnish Postpositions is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you practice the subject, the closer you get to mastering the Finnish language. But first we need to know what the role of Postpositions is in the structure of the grammar in Finnish.
Finnish postpositions link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.
Grammar Tips:
Note that in Finnish Postpositions are more common than prepositions. Both postpositions and prepositions can be combined with either a noun or a possessive suffix to form a P-positional phrase.
Postpositions indicate place, time, cause, consequence or relation. In postpositional phrases the noun is usually in genitive: pöydän alla (under the table)
Here are some examples:
| English Postpositions | Finnish Postpositions |
| Postpostions | Postpositiot |
| inside the house | talon sisällä |
| outside the car | auton ulkopuolella |
| with me | minun kanssani |
| without him | ilman häntä |
| under the table | pöydän alle |
| after tomorrow | huomisen jälkeen |
| before sunset | ennen auringonlaskua |
| but I'm busy | mutta minulla on kiire |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Postpositions in Finnish has a logical pattern. Locate the Postpositions above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Suomi.
List of Postpositions in Finnish
Below is a list of the Time place and demonstrative pronouns in Finnish placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Finnish vocabulary.
| English Postpositions | Finnish Postpositions |
| about | noin |
| above | yllä |
| across | yli |
| after | jälkeen |
| against | vastaan |
| among | keskuudessa |
| around | ympärillä |
| as | kuin |
| at | -ssa; -ssä |
| before | ennen |
| behind | takana |
| below | alle |
| beneath | alla |
| beside | vieressä |
| between | välillä |
| beyond | yli |
| but | mutta |
| by | mennessä |
| despite | huolimatta |
| down | alas |
| during | aikana |
| except | paitsi |
| for | varten |
| from | alkaen |
| in | - ssa; -ssä |
| inside | sisällä |
| into | jonnekin |
| near | lähellä |
| next | ensi |
| of | -sta; stä |
| on | päällä |
| opposite | vastapäätä |
| out | ulos |
| outside | ulkopuolella |
| over | yli |
| per | kohti |
| plus | plus |
| round | ympärillä |
| since | koska |
| than | kuin |
| through | kautta |
| till | asti |
| to | -aan, -ään |
| toward | kohti |
| under | alle |
| unlike | toisin kuin |
| until | asti |
| up | ylös |
| via | kautta |
| with | kanssa |
| within | sisällä |
| without | ilman |
| two words | kaksi sanaa |
| according to | mukaan |
| because of | vuoksi |
| close to | lähes |
| due to | johdosta |
| except for | lukuun ottamatta |
| far from | kaikkea muuta kuin |
| inside of | sisällä |
| instead of | sijasta |
| near to | lähellä |
| next to | vieressä |
| outside of | ulkopuolella |
| prior to | ennen |
| three words | kolme sanaa |
| as far as | sikäli kuin |
| as well as | sekä |
| in addition to | lisäksi |
| in front of | edessä |
| in spite of | huolimatta |
| on behalf of | puolesta |
| on top of | päälle |
| demonstrative prepostions | havainnollinen prepositiot |
| this | tämä |
| that | se |
| these | nämä |
| those | ne |
Time place and demonstrative pronouns have a very important role in Finnish, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with the Suomi Postpositions, you might want to check the rest of our Finnish lessons here: Learn Finnish. Don't forget to bookmark this page.