Finnish edit

Etymology edit

The inessive plural of tosi (tosissa) with a possessive suffix.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈtosisːɑːn/, [ˈt̪o̞s̠is̠ːɑ̝ːn]
  • Rhymes: -osisːɑːn
  • Syllabification(key): to‧sis‧saan

Adverb edit

tosissaan

  1. serious(ly), in earnest (about = genitive + suhteen)
    Olen tosissani tämän suhteen.
    I am serious about this. / I mean it/business. / I'm not fooling around.

Usage notes edit

This adverb can be used predicatively with olla (to be); it can be used as an adjective in other positions (such as attributively) by using oleva. Like many other similar adverbs, it is inflected by person in standard Finnish, but in spoken colloquial Finnish, it often appears in the third-person form even when referring to the speaker or interlocutor: Olen tosissani and Olen tosissaan are both possible but the latter is considered nonstandard; likewise Ootsä tosissas? and Ootsä tosissaan? (Are you serious?)

Inflection edit

Personal/possessive forms of tosissaan
no possessor
possessor singular plural
1st person tosissani tosissamme
2nd person tosissasi tosissanne
3rd person tosissaan
tosissansa

Synonyms edit

Further reading edit

Anagrams edit