In Finnish, location-based words like "täällä," "tuolla," and "siellä" help describe where something is relative to the speaker or listener. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Täällä = "Here" (Close to the speaker)
- Tuolla = "There" (In sight but not very close to the speaker)
- Siellä = "Over there" or "There" (Far from both the speaker and listener)
Easy Examples
Imagine a park, where:
- You (the speaker) are sitting on a bench.
- A friend is standing by a tree a little distance away.
- A playground is visible but further away.
1. Täällä (Here)
- You’re sitting on a bench and want to say, "I am here on the bench."
- In Finnish, you’d say, "Minä olen täällä penkillä."
- Täällä refers to the place close to you (the speaker).
2. Tuolla (There)
- You point to your friend who’s standing by the tree, a little bit away from you.
- You’d say, "Hän on tuolla puun luona."
- Tuolla describes a place a bit away from you but still visible.
3. Siellä (Over there/There)
- Now you point to the playground further away.
- You’d say, "Leikkipaikka on siellä."
- Siellä refers to a place far away from both you and your friend.