Bothtuo andse can mean "that". The distinction between the two is complicated, but intrinsically understood by native speakers.
The main difference between the two is thattuo 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 theaddressee who is indicating at something.
Another description is thattuo implies a closer mental connection to or focus at the speaker, whilese implies a closer mental connection to or focus at the addressee.
Whense 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 amedial demonstrative andtuo as adistal demonstrative.
According to Etelämäki (2009),tuo andse are distinguished by the former expressingreferential openness and the latter implyingadequate knownness of the referent. In other words,se implies that all participants in the conversion are aware of the referent, whiletuo does not, as the referent may still be in the process of identification during the utterance. According to the same article,tämä expressesindexical asymmetry andtuoindexical symmetry; that is to say,tämä implies that the referent is more easily accessible to the speaker than to the addressed, andtuo does not.[1]
Some sources claim thatse isanaphoric (referring to a previous expression), whiletuo isdeictic (referring to physical entities). However,se also has deictic uses, andtuo 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 thanse for the latter.
The allative formtuolle is generally only used in abstract or possessive meanings. For locations,tuonne is used instead.
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.
“tuo”, inKielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][4] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki:Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland),2004–, retrieved2023-07-01
Tämä, tuo vai se?.Kielikello (4/2001). An article analyzing the usage and differences between the Finnish demonstrative pronounstämä,tuo andse. (in Finnish)
In the singular, Latintuum underwent *ʊu > *ou > *ɔudissimilation,[1] cf.Sardiniantou, and alsoLatinōvum >Italianòvo,Spanishhuevo, ultimately producing [ˈtwɔu], and a plural [ˈtwɔi]. Italian then underwent its regular *wɔV > *uV sound change,[2] cf. *bwɔe >bue, *mjɛu >mio, producing ultimately [ˈtu.o]. This latter sound change is blocked by a following [i], which explains the plural formtuoi, cf. *mjɛi >miei.
In South Karelian, the medial determiners are used instead of the distal series. Dialectally, the determiners are used as in North Karelian, distinguishing all three series.
"tuo", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’sGlossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the criticaltonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
