Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
kuin
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Remove ads
See also: kuīn
Finnish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
The instructive plural of kuka.
Conjunction
kuin
- (subordinating) as if [with conditional]
- Hän oli kuin ei olisi huomannut mitään.
- He behaved as if he hadn't noticed anything.
Synonyms
- (as if): ikään kuin
Derived terms
Particle
kuin
- (coordinating) as, like
- Se kävelee kuin ankka.
- It walks like a duck.
- (coordinating) as (introduces an equative comparison) (after yhtä when comparing to a nominal, after niin with adjectives, adverbials or verbs)
- niin pian kuin mahdollista ― as soon as possible
- Kissa on yhtä suuri kuin pieni koira.
- The cat is as big as a little dog.
- Risto oli puhunut Pekan kanssa yhtä usein kuin (mitä) päiväkirja antaa ymmärtää.
- Risto had been talking with Pekka as often as the diary lets one understand.
- Syö niin paljon kuin haluat.
- Eat as much as you want.
- (coordinating, with comparative) than (introduces a comparative comparison)
- Risto oli puhunut Pekan kanssa useammin kuin (mitä) päiväkirja antaa ymmärtää.
- Risto had been talking with Pekka more often than the diary lets one understand.
Usage notes
- (than, comparative): There are two comparative constructions in Finnish.
Details of Finnish comparative constructions
- the particle construction with kuin (fixed word order: [comparative] + kuin + [comparee in the nominative case])
SUBJECT COPULA COMPARATIVE PARTICLE COMPAREE kissa on isompi kuin hiiri cat-NOM COP big-CMPR than mouse-NOM "the cat is bigger than a mouse"
- the locative construction in which the comparee takes the partitive case (word order not fixed, but unmarked is [comparee in the partitive case] + [comparative])
SUBJECT COPULA COMPAREE COMPARATIVE kissa on hiirtä isompi cat-NOM COP mouse-PTV big-CMPR "the cat is bigger than a mouse"
- When the comparee and the comparative are single words, both constructions are common, and the locative construction is probably slightly more so, especially when the comparee is a common word (such as a personal pronoun).
- As the comparee or the comparative gets longer, there is an increasing tendency to use the particle construction, which is the only option with relative clauses (like in the usage example above, directly under the definition).
Adverb
kuin (colloquial)
Derived terms
compounds
Further reading
- “kuin”, 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 1 July 2023
Etymology 2
Noun
kuin
- instructive plural of kuu
Anagrams
Remove ads
Ingrian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *ku-. Akin to Finnish kuin and Estonian kui.
Pronunciation
Adverb
kuin
- how?
- how
- 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 25:
- Kuin ono sooja vesi.
- How warm the water is.
- 1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by Mihailov and P. I. Maksimov, Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart (ensimäine osa) [Geography: textbook for Ingrian elementary school third grade (first part)], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 3:
- Töö saatta tiitä kuin suur ono maa, millaist hää ono formaa ja mitä ono hänen pääl.
- You will be able to know how the earth is big, what kind of shape it is and what is on top of it.
- like
Synonyms
References
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 213
Anagrams
Remove ads
Middle English
Noun
kuin
- alternative form of kyn (“cows”)
Volapük
Noun
kuin (nominative plural kuins)
- quintal (one hundred kilograms)
Declension
1 status as a case is disputed
2 in later, non-classical Volapük only
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads