The Partitive Case – Partitiivi – Finnish Grammar

This article deals with the partitive case, which answers the
questions “mitä?” and “ketä?”. It’s a topic that will continue to be
challenging for a very long time while you’re learning Finnish. My advice is
to take it little by little and not try to learn it all at once

Table of Contents
1. The Use of the Partitive Case
1. After numbers
2. After words that express quantity
3. With mass nouns
4. With negative sentences
5. With irresultative phrases
6. With partitive verbs
7. With prepositions
2. The Formation of the Partitive Case
1. The partitive of the personal pronouns
2. Words ending in a single vowel
3. Words ending in 2 vowels
1. Words ending in two of the same vowel
2. Words of one syllable ending in two vowels
3. Adjectives ending in two different vowels
4. Nouns ending in two different vowels
4. Words ending in -i
1. New words ending in -i
2. Old words ending in -i
3. Old words ending in -si
4. Old words ending in –li, -ni, -ri
5. Words ending in an –e
6. Words ending in a consonant
1. Words ending in -nen
2. General rule for other words ending in a consonant
3. Words ending in –us
4. Non-Finnish words ending in a consonant
3. Consonant Gradation in the Partitive Case
4. The Partitive Case in Spoken Finnish

1. Use of the Partitive Case (mitä, ketä)

The partitive has no equivalent in English and many other languages. That makes it hard to
understand what its function is. In some cases, the use of the partitive coincides with the
plural form in other languages, but it’s not the same as the plural.

When a group of words all belong together (say: a pronoun, an adjective and a noun), all
three of them will be put in the partitive.

 “There are three [beautiful young women] in the room.” becomes “Huoneessa on
kolme [kaunista nuorta naista].“
 “I buy ten [playful cats].” becomes “Ostan kymmenen [leikkisää kissaa].“
 “I have two [crying unhappy children].” becomes “Minulla on kaksi
[itkevää surullista lasta].“
1.1. After numbers
The partitive is used in connection with the numbers. Because of that, many new language
learners assume the partitive is the plural form. This is not the case. There is a separate plural
(the plural nominative) and in addition there is also a partitive plural.
You don’t use the partitive after the number “yksi”, but you do use it after the number
“nolla”. Adjectives will be inflected in the same case as the noun they’re connected to.

Yksi Finnish English

yksi kuppi kaksi kuppia two cups
yksi olut kolme olutta three beers
yksi talo nolla taloa zero houses
yksi vaate viisi vaatetta five pieces of clothing (pic)
yksi kaunis neljä kaunista naist
nainen a four beautiful women
yksi komea poika viisi komeaa poikaa five handsome boys

1.2. After words that express a quantity

We use the partitive case with words that express a quantity, an amount. For example, the
words kuppi, kulho and lasi are things which contain an amount of something. Units of
measurement (litra, kilo, metri, gramma) also express an amount. These words are very much
like numbers in that sense.
You can find more words that express quantity here.

Finnish English
monta banaania many bananas
kuppi kahvia a cup of coffee
kulho mysliä a bowl of muesli
pullo viiniä a bottle of wine
tölkki olutta a can of beer
metri köyttä a meter of rope
litra maitoa a liter of milk

1.3. With mass nouns

When you’re dealing with an indefinite amount of something, you will use the partitive case.
This is especially common with mass nouns (ainesana). For example, the word maito (milk)
is a mass noun because we can’t count it in units. We can’t say “one milk, two milks”.
Instead, you say yksi litra maitoa (one liter of milk) or yksi kulho maitoa (a bowl of milk).
You will use the partitive case with mass nouns in “minulla on” -sentences (#1), object
sentences (#2). By using the partitive case, you express that you’re dealing with an indefinite,
unspecified amount of the mass noun. You don’t know how much it is exactly; just some
amount.

You can often recognise mass nouns when translating them to English. First, these nouns
generally don’t get an article (“I buy milk” rather than “I buy a milk”). In addition, most of
the time, the English translation could include the word “some”.

In complement sentences (#3) you will have an article (e.g. “Maito on kylmää” means “The
milk is cold”). You can read more about complement sentences in this article. In addition,
you can also take a look at how Duolingo introduces this type of sentences in this article.
# Basic form Finnish English
1 kahvi Minulla on kahvia. I have coffee. / I have some coffee.
Onko meillä vielä
1 juusto juustoa? Do we still have cheese?
1 ruoka Teillä on ruokaa. You have food. / You have some food.
2 maito Minä juon maitoa. I drink milk. / I am drinking some milk.
2 riisi Keitän riisiä. I cook rice. / I am cooking rice.
2 ketsuppi Ostamme ketsuppia. We buy ketchup. We are buying ketchup.
3 mehu Mehu on oranssia. The juice is orange.
3 liha Tämä liha on outoa. This meat is strange.
This chicken is strange. (chicken as a food, not
3 kana Tämä kana on outoa. the animal)

1.4. With negative sentences

In almost all sentence types, you will have the partitive in a negative sentence.
Exception: complement sentences (predikatiivilause).

Finnish English
En osta tätä puseroa. I won’t buy this sweater.
En avannut ikkunaa. I didn’t open the window.
Minulla ei ole autoa. I don’t have a car.
Täällä ei ole uima-allasta. There’s no swimming pool here.

1.5. With irresultative phrases

Irresultative means the action is incomplete (versus resultative, which is complete). When an
activity is currently taking place, you will put the object in the partitive. The result of the
action hasn’t been achieved yet. The partitive might also be meant like in part 1.3., where you
plan to read some of the book, but not all of it. You can find similar examples here.

Finnish English
Luen kirjaa. I’m reading some of the book.
Luen kirjaa. I’m currently reading the book.
Luen kirjan. I’m going to read the whole book.

1.6. With partitive verbs

Some verbs always require the object to appear in the partitive case. These are called
“partitive verbs“. You will need to learn these by heart, because English doesn’t have
anything comparable.

Verb Finnish English

rakastaa Minä rakastan sinua. I love you.
odottaa Sinä odotat bussia. You wait for the bus.
pelata Hän pelaa tennistä. She plays tennis.
ajaa Minä ajan autoa. I’m driving a car.
opiskella Te opiskelette suomea. You’re studying Finnish.
auttaa Me autamme häntä. We help her.
1.7. With prepositions
Prepositions are fairly uncommon in Finnish, but they do exist. Read more about them on
my Finnish prepositions page.

Prepositio
n Finnish English
ennen Tulin kotiin [ennen sinua]. I came home [before you].
ilman Tulin kotiin [ilman takkia]. I came home [without a coat].
keskellä Talo on [keskellä metsää]. The house is [in the middle of the forest].

2. The Formation of the Partitive Case

The ending of the partitive can be -a, -ta or -tta, depending on what kind of word they are
attached to. In order to correctly choose between -a and -ä, you will need to first learn
about vowel harmony.

2.1. The partitive of the personal pronouns

The partitive of personal pronouns goes as follows:

Partitiv
PP e Finnish English
minä minua Minua ärsyttää. I feel annoyed.
sinä sinua En rakasta sinua. I don’t love you.
hän häntä Odotan häntä asemalla. I wait for her at the station.
me meitä Etkö nähnyt meitä? Didn’t you see us?
te teitä Teitä väsyttää. You (plural) feel tired.
he heitä Älä kuuntele heitä. Don’t listen to them.
kuka ketä Ketä sinä rakastat? Who do you love?

2.2. Words ending in a single vowel (-a/-ä, -u/-y, -o/-ö): add -a/-ä

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

kala kalaa tyyny tyynyä
talo taloa seinä seinää
loma lomaa hylly hyllyä
melu melua sänky sänkyä
helppo helppoa homma hommaa

2.3. Words ending in 2 vowels

2.3.1. Words ending in two of the same vowel: add -ta/-tä

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

sampoo sampoota filee fileetä
elokuu elokuuta vapaa vapaata
essee esseetä toffee toffeeta

2.3.2. Words of one syllable ending in two vowels: add -ta/-tä

This rule covers words with both two of the same vowel and two different vowels, as long as
the word is one syllable.

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

maa maata tie tietä
syy syytä työ työtä
puu puuta yö yötä
2.3.3. Adjectives ending in two different vowels
Adjectives fairly regularly end in -ea/eä. In these cases, we can use both the ending -a/-
ä and -ta/-tä. The single -a is much more common in current Finnish, so I would suggest
using that form. In spoken language, you will hear vaikeeta, tärkeetä and nopeeta, with a
long vowel sound.

Basic form Partitive

vaikea vaikeaa / vaikeata
pimeä pimeää / pimeätä
nopea nopeaa / nopeata
tärkeä tärkeää / tärkeätä
haalea haaleaa / haaleata

2.3.4. Nouns ending in two different vowels

Nouns ending in -ia will get one -a/-ä added to their end in the partitive case. Nouns with
other vowel combinations will get -ta/-tä

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

allergia allergiaa valtio valtiota
arabia arabiaa kallio kalliota
italia italiaa radio radiota
asia asiaa video videota
fobia fobiaa selfie selfietä

2.4. Words ending in –i

Find out more about the inflection of different types of words ending in -i!
2.4.1. New words ending in -i: add -a/-ä
New words are often loanwords. Usually they’re recognisable because they resemble words
in other languages, like pankki for “bank”, or paperi for “paper”. Loanwords are easier than
Finnish words because they don’t undergo as many changes when you add endings.

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

banaani banaania paperi paperia
kahvi kahvia pankki pankkia
posti postia maali maalia
tili tiliä adverbi adverbia

2.4.2. Old words ending in -i: replace -i with -ea/-eä

Old words are very often nature words. After all, nature has been around for so long that
Finns have had names for them since the very beginning. Some words’ age can be confusing,
for example äiti “mother” is actually a new Finnish word, even though mothers have been
around since the beginning of time!
 Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive
suomi suomea ovi ovea
järvi järveä kivi kiveä
sormi sormea nimi nimeä
lahti lahtea lehti lehteä

I have a more extensive list of words that belong to this type here.
2.4.3. Old words ending in -si: replace -si with -tta/-ttä
More old words, but this time with -si at their end. It’s also important that this rule is only for
old words, which means new words like kurssi (kurssia) and marssi (marssia) are excluded
from this rule.

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

uusi uutta vuosi vuotta
käsi kättä kuukausi kuukautta
vesi vettä reisi reittä

I have a more extensive list of words that belong to this type here.
2.4.4. Old words ending in -li, -ni or -ri: replace -i with -ta/-tä
This rule is not 100 % foolproof. There are words that end in -hi, like lohi for example, that
become lohta in the partitive. It’s also important that this rule is only for old words, which
means words like lääkäri (lääkäriä), jonglööri (jonglööria) and konduktööri (konduktööria)
are excluded from this rule. Exceptional: lapsi > lasta; lumi > lunta.

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

pieni pientä meri merta
sieni sientä suuri suurta
nuori nuorta hiiri hiirtä
kieli kieltä tuli tulta

I have a more extensive list of words that belong to this type here.
2.5. Words ending in -e: add -tta/-ttä

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

huone huonetta perhe perhettä
kappale kappaletta kirje kirjettä
lentokone lentokonetta taide taidetta
parveke parveketta koe koetta

There are some words that end in -e that are exempt to this rule. These include names (Ville
→ Villeä), and some other words (kolme → kolmea, itse → itseä, nukke → nukkea).

2.6. Words ending in a consonant

2.6.1. Words ending in -nen: replace the -nen with -sta/-stä

Words ending in -nen are a very common wordtype in Finnish. For the partitive case, you
will remove the –nen from the basic form and replace it with -sta/stä.
 Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive
nainen naista hevonen hevosta
suomalaine
n suomalaista eteinen eteistä
iloinen iloista ihminen ihmistä
sininen sinistä toinen toista

2.6.2. General rule for other words ending in a consonant

Most words ending in a consonant will get -ta/tä in the partitive case. This is true for most
word types ending in a consonant. If you’re a beginner, you don’t need to look any further
into these word types for now, it’s best to learn their inflection in more detail once you master
the easier word types.

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

mies miestä hius hiusta
askel askelta rikas rikasta
keskus keskusta lyhyt lyhyttä

The general rule applies to words of the following wordtypes:

 Words ending in -as: rikas, pesuallas, hammas

 Words ending in -os: ostos, luonnos, kosmos
 Words ending in -ton: työtön, rasvaton, hyödytön
 Words ending in -in: puhelin, avain, leivänpaahdin
 Words ending in -ut/nut: lyhyt, kevyt, väsynyt
 Words ending in -tar: tytär, kuningatar, näyttelijätär
 Words ending in -l, -n, -r: kyynel, ien, manner

2.6.3. Words ending in -us/ys

Normally, words ending in -Us just fall under rule 2.6.2 and get -tA added to their basic form.
However, there are some words ending in -Us that will behave differently. You can read
more about the difference here.

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

rakkaus rakkautta tarjous tarjousta
ystävyys ystävyyttä opetus opetusta
pimeys pimeyttä kysymys kysymystä
mahdollisuu mahdollisuutt
s a vastaus vastausta

Some guidelines for finding the right conjugation:

 If the word is based on a verb (such as opettaa > opetus), it will generally follow rule
2.6.2 instead (add –ta to the basic form of the word).
 If the word is based on an adjective (such as pimeä > pimeys), it will get –tta in the
partitive.
 If the word is based on a noun (such as ystävä > ystävyys), it will get –tta in the
partitive.
 If the word ends in –uus/yys (double vowel), you will get –tta.
2.6.4. Non-Finnish words ending in a consonant
Loanwords and foreign names (e.g. Jonathan, Facebook) which end in a consonant will have
an extra -i- added before the partitive’s -a/ä.

Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive

Jonathan Jonathania Facebook Facebookia
William Williamia Windows Windowsia
Marian Mariania Steam Steamia
Mohamedi
Mohamed a McDonalds McDonaldsia

You might also want to check out these two articles:

 Inflection of foreign names in Finnish

 Inflection of French names in Finnish

3. Consonant Gradation in the Partitive Case

The partitive is complicated in many ways, but when it comes to consonant gradation it’s
simple: the partitive form of each word will have the same consonants as the basic form. For
wordtype A that means always strong, and for wordtype B always weak!

Wordtype A
Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive
tyttö tyttöä pankki pankkia
puku pukua pöytä pöytää
hattu hattua kauppa kauppaa
silta siltaa kampa kampaa
hiekka hiekkaa apu apua

I have a separate article on wordtype A.

Wordtype B
Basic form Partitive Basic form Partitive
puhallin puhallinta tavoite tavoitetta
soitin soitinta savuke savuketta
keitin keitintä opas opasta
rakas rakasta hammas hammasta
allas allasta allas allasta

I have a separate article on wordtype B.

4. The Partitive Case in Spoken Finnish

In spoken Finnish, the partitive ending –a can assimilate. This is only the case for certain
vowel combinations: -oa, -öä, -ua, -yä, -ia, -iä, -ea, -eä. The partitive’s -a will be replaced by
another of the word’s final vowel.
 Written Spoken Written Spoken
tyynyä tyynyy taloa taloo
kahvia kahvii tuolia tuolii
suomea suomee järveä järvee

Adjectives such as vaikea end in a diphthong (see section 2.3.3). There words’ partitive is
also special in spoken Finnish. That’s because the basic form will already be different in
spoken language: vaikea will be vaikee in spoken language. This is only the case for
adjectives ending in -ea/eä.
When we want to make vaikee partitive, we are dealing with a word that ends in a long vowel
(see section 2.3.1). Thus, we use the –ta ending for these words. In fact, even if written
Finnish, we can say vaikeata, but it’s much less common than vaikeaa.

Written Spoken Written Spoken

vaikeaa vaikeeta pimeää pimeetä
nopeaa nopeeta kauheaa kauheeta

Koira-words in the plural partitive

This article combines two important bits of information related to the plural partitive case.
Firstly, it lists words that inflect the same way as the word koira, ie. words of two syllables
where the final -a gets replaced with -ia. These are often called koira-words in language
courses. Secondly, these words have been listed in example sentences that showcase the
situations in which you normally use the partitive plural.
Table of contents
1. What are koira-words?
2. The partitive plural in negative sentences
3. The partitive plural with partitive verbs
4. The partitive plural with prepositions
5. The partitive plural in complement sentences
6. The partitive plural in simple object sentences
7. The partitive plural in existential sentences
1. What are koira-words?
I call these words koira-words because it helps learners remember the type. In addition
to koira-words there are also kissa-words, which inflect differently. Using the easy to
remember contrast between cats and dogs has helped many students. If you take a look at the
word types on KOTUS, this is type number 10-.
Koira-words consist of two syllables, which contain o or u in the first syllable, and have an -
a at the end of the word. In other words, you could see them as o…a (koira, sota, homma)
or u…a (lupa, summa, hurja).

2. The partitive plural in negative sentences

Object sentences usually have the object inflected in the plural partitive when the sentence is
made negative. This is true for both singular and plural objects: the positive sentence “Ostan
poran” becomes “En osta poraa” (using the singular partitive case) and the positive sentence
“Ostan porat” becomes “En osta poria” (using the plural partitive case).
 Finnish English Example English
En ole ennen tehnyt I haven’t done these jobs
homma job näitä hommia. before.
Ari didn’t take these
kuva picture Ari ei ottanut näitä kuvia. pictures.
I don’t have black T-
musta black Minulla ei ole mustia T-paitoja. shirts.
I don’t want children of
oma own En halua vielä omia lapsia. my own yet.
En osaa yhdistellä I don’t know how to
osa part näitä osia toisiinsa. combine these parts.
I can’t stand these money
pula shortage En jaksa näitä rahapulia. shortages.
I don’t understand Ari’s
puuha activity En ymmärrä Arin puuhia. undertakings.
Puut eivät kestä näin Trees cannot withstand
puuska gust kovia puuskia. such severe gusts.
Forex no longer buys
rupla ruble Forex ei enää osta Venäjän ruplia. Russian rubles.
The killings could not
surma killing Surmia ei voitu ennakoida. have been foreseen.
Nobody loves naughty
tuhma naughty Kukaan ei rakasta tuhmia lapsia. children.
stern, I can’t stand my mother’s
tuima grim En kestä äitini tuimia katseita. stern gazes.
These manufacturers
tuuba tuba Nämä valmistajat eivät tee tuubia. don’t produce tubas.
This clinic doesn’t do
ultra ultrasound Tässä neuvolassa ei tehdä ultria. ultrasounds.
He eivät koskaan They never pay their
vuokra rent maksa vuokriaan. rents.

3. The partitive plural with partitive verbs

Partitive verbs contain an object which always (or often) appears in the partitive case. When
the object is plural, you will use the plural partitive.

Finnish English Example English

The women use
burka burqa Naiset käyttävät burkia tai niqabeja. burqas or niqabs.
The obstetrician
doula doula Synnytyslääkäri kouluttaa doulia. trains doulas.
Vitamin C prevents
common cold
flunssa flu C-vitamiini estää flunssia. outbreaks.
Listen to wonderful
fuuga fugue Kuuntele ihania sonaatteja ja fuugia! sonatas and fugues!
 The cheerleaders
wave their pom-
huiska pom-pom Cheerleaderit heiluttavat huiskiaan. poms.
Did you annoy
kobra cobra Ärsytitkö noita kobria? those cobras?
I’m afraid of eagles
kotka eagle Pelkään kotkia ja hanhia. and geese.
Beware of hot
kuuma hot Varo kuumia pintoja! surfaces!
I envy teachers’
loma vacation Kadehdin opettajien pitkiä lomia. long vacations.
firm, I value strong
luja strong Arvostan lujia perhesiteitä. family ties.
Children suffer
nuha cold Lapset sairastavat lieviä nuhia. from mild colds.
club, They used clubs as
nuija mallet He käyttivät nuijia aseinaan. their weapons.
The wind moves the
oksa branch Tuuli liikuttelee oksia. branches.
I like to listen to my
professors
proffa professor Kuuntelen proffiani mielelläni. (colloquial).
Ari loves puzzles
pulma puzzle Ari rakastaa pulmia ja arvoituksia. and riddles.
You think us old
rouva lady Pidät meitä vanhoja rouvia tyhminä. ladies stupid.
Whips were used to
ruoska whip Ruoskia käytettiin ohjaamaan hevosia. guide horses.
It is worth trying
soija soy Kannattaa kokeilla erilaisia soijia. different soys.
The tights cover
sorja slender Sukkahousut verhoavat sorjia sääriä. slender legs.
Iodine helps
struuma goiter Jodi auttaa ehkäisemään struumia. prevent goiters.
Large sums of cash
are being hoarded
summa sum Nyt hamstrataan isoja summia käteistä. now.
The believers came
Uskovaiset to listen to the
suura surah tulivat kuuntelemaan suuria. surahs.
The ancient
tooga toga Muinaiset roomalaiset käyttivät toogia. Romans used togas.
Inches are used in
the comparison
tuuma inch Vertailutaulukossa käytetään tuumia. table.
voima strength Toivon teille voimia. I wish you strength.

4. The partitive plural with prepositions

Finnish has a fairly small amount of prepositions, which require the word connected to them
to appear in the partitive case. More common are postpositions, which come with the genitive
case. As you can see from the examples below, this list also contains some prepositions that
have the same word order as postpositions, yet still require the partitive case.

Finnish English Example English

I already drank a beer
juhla party Join jo ennen juhlia oluen. before the party.
Life without dogs feels
koira dog Elämä ilman koiria tuntuu tyhjältä. empty.
Without ears you can’t
korva ear Ilman korvia et voi kuulla mitään. hear anything.
The lions are standing
luola cave Leijonat seisovat lähellä luolia. close to the caves.
I bought a gun a day
murha murder Ostin aseen päivää ennen murhia. before the murders.
Asenna Install the drain hose
mutka bend poistovesiletku ilman mutkia. without bends.
Olen tottunut I’m used to riding
ohja rein ratsastamaan ilman ohjia. without reins.
traffic I went to the store
ruuhka jam Kävin ennen ruuhkia kaupassa. before the traffic jams.
They arrived along the
sola pass He saapuivat Alppien solia pitkin. Alpine passes.
I was too close to the
sorsa duck Olin liian lähellä sorsia. ducks.
Everything was better
sota war Kaikki oli paremmin ennen sotia. before the wars.
I get nervous before
suora straight Hermostun ennen suoria lähetyksiä. live broadcasts.
The crop was harvested
tulva flood Sato korjattiin ennen tulvia. before the floods.
Ostin I bought bananas
tumma dark banaaneja ilman tummia läiskiä. without dark spots.
Teemme We work without
turha useless työtä ilman turhia palavereita. unnecessary meetings.
They drive along the
ura groove He ajavat samoja uria pitkin. same tracks.

5. The partitive plural in complement sentences

Complement sentences (the Finnish term is predikatiivilause) consist of a subject, the
verb olla and a descriptive word. In this sentence type, the most common ending for plural
complements is the plural partitive. When making the sentence “Nainen on orja” plural, it
becomes “Naiset ovat orjia“, using the plural partitive.

Finnish English Example English

You’re both dorks
dorka dork Te molemmat olette dorkia. (colloquial).
hurja fierce Suomalaiset ovat hurjia. Finns are fierce.
They are cruel and
julma cruel He ovat julmia ja armottomia. merciless.
 Are they villains or
konna villain Ovatko he konnia vai sankareita? heroes?
Some types of wood are
kova hard Jotkut puulajit ovat kovia. hard.
kuha zander Nämä kalat ovat kuhia. These fish are zanders.
kuiva dry Nämä pyyhkeet ovat kuivia. These towels are dry.
Humans are the creators
luoja creator Ihmiset ovat taiteen luojia. of art.
Contemporary artists are
luova creative Nykytaiteilijat ovat hyvin luovia. very creative.
nunna nun Miehet eivät voineet olla nunnia. Men couldn’t be nuns.
He olivat nuukia lämmityksen They were skimpy with
nuuka stingy kanssa. the heating.
splendi These are splendid
oiva d Nämä ovat oivia esimerkkejä. examples.
We are slaves to social
orja slave Olemme sosiaalisen median orjia. media.
Babies are allowed to be
pulska chubby Vauvat saavat olla pulskia. chubby.
Why are these children so
ruma ugly Miksi nämä lapset ovat niin rumia? ugly?
Both horses were
ruuna gelding Molemmat hevoset olivat ruunia. geldings.
Tytöt ovat somia pitkissä The girls are cute in their
soma cute mekoissaan. long dresses.
Kerrostumat ovat usein The deposits are often
sora gravel karkeita soria. rough gravels.
sorsa duck Nämä linnut ovat sorsia. These birds are ducks.
The rivers are partially
sula molten Joet ovat osin sulia. molten.

6. The partitive plural in simple object sentences

These sentences have an object, which refers to a plural amount without specifying exactly
how many (“multiple” or “several”). These verbs are not partitive verbs, ie. they don’t
require the partitive in every situation. Rather, the partitive plural is used due to the
unspecified plural amount of the object.

Finnis
h English Example English
angle, Can you draw right
kulma corner Osaatko piirtää suoria kulmia? angles?
Transport heavy loads
kuorma load Kuljeta raskaita kuormia varovasti! carefully!
I got bad news from my
kurja wretched Sain kurjia uutisia esihenkilöltäni. boss.
Could you buy eggs from
muna egg Ostaisitko Lidl:stä kananmunia? Lidl?
The excavator digs deep
oja ditch Kaivinkone kaivaa syviä ojia. ditches.
 I noticed sweaty foreheads
otsa forehead Huomasin hikisiä otsia kuntosalissa. in the gym.
I flavor cake bases with
pohja bottom Maustan kakkupohjia kanelilla. cinnamon.
We baked bread buns with
pulla bun Leivoimme lasten kanssa pullia. the kids.
Aion istuttaa puskia tai pensaita I will plant bushes or
puska bush tähän. shrubs here.
I want to sell some of that
roina junk Haluan myydä noita turhia roinia. useless junk.
Rats spread debris around
roska trash Rotat levittävät roskia ympäri pihaa. the yard.
Buy those colorful tape
rulla roll Osta noita värikkäitä teippirullia! rolls!
Sailors fill the holds of
ruuma hold Merimiehet täyttävät laivojen ruumia. ships.
Do they sell white couches
sohva couch Myydäänkö täällä valkoisia sohvia? here?
The woman sews furs and
stoola stole Nainen ompelee turkkeja ja stoolia. stoles.
We need rain shelters for
suoja protection Tarvitsemme sateensuojia veneisiin. boats.
The army buys radars and
tutka radar Armeija ostaa tutkia ja tykkejä. cannons.
The box contains hammers
tuurna mandrel Laatikko sisältää vasaroita ja tuurnia. and mandrels.
The water created deep
uoma channel Vesi synnytti saveen syviä uomia. furrows in the clay.
Various vodkas are sold
votka vodka Täällä myydään erilaisia votkia. here.
We sell wines, vodkas and
vodka vodka Myymme viinejä, vodkia ja liköörejä. liqueurs.

7. The partitive plural in existential sentences

Existential sentences refer to the existence of multiple things in a place (either concrete or
abstract). The amount of things is not specified. These sentences start with a location case
(e.g. -ssa, -lla, -lta).

Finnish English Example English

In the ruins grew flowering
horsma willowherb Raunioilla kasvoi kukkivia horsmia. willowherbs.
There are huge differences
huima dizzying Hinnoissa on huimia eroja. in the prices.
There are trains at the train
juna train Rautatieasemalla on junia. station.
There must be no streaks on
juova streak Pinnassa ei saa olla juovia. the surface.
kotka eagle Pöytyällä pesii kotkia. Eagles nest in Pöytyä.
kuja alley Kaupungissa on kapeita kujia. There are narrow alleys in
 the city.
There are many strange
kumma strange Täällä on paljon kummia tavaroita. objects here.
There were bubbles in the
kupla bubble Uima-altaassa oli kuplia. pool.
The route had long gentle
loiva gentle Reitillä oli pitkiä loivia alamäkiä. descents.
There are several zeros in
nolla zero Salasanassa on useita nollia. the password.
There are pros and cons to
plussa plus, pro Kaikissa on plussia ja miinuksia. everything.
There are saws and drills in
pora drill Vajassa on sahoja ja poria. the shed.
Are there cougars in
puuma cougar Onko Suomessa puumia? Finland?
The wallpaper had pink
roosa pink, rosie Tapetissa oli roosia raitoja. stripes.
Maaseudun kylissä näkyy heinäsuovia Haystacks are visible in
suova haystack . rural villages.
suula gannet Kallioilla pesii suulia. Gannets nest on the rocks.
The planet has deserts and
tundra tundra Planeetalla on aavikoita ja tundria. tundras.
A lot of accidents happen at
turma accident Kotona sattuu paljon tapaturmia. home.
There were cods rotting on
turska cod Rannalla oli turskia mätänemässä. the beach.
Mist often rises from these
usva mist Näiltä järviltä kohoaa usein usvia. lakes.
Urns and coffins are on
uurna urn Esillä on uurnia ja arkkuja. display.
There are lambs, ewes and
vuona lamb Tuossa on vuonia, uuhia ja oinaita. rams right there.

That’s all for koira-words in the plural partitive! This list isn’t complete and while googling
for example sentences, I ran into some unexpected problems. For one, Finnish has a lot of
verbs which have a basic form ending in -ia. This often resulted in wrong hits while
searching because Google would give lots of examples of the verb rather than the plural
partitive form. Some plural partitive forms that are also verbs include:
 Ruoskia: this can be both the plural partitive of the noun ruoska “whip” and the
basic form of the verb ruoskia “to whip”
 Potkia: this can be both the plural partitive of the noun potka “shank, gaskin” and
the basic form of the verb potkia “to kick”

There were also cases where two nouns would have a form in common:

 Suuria: this can be both the plural partitive of the noun suura “Sura (chapter of the
Qur’an)” and the plural partitive of the noun suuri “large”
 Putkia: this can be both the plural partitive of the noun putka “jail” and the plural
partitive of the noun putki “pipe”
 Puolia: this can be both the plural partitive of the noun puola “bobbin, spoke” and
the plural partitive of the noun puoli “half”
  Poria: this can be both the plural partitive of the noun pora “drill” and the singular
partitive of the Finnish city Pori

List of old words ending in i of the ovi-type

This article is an extension of my Old words vs. new words ending in -i article. Here, you can
find a longer list of words that belong to one of the types of words ending in -i: ovi-type
words.
There are many wordtypes in Finnish that ends in an -i. Usually, they are divided into “old”
and “new” words. These terms refer to the relative age of these words in the Finnish
language. Old words have existed for millennia. Often, these are words related to nature
(such as järvi “lake” and kivi “stone”), the human body (such as poski “cheek”
and polvi “knee”) or other things that have been part of everyday life in the early years of
Finnish inhabitation (such as kilpi “shield” and suksi “ski”).
Within the “old word” category, there are some subtypes. For words belonging to the ovi-
type, the most distinguishable element in the inflection is the partitive case: these words will
have their final -i replaced by -ea when inflected in the partitive case.
1. Inflection of the word ovi
Typical for this wordtype is that the -i changes into an -e- when you add, for example, the
partitive or genitive suffix.

Case Singular Plural

Nominative ovi ovet
Partitive (mitä?) ovea ovia
Genitive (-n) oven ovien
Inessive (-ssA) ovessa ovissa
Illative (mihin) oveen oviin
Elative (-stA) ovesta ovista
Adessive (-llA) ovella ovilla
Allative (-lle) ovelle oville
Ablative (-ltA) ovelta ovilta
Translative (-ksi) oveksi oviksi
Essive (-nA) ovena ovina

2. Words that inflect like ovi

In the following table, I’m providing you with a translation for each word. These translations
are of course limited because I wanted to preserve a reasonable table width. In addition, I’m
including the singular partitive (mitä?), genitive (minkä?), inessive (missä?)
and illative (mihin?) forms as well as the plural partitive form (marked as PP below).
My list contains only base words. Many of these words can also be found in compound
words. Wiktionary has a list which includes many compound words here.

Word English Mitä? Minkä? Missä? Mihin? PP

appi father-in-law appea apen apessa appeen appia
arki mundane life arkea arjen arjessa arkeen arkia
arpi scar arpea arven arvessa arpeen arpia
hanhi goose hanhea hanhen hanhessa hanheen hanhia
hanki snow blanket hankea hangen hangessa hankeen hankia
happi oxygen happea hapen hapessa happeen happia
hauki pike (fish) haukea hauen hauessa haukeen haukia
helmi pearl helmeä helmen helmessä helmeen helmiä
henki soul, breath henkeä hengen hengessä henkeen henkiä
hetki moment hetkeä hetken hetkessä hetkeen hetkiä
hiki sweat hikeä hien hiessä hikeen hikiä
hirvi moose, elk hirveä hirven hirvessä hirveen hirviä
joki river jokea joen joessa jokeen jokia
jälki track, trace jälkeä jäljen jäljessä jälkeen jälkiä
järki sense järkeä järjen järjessä järkeen järkiä
järvi lake järveä järven järvessä järveen järviä
kaikki everything kaikkea kaiken kaikessa kaikkeen kaikkia
kampi crank kampia kammen kammessa kampeen kampia
kanki iron bar kankea kangen kangessa kankeen kankia
kaski swidden kaskea kasken kaskessa kaskeen kaskia
kiiski ruffe (fish) kiiskeä kiisken kiiskessä kiiskeen kiiskiä
kilpi shield kilpeä kilven kilvessä kilpeen kilpiä
kivi stone, rock kiveä kiven kivessä kiveen kiviä
koipi leg (of bird) koipea koiven koivessa koipeen koipia
korpi deep forest korpea korven korvessa korpeen korpia
koski rapids koskea kosken koskessa koskeen koskia
kurki crane (bird) kurkea kurjen kurjessa kurkeen kurkia
kylki side, loin kylkeä kyljen kyljessä kylkeen kylkiä
käki cuckoo (bird) käkeä käen käessä käkeen käkiä
kärhi tendril kärheä kärhen kärhessä kärheen kärhiä
kärki tip, lead kärkeä kärjen kärjessä kärkeen kärkiä
lahti bay, gulf lahtea lahden lahdessa lahteen lahtia
laki summit lakea laen laessa lakeen lakia
lehti leaf lehteä lehden lehdessä lehteen lehtiä
leski widow(er) leskeä lesken leskessä leskeen leskiä
lovi notch, hole lovea loven lovessa loveen lovia
mäki hill mäkeä mäen mäessä mäkeen mäkiä
nimi name nimeä nimen nimessä nimeen nimiä
noki soot nokea noen noessa nokeen nokia
numme
nummi heath, moor a nummen nummessa nummeen nummia
nurmi lawn, grass nurmea nurmen nurmessa nurmeen nurmia
närhi jay (bird) närheä närheä närhessä närheen närhiä
olki straw olkea oljen oljessa olkeen olkia
onki fishing rod onkea ongen ongessa onkeen onkia
onni happiness onnea onnen onnessa onneen onnia
ovi door ovea oven ovessa oveen ovia
parvi flock, swarm parvea parven parvessa parveen parvia
piki pitch pikeä pien piessä pikeen pikiä
pilvi cloud pilveä pilven pilvessä pilveen pilviä
polvi knee polvea polven polvessa polveen polvia
poski cheek poskea posken poskessa poskeen poskia
povi bosom povea poven povessa poveen povia
putki pipe, tube putkea putken putkessa putkeen putkia
 sleigh,
reki sledge rekeä reen reessä rekeen rekiä
retki trip retkeä retken retkessä retkeen retkissä
rimpi morass rimpeä rimmen rimmessä rimpeen rimpiä
ripsi eyelash ripseä ripsen ripsessä ripseen ripsiä
rupi scab rupea ruven ruvessa rupeen rupia
saarni ash (tree) saarnea saarnen saarnessa saarneen saarnia
salmi strait salmea salmen salmessa salmeen salmia
sampi sturgeon sampea sammen sammessa sampeen sampia
sappi bile, gall sappea sapen sapessa sappeen sappia
sarvi horn, antler sarvea sarven sarvessa sarveen sarvia
savi clay savea saven savessa saveen savia
seimi trough seimeä seimen seimessä seimeen seimiä
seipi dace (fish) seipeä seiven seivessä seipeen seipiä
siipi wing siipeä siiven siivessä siipeen siipiä
solki buckle, clasp solkea soljen soljessa solkeen solkia
soppi quiet nook soppea sopen sopessa soppeen soppia
sormi finger sormea sormen sormessa sormeen sormia
suksi ski suksea suksen suksessa sukseen suksia
suomi Finnish suomea suomen suomessa suomeen suomia*
Suomi Finland Suomea Suomen Suomessa Suomeen Suomia*
suvi summer suvea suven suvessa suveen suvia
sylki spit sylkeä syljen syljessä sylkeen sylkiä
sänki stubble sänkeä sängen sängessä sänkeen sänkiä
särki roach (fish) särkeä särjen särjessä särkeen särkiä
sääksi osprey (bird) sääkseä sääksen sääksessä sääkseen sääksiä
sääski mosquito sääskeä sääsken sääskessä sääskeen sääskiä
talvi winter talvea talven talvessa talveen talvia
tammi oak tammea tammen tammessa tammeen tammia
telki bolt on door telkeä teljen teljessä telkeen telkiä
tilhi waxwing tilheä tilhen tilhessä tilheen tilhiä
torvi horn, tube torvea torven torvessa torveen torvia
tuki support tukea tuen tuessa tukeen tukia
tuppi sheath tuppia tupen tupessa tuppeen tuppia
typpi nitrogen typpeä typen typessä typpeen typpiä
tyvi base, foot tyveä tyven tyvessä tyveen tyviä
tähti star tähteä tähden tähdessä tähteen tähtiä
virpi sprig virpeä virven virvessä virpeen virpiä
vyyhti skein of yarn vyyhteä vyyhden vyyhdessä vyyhteen vyyhtiä
väki people väkeä väen väessä väkeen väkiä

Special partitive cases: toimi toimea tointa – Kotus wordtype 25

In this article, you can find more information about a small number of words which belong
to Kotus wordtype 25. These words have two possible partitive case endings as well as two
possible plural genitive case endings.
Words that belong to Kotus wordtype 25 all have a basic form that ends in -mi. Not every
existing word ending in -mi belongs to this type, however. It’s just a select few words (see
below for the full list).
Table of Contents
1. Inflection of the word toimi
2. List of Kotus wordtype 25 words
3. Words ending in -mi that don’t belong to Kotus wordstype 25.
4. Some additional information
1. Inflection of the word toimi
As an example, here is the word toimi inflected in the different cases. As you can see, this
wordtype has 2 options for the singular partitive and the plural genitive. In all the other cases,
this wordtype resembles ovi-type words.

Case Singular Plural

Nominative toimi toimet
Partitive (mitä?) toimea, tointa toimia
Genitive (-n) toimen toimien, tointen
Inessive (-ssA) toimessa toimissa
Illative (mihin) toimeen toimiin
Elative (-stA) toimesta toimista
Adessive (-llA) toimella toimilla
Allative (-lle) toimelle toimille
Ablative (-ltA) toimelta toimilta
Translative (-ksi) toimeksi toimiksi
Essive (-nA) toimena toimina

2. List of Kotus wordtype 25 words

In the table below, I’m only listing the singular partitive and plural genitive forms. As you
can see in the table above, the other forms are formed the same way as they are for the
word ovi.

When two options are given, both are possible. I have put the extremely rare forms between
brackets. Note that, whenever it is possible, the form marked with #1 is generally more
common.

Partitive Partitive PL Genitive PL Genitive

Word English #1 #2 #1 #2
liemi broth – lientä liemien lienten
loimi warp loimea (lointa) loimien lointen
lumi snow – lunta lumien (lunten)
luomi mole (skin) luomea (luonta) luomien luonten
niemi peninsula niemeä nientä niemien nienten
taimi sapling taimea tainta taimien tainten
post,
toimi position toimea tointa toimien tointen
tuomi bird cherry tuomea (tuonta) tuomien tuonten

3. Words ending in -mi that don’t belong to Kotus wordstype 25.

Next, you can find some words ending in -mi that do not belong to the group above. The old
Finnish words of this group (marked #1) will inflect with -ea/eä in the singular partitive. The
loanwords (marked #2) will inflect by adding an -a/ä at the end of the nominative form of the
word. Both old and new words will have the same type of plural genitive, as you can see in
the table below.

# Word English Partitive PL Genitive

1 nimi name nimeä nimien
1 helmi pearl helmeä helmien
1 sormi finger sormea sormien
1 suomi Finnish language suomea suomien
2 tiimi team tiimiä tiimien
2 atomi atom atomia atomien
2 filmi film filmiä filmien
puom
2 i barrier puomia puomien

4. Some additional information

This wordtype can be met with a lot of opinions among Finnish speakers. While this
wordtype typically has two singular partitive forms and two plural genitive forms, not every
person is willing to accept both as correct. For example, Kielikello mentions that tuomi has
two standard language partitive forms tuomea and tuonta, but that many Finnish speakers
will consider tuonta to be incorrect. There are likely also some differences in usage in
different regions of Finland.
Kielikello has published an interesting article in Finnish with examples of non-mainstream
inflections of words ending in -i. There are, for example, examples when lumi and liemi are
inflected as lumea and liemeä rather than the partitive forms lunta and lientä. These forms
are technically incorrect in standard Finnish, but language is a fluid thing.