-ko

See also: -kö, ko, and Appendix:Variations of "ko"

Contents

Finnish

Particle

-ko (front vowel harmony variant -kö)

1. (enclitic) Turns a clause interrogative. It is appended to the element of the clause that is questioned most. English equivalents include the normal ways of forming an interrogative statement without using an interrogative pronoun, such as the verb "do", inversion of the word order and intonation.

   Onko hän täällä? (on > + -ko)

   Is s/he here?

   Täälläkö hän on? (täällä + -kö)

   Is s/he here?

   Tuleeko hän laivalla? (tulee > + -ko)

   Is she coming by the ship?

   Millä sitten - veneelläkö? (veneellä + -kö)

   By what, then - on the boat?

   Näkeekö hän? (näkee > + -kö)

   Does s/he see?

   Pitäisikö hänen tulla tänne? (pitäisi > + -kö)

   Should s/he come here?

2. (enclitic) In indirect questions, -ko/-kö appended to the verb corresponds to the conjunctions if and whether in English.

   En tiedä, tuleeko hän.

   I don't know if she comes.

   En tiedä, näkeekö hän.

   I don't know if she sees.

3. (enclitic) With the particle -han/-hän, expresses "I wonder if".

   Pukeutuikohan hän tarpeeksi lämpimästi tänä aamuna?

   I wonder if he put enough clothes on this morning.

   Meniköhän hän kouluun tänä aamuna?

   I wonder if he went to school this morning.

4. (enclitic) With the negative verb (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät) and the particle -han/-hän, expresses "I suppose".

   Emmeköhän me jotenkuten tule toimeen.

   I suppose we'll get by somehow.

Usage notes

• (interrogative particle): The particle -ko/-kö is used when there is no other interrogative word, in both direct and indirect questions. The answer is expected to be simply affirmative or negative.
• (I wonder if): Note that, unlike in English, the sentence meaning "I wonder if" is an interrogative sentence in Finnish, so it ends with a question mark.
• In Colloquial Finnish, "-ks" is used in place of "-ko/-kö".

See also

• -kin
• -kaan/-kään
• -han/-hän
• -kö (the same particle in words with front vowel harmony)
• -pa/-pä
• -s

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Hadza

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ko/

Suffix

-ko

1. a feminine suffix

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Lower Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *-ъko.

Suffix

-ko

1. added to neuter nouns to form a diminutive

Derived terms

► Lower Sorbian words suffixed with -ko

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Polish

Suffix

-ko n

1. Diminutive suffix for neuter nouns

Declension

declension of -ko

	singular	plural
nominative	-ko	-ka
genitive	-ka	-k/-ek
dative	-ku	-kom
accusative	-ko	-ka
instrumental	-kiem	-kami
locative	-ku	-kach
vocative	-ko	-ka

Derived terms

► Polish words suffixed with -ko

• słonko

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Serbo-Croatian

Suffix

-ko (Cyrillic spelling -ко)

1. Suffix appended to words to create a masculine noun, most likely to make diminutive. Usually used to make names, or nicknames denoting a negative feature.

   dar → Darko

   Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs) → Janko

   debeo → debeljko (“fatty (meant as an insult)”)

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Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ/

Suffix

-ko n

1. Diminutive suffix for neuter nouns

Declension

Declension of -ko

	singular	plural
nominative	-ko	-ká, -ka
genitive	-ka	-iek, -ok
dative	-ku	-kám, -kam
accusative	-ko	-ká, -ka
locative	-ku	-kách, -kach
instrumental	-kom	-kami

Derived terms

► Slovak words suffixed with -ko