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eikä. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
eikä, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
eikä in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Finnish
Etymology
ei + -kä
Pronunciation
Verb
eikä
- (coordinating) nor (the latter clause beginning with this must have same subject as the former clause)
En ole hullu enkä humalassa.- I'm not crazy nor drunk.
Se ei ole punainen eikä keltainen.- It's not red nor yellow.
Minä en nouse ylös, enkä syö aamupalaa, ennen kuin aurinko paistaa.- I am not getting up, nor am I having breakfast until the sun shines.
- Turns a negative verb into a conjunction, usually to connect two phrases (like "and") or serving to contrast; and ... not
Olen sairaana, enkä tule töihin.- I am sick and I will not come to work.
Tämä on vaatimus eikä toive.- This is a requirement, not a wish.
- (preceded by another negative verb) neither ... nor
Hän ei anna äidilleen anteeksi nyt eikä ikinä.- Neither now, nor ever will he forgive his mother.
En minä eikä perheeni tiedä siitä mitään.- Neither I nor my family knows anything about it.
- Used instead of a plain ei to strengthen a negative message.
- Synonym: ei
Ota pipo päästä! --Enkä ota!- Take your beanie off the head! --No, I sure will not!
- Used to express disbelief or astonishment.
Voitin miljoonan lotossa. --Eikä!- I won a million in lottery. --Really?!
Usage notes
- (coordinating nor): This conjunction can be used only if the two coordinate clauses have the same subject. The verb form depends on the person of the subject (see the table below):
Minä en nouse ylös, enkä syö aamupalaa, ennen kuin aurinko paistaa.- I am not getting up, nor am I having breakfast until the sun shines.
Sinä et nouse ylös, etkä syö aamupalaa, ennen kuin aurinko paistaa.- You are not getting up, nor are you having breakfast until the Sun shines.
Hän ei nouse ylös, eikä hän syö aamupalaa, ennen kuin aurinko paistaa.- S/he is not getting up, nor is she having breakfast until the sun shines.
Älä nouse ylös, äläkä syö aamupalaa, ennen kuin aurinko paistaa!- Do not get up, nor have breakfast until the sun shines!
- "neither ... nor" can also be used as the subject of the verb, even if some speakers consider this structure stilted (omitting it and only using the negative verb with -kä is proscribed):
Ei kirja eikä sen jatko-osa kiinnostanut minua.
Ei kirja eikä sen jatko-osakaan kiinnostanut minua. (somewhat more emphatic)
Ei kirja eikä myöskään sen jatko-osa kiinnostanut minua. (more emphatic)
Minua ei kiinnostanut kirja eikä sen jatko-osa. (least stilted to many speakers)
Kirja eikä sen jatko-osa kiinnostanut minua. (proscribed)- Neither the book nor its sequel interested me.
Inflection
Synonyms
See also
- ei (for more information of the negative verb in Finnish)
Further reading