kuin
See also: kuīn
Finnish edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
The plural instructive case of kuka.
Conjunction edit
kuin
- (subordinating, + conditional) as if
- Hän oli kuin ei olisi huomannut mitään.
- He behaved as if he hadn't noticed anything.
- In the structure niin ... kuin ...: ... as well as ...
- niin kesällä kuin talvella ― in the summer as well as winter
- niin kesällä, kuin myös talvella ― in the summer as well as winter
- In the structure kuin ... myös ...: ... as well as ...
- kuin kesällä myös talvella ― in the summer as well as winter
Synonyms edit
- (as if): ikään kuin
- (as well as): kuten
Particle edit
kuin
- (coordinating) as, like
- Se kävelee kuin ankka.
- It walks like a duck.
- In the structure yhtä ... kuin: as ... as (equative, comparing/equating two things)
- 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.
- In the structure niin ... kuin: as ... as (in other senses, such as when the second "as" is followed by a verb or adjective)
- Syö niin paljon kuin haluat.
- Eat as much as you want.
- niin pian kuin mahdollista ― as soon as possible
- (coordinating, with comparative) than
- 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 edit
- (than, comparative): There are two comparative constructions in Finnish:
- 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"
- the particle construction with kuin (fixed word order: [comparative] + kuin + [comparee in the nominative case])
- 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 edit
kuin (colloquial)
Derived terms edit
compounds
Further reading edit
- “kuin”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-01
Etymology 2 edit
Noun edit
kuin
- instructive plural of kuu
Anagrams edit
Ingrian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Finnic *ku-. Akin to Finnish kuin and Estonian kui.
Pronunciation edit
- (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /ˈkui̯n/, [ˈkui̯n]
- (Soikkola) IPA(key): /ˈkui̯n/, [ˈkui̯n]
- Rhymes: -ui̯n
- Hyphenation: kuin
Adverb edit
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), 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 edit
References edit
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 213
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Noun edit
kuin
- Alternative form of kyne
Volapük edit
Noun edit
kuin (nominative plural kuins)
- quintal (one hundred kilograms)