jokin

Finnish

Alternative forms

• jk (abbreviation, chiefly in dictionaries)

Etymology

Pronoun stem jo- (see joka) + enclitic particle -kin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjokin/,

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -okin
• Syllabification^(key): jo‧kin

Pronoun

jokin (stem jo-)

1. (indefinite) something

   Vaivaako sinua jokin?

   Is something bothering you?

   Nyt tarvittaisiin vasara tai jotain.

   Now we need a hammer or what have you.

Determiner

jokin

1. (indefinite) some, one, a

   jollakin tavalla ― somehow, someway (or another), in some way (or another), (in) one way or another, by some means

Usage notes

• In colloquial Finnish, the forms of jokin (used to refer to non-human things in the standard language) and joku (used to refer to humans in the standard language) have merged, especially when used as modifiers (for example joku mies / joku pöytä (“some man / some table”), joku meistä / joku niistä pöydistä (“one of us / one of the tables”). In referring to both humans and non-human things, joku is used as a modifier in everyday speech and writing in the nominative singular (joku) and genitive singular (jonkun) and the nominative and accusative plural (jotkut), but the forms of jokin are used in all other grammatical cases to refer to both humans and non-human things. When used alone, not as modifiers, the forms of joku and jokin are however usually still distinguished, even in everyday speech, in the nominative singular/plural, genitive singular and the partitive singular/plural. This is shown by the following examples of colloquial usage:

  joku mies / jollekin miehelle ― some man / to some man

  joku pöytä / jollekin pöydälle ― some table / onto some table

  and the following examples of formal (standard language) usage:

  joku mies / jollekulle miehelle ― some man / to some man

  jokin pöytä / jollekin pöydälle ― some table / onto some table

Declension

The case suffixes are regular: only the first part jo- is declined; the enclitic particle -kin doesn't change its form. Some cases have parallel forms without the -k-. The instructive and abessive cases are extremely rarely or never used. The sublative, lative, and causative forms are used as adverbs.

Derived terms

Related terms

• joka
• joku
• jompikumpi

See also

• eräs
• yksi

Further reading

• “jokin”, 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 2023-07-02