tuo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtuo̯/, [ˈt̪uo̞̯]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uo
• Hyphenation^(key): tuo

Pronoun

tuo

1. (demonstrative) that (over there) (when the speaker points at the thing or person, either physically or mentally; compare se, see usage notes)

   Tuo on saari.

   That is an island.

   Tuo haluaa syödä jäätelöä.

   That person wants to eat ice cream.

   Tuo oli ikävästi sanottu.

   That was a nasty thing to say.

   Onko tuossa mitä juuri sanoit mitään perää?

   Does [that] what you just said make any sense?

   Eiköhän tuo jo riitä.

   That ought to be enough.

Determiner

tuo

1. that (pointed at by the speaker; compare se, see usage notes)

   Näetkö tuon talon?

   Can you see that house?

   Mistä tuo valo tulee?

   Where is that light coming from?

   Voi tuota raukkaa.

   Oh that poor thing.

   Ravintola on kadun tuolla puolen.

   The restaurant is on that side of the street.

   Saimaa, tuo Suomen järvistä suurin

   Saimaa, [that (lake which is)] the largest of all the lakes in Finland

Usage notes

• Both tuo and se can mean "that". The distinction between the two is complicated, but intrinsically understood by native speakers.
  • The main difference between the two is that tuo is used when the speaker is somehow indicating at the referent, such as when pointing at it with a finger, looking at it directly, or with other gestures. Otherwise, se is used, especially if it is the addressee who is indicating at something.
  • Another description is that tuo implies a closer mental connection to or focus at the speaker, while se implies a closer mental connection to or focus at the addressee.
  • When se is used to introduce the addressee to something new or to refer to a physical entity, it tends to be close or near to them in some way (not necessarily physically). That is to say, se tends to be used as a medial demonstrative and tuo as a distal demonstrative.
  • According to Etelämäki (2009), tuo and se are distinguished by the former expressing referential openness and the latter implying adequate knownness of the referent. In other words, se implies that all participants in the conversion are aware of the referent, while tuo does not, as the referent may still be in the process of identification during the utterance. According to the same article, tämä expresses indexical asymmetry and tuo indexical symmetry; that is to say, tämä implies that the referent is more easily accessible to the speaker than to the addressed, and tuo does not.^[1]
  • Some sources claim that se is anaphoric (referring to a previous expression), while tuo is deictic (referring to physical entities). However, se also has deictic uses, and tuo can be used anaphorically as well (but such uses are limited, generally only to provide emphasis).
  • When actively distinguishing between "this" and "that", tuo is more commonly used than se for the latter.
• The allative form tuolle is generally only used in abstract or possessive meanings. For locations, tuonne is used instead.

Declension

This word could be considered to belong to declension type 19 (suo), except that the singular and plural forms come from different sources, so the declension can be called irregular. The forms in brackets are never or very rarely used.

Alternative forms

• toi (colloquial or dialectal)

Derived terms

Descendants

• Kven: tuo

See also

References

Further reading

• “tuo”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-01
• Tämä, tuo vai se?. Kielikello (4/2001). An article analyzing the usage and differences between the Finnish demonstrative pronouns tämä, tuo and se. (in Finnish)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtuo̯/, [ˈt̪uo̞̯] (third-person indicative)
• IPA^(key): /ˈtuo̯ˣ/, [ˈt̪uo̞̯(ʔ)] (imperative, indicative connegative)
• Rhymes: -uo
• Hyphenation^(key): tuo

Verb

tuo

1. third-person singular present indicative of tuoda

   Hän tuo minulle kynän.

   S/he brings me a pen.

2. present active indicative connegative of tuoda

   Et tuo minulle kynää.

   You don't bring me a pen.

3. second-person singular present imperative of tuoda

   Tuo minulle kynä!

   Bring me a pen!

4. second-person singular present active imperative connegative of tuoda

   Älä tuo minulle kynää!

   Don't bring me a pen!

Declension

See also

Declension

See also

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Related terms

• meu
• suu/sou/suo
• nostru
• bostru/vostru
• issoro

Conjugation