niin kuin

Finnish

Conjunction

niin kuin

1. as if, as though (in a manner suggesting)

   Vanha mies kompuroi, niin kuin olisi kaatumaisillaan.

   The old man stumbled, as if he were about to fall.

   Olen niin kuin en olisi kuullutkaan tuota!

   I'll pretend I didn't hear that!

2. as if (in mimicry of)

   Kun opettajan selkä kääntyi, luokan pelle piteli vatsaansa niin kuin voisi pahoin.

   When the teacher's back was turned, the class clown would hold his stomach as if he were ill.

3. as, like (the same way; always followed by something compared to)

   Synonym: kuten

   Älkää tehkö niin kuin minä teen, tehkää niin kuin minä sanon.

   Don't do as I do, do as I say.

4. as in (with abbreviations, especially single-letter abbreviations), is for, stands for

Alternative forms

• niinkuin (archaic; now considered a misspelling)

Synonyms

• (as if): ikään kuin
• niinku (colloquial)

Further reading

• “niin kuin”, 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 2023-07-03