Some suffixes used for word derivation have a rather fixed meaning: they modify the meaning of the base word in a predictable way. Often such suffixes are productive, which means that they can be attached to almost any word that belongs to a certain type of words. Mostly, but not always, a very productive suffix has a systematic meaning.
For example, from almost any word derived with the llinen suffix, a further derivation ending with llisuus or llisyys can be formed, and such derivations are property names. Thus, from lupa (permission) we have luvallinen (permitted, allowed) and from it luvallisuus (permittedness, the property of being allowed). To take another example, from aine (matter, substance) we can derive the adjective aineellinen (material), from it the active verb aineellistaa (to materialize), from it the passive verb aineellistua (to be materized), from it the negative participle aineellistumaton (unmaterialized), and you could go on.
On the other hand, a derivational suffix may have very varying meanings and the suffix might be restricted to a small set of words. Most derivational suffixes are between the extremes: they have some characteristic meaning, but it is not exact, and the suffix can be used in other meanings, too.
Suomen kielen produktiivisia johtimia.
A collective derivation often denotes simply a set of things denoted by the base word. For example, tiestö, from tie (road) means “roads” as a collective, perhaps understood as a road network.
A derivation may also refer to the environment of such a set or a place or institution for it. For example, kirjasto, from kirja (book), does not denote a set of books but a library. The word tiedosto, from tieto : tiedon (information; knowledge; data), has a specific meaning, a (computer) file. The word tietue has been formed from the same base to denote a record in a file or otherwise in data processing.
The semantic relationship between a base word and a collective derivation can be different, too. E.g. kolmikko, from kolme (three), means a set of three, a triplet, and there are similar “numerical collectives” formed from other numerals. Some derivations are rather remotely related to the base word; e.g. neuvosto (council; soviet) is based on neuvo (advice).
The following suffixes are used for collective derivations:
In some words these suffixes have no collective meaning. They have just been used to form new words, such as puukko (knife) from puu (tree; wood) and kermakko (creamer) from kerma (cream).
Both the stO suffix and the kkO suffix often occur with the plural suffix i before it, possibly causing changes in the base word ending. Even vuoristo is an example of this, since the base word stem ends with e: vuori : vuoren. For some words, both a derivation without i and one with it are in use, in different meanings, e.g. from puu (tree; wood) we have puusto (tree stand, growing stock) and puisto (park).
As described above, the suffixes stO and kkO are similar in meaning. There is no simple rule that says which of these suffixes (if either) can be used for a word. This partly depends on dialect variation, but in standard language, usually only one alternative is accepted. For example, from the word haapa : haavan “European aspen”, the derivation is haavikko (which thus means “aspen forest, aspen stand”). However, as surnames, both Haavikko and Haavisto are in use. For a few common nouns, both derivations are possible, e.g. kuusikko ∼ kuusisto (clump of spruces) from kuusi (spruce).
Word derivation is not always systematic. For example, a verb that means covering an item with some metal is often derived from the name of the metal, using the suffix -ata : -aan, such as kullata from kulta (gold) and kromata from kromi (chrome). Howeverm this does not apply to metal names longer than two syllables; they take the suffix -OidA, e.g. kuparoida from kupari (copper). There are other specialties, too, like deriving sinkittää from sinkki, apparently because the word sinkata was already in different use.´
For most adjectives, a name of the corresponding property can be derived using the suffix Us : Uden or UUs : UUden, e.g. heikkous : heikkouden (weakness) from heikko (weak) and nuoruus : nuoruuden (youth) from nuori (young).
For nouns, such derivations describe the property of being what the noun expresses or something typical of it. E.g. from ministeri we can derive the noun ministeriys : ministeriyden (being a minister, having a minister’s position). The base word usually means a human being.
Some derivations of these types have a specialized meaning either along with a property meaning or instead of it. For example, uutuus from uusi : uuden : uutena (new) means both “newness” and “novelty, a new product”, whereas teollisuus from teollinen (industrial) means only “industry” (originally referring to physical production only, now broader).
The choice of the suffix Us or UUs depends on the stem as follows:
In some words, the UUs suffix is preceded by is, e.g. kohtelia|is|uus (politeness), from kohtelias : kohteliaa|n (polite). This applies to words ending with liAs, the word äveriäs, some words ending with ilAs (e.g. joutilas), and past participles ending with Ut, e.g. oppinut : oppinee|n → oppine|is|uus.
Present participles ending with vA usually have regular UUs derivations, e.g. näkyvä → näkyvyys. In older language, an is extension was often used, e.g. näkyväisyys. Words such as suvaitsevuus (tolerance) have now largely replaced longer forms like suvaitsevaisuus, even though they are most naturally interpreted as derived from suvaitsevainen (tolerant, as an attitude) rather than directly from the participle suvaitseva (one that tolerates, tolerating).
Changes in the base word before an Us or UUs suffix can be summarized as follows:
Irregularly derived property names include: autius from autio; autuus from autuas; kookkuus from kookas; laupeus from laupias; lyhyys from lyhyt; maukkuus from maukas; neitsyys from neitsyt; ohuus from ohut; uljuus from uljas; (itse)valtius from (itse)valtias.
Some names of properties are identical with a name of action in the basic form but differ from them in inflection. The word rosvous : rosvouden is a rare derivation of rosvo (robber) and refers to being a robber, living as a robber. The more common word rosvous : rosvouksen is a derivation of the verb rosvota : rosvoan (to rob) and means “robbery, act of robbing”. Due to similarity of meaning and forms, such words are easily confused with each other.
Names of actions (and activities) based on verbs are derived in many different ways, depending on verb. For many verbs, there are alternative names of action.
A simple way is to use the -minen suffix, e.g. puhu|a (to speak) → puhu|minen (speaking). This is possible for all verbs except the negation verb. However, in addition to being relatively long, the -minen derivations denote activities in general rather than specific acts. They are often used where we would use the infinitive in English, e.g. Erehtyminen on inhimillistä (To err is human).
Other derivations are typically used in compounds and in more specialized meanings. For example, puhe means both speaking, especially in compound words (e.g. puhekyky “ability to speak”), and speech as a noun, e.g. an inauguration speech.
Names of actions are formed mainly using the following suffixes:
Many derivations of these types are also used to denote results of action, either as an alternative meaning or as the only meaning. Often an -Us derivation is a name of action, whereas an -Os or -e derivation is a name of result, e.g. väärennys (falsification) vs. väärennös (forgery) from väärentää (to falsify)—though in practice väärennys is often used in both meanings—and tulostus (printing) vs. tuloste (printout), from tulostaa (to print).
Verbikantaisten substantiivien tyypit ja piirteet.
There are few general rules that govern the choice of the suffix for a name of action. The names of actions thus mostly need to be learned separately. In dictionaries, they may appear as separate entries, but possibly only under the entry for a verb, as in the following example in Nykysuomen sanakirja: “hyssyt|tää v. -ys teonn.” This says that hyssyttää is a verb and hyssytys is the corresponding name of action (teonnimi). The possibility of deriving another name of action, hyssyttäminen, is regarded as so obvious that it is not mentioned at all.
It is often possible to use either a -minen noun or a noun formed with one of the suffixes listed above, perhaps with just a slight difference in style. For example, maidon juominen (drinking of milk) is a normal expression, but we can also say maidonjuonti, with the same meaning but more as “term-like”. In particular, if we refer to drinking milk as something measurable (such as the amount of milk consumption, e.g. as something that has decreased or increased), maidonjuonti is used.
Among derivational suffixes that produde adjectives, hkO is one of the most productive. It expresses moderate amount of the property, much like English “ish”, except that the Finnish suffix is fully accepted in formal language, too.
For example, suurehko means “largish, moderately large, fairly large”, and helpohko means “moderately easy, fairly easy”. Both Finnish words can be used in any style, though they are not common in spoken language, where we normally use analytic expressions like aika suuri (or aika iso) and melko helppo.
As an alternative, compound words like suurenpuoleinen are used. In them, the latter part is based on the word puoli (half; side). Thus, suurenpuoleinen might be taken as meaning something that is on the larger side.
Adjektiivien -hko-johdosten asema suomen kielen järjestelmässä.
A causative derivation of a verb is one that means causing the action or the event expressed by the base verb. For example, the causative derivation juo|tta|a of juo|da (to drink) means “to cause drinking”, typically by helping someone to drink. As another example, from puhua (to speak), there is the causative derivation puhuttaa (to make someone speak, to cause discussion). The term factitive verb is also used, especially when the causation is professional, making someone or some company do something for you, as for the verb rakentaa : rakennan (to build): the derivation rakennuttaa : rakennutan means hiring someone to do some building.
Causative derivations are common in Finnish. The derivational suffix is usually ttA- : ta-, as in juo|tta|a : juo|ta|n, or UttA- : UtA-, as in odot|utta|a : odot|uta|n from odotta|a (wait), sometimes UUttA- : UUtA-, as in pel|uutta|a from pelat|a : pelaa|n (play); the last example can be seen as an irregular variant of the less common regular derivation pela|utta|a.
Theoretically, a causative verb can have a causative derivation. Anecdotally, people refer to verb sequences like teh|dä : tee|n (to do), tee|ttä|ä (to have something done), tee|tä|ttä|ä (to make somesome have something done), tee|tä|t|yttä|ä etc. In practice, this is just anecdotal. The verb teetättää is frowned upon by language authorities, but if used, it means the same as teettää. Similarly, the verb viivästää (to delay) has the passive derivation viivästyä (to be delayed), which in turn has the causative derivation viivästyttää, which is really just a synonym for viivästää (and accepted in standard language, somewhat illogically).
In Finnish, many verbs that express human emotions or reactions are causative by their derivation. For example, the expression Minua väsyttää (I’m tired) contains a causative derivation of the verb väsyä (to become tired), so that the expression, with an implied subject, says that there is something (or someone) that causes me to become tired. This, of course, is just the origin of the expression; the verb väsyttää is now regarded simply as meaning to be tired. Similar expressions include Minua nukuttaa (I’m sleepy; literally: something is making me sleep) and Minua suututtaa (I’m angry), with the base verbs nukkua : nukun (to sleep) and suuttua : suutun (to get angry).
On the other hand, e.g. nukuttaa also has a simple causative meaning, and it is used about lulling a baby to sleep and about anesthesizing a patient. (In the latter meaning, it is still used in everyday language, though in medicine, antaa yleisanestesia “to give general anesthesia” is used.)
A causative derivation can be regarded as the active part in a pair of an active and passive verb, as described in section Passive verbs. For example, juoda can be seen as the passive counterpart to juottaa.
In spite of the possibilities for deriving causative verbs, some verbs are often used both for an action and for causing it. For example, the verb tatuoida (to tattoo) has the derivation tatuoittaa (to make someone tattoo), but it is more common to say e.g. Hän tatuoi selkäänsä kotkan than Hän tatuoitti selkäänsä kotkan (he had an eagle tattooed an eagle on his back In contexts like this, it is obvious that the simple verb tatuoi cannot refer to tattooing one’s own back.
Causative verbs have some specialties in syntax, described in section Syntax of causation.
The suffixes ellA : ele- (or for some verbs illA : ile-) and its extended forms skellA : skentele- and skennellA : skele- are used to derive frequentative verbs. They mean performing the action expressed by the base verb frequently or continuously. A simple example is kysellä : kyselen (to ask questions), derived from kysyä : kysyn (to ask); it simply means repeated action of asking. From istua : istun (to sit) we get istuskella : istuskelen (to sit about [frequently in some places]; to sit back [doing something]).
For some verbs, both the ellA ∼ illA suffix and the eskennellA suffix can be used, possibly with no clear difference in meaning. For example, from olla : olen we get both oleilla : oleilen and oleskella : oleskelen, which both mean staying around for some time, though the former might specifically refer to spending one’s time without doing any work. For most verbs, however, just one of these suffixes is in use.
For many verbs, these suffixes also imply reflexive or reciprocal meaning. That is, the action may have its subject as the implied object, or the verb may express mutual action. For example, from harjoittaa (to practice; to exercise) we get harjoitella, which means practicing in some sport or skill, implying both repeated action and practicing oneself.
Many derivations of this type have a more or less specialized meaning and need not have any frequentative or continuative meaning. From rakastaa : rakasta- (to love), the verb rakastella : rakastele- (to make love) has been derived, and it means sexual intercourse that need not be repeated or continued. From vääntää : väännä- (to turn, to wind, to twist), we get väännellä : vääntele-, which may have a concrete meaning (to repeated turn something), but more often it has a figurative meaning, as in Hän väänteli sanojani (He twisted/distorted my words).
There are also verbs that apparently contain one of these suffixes but have no real base word. For example, suudella : suutele- (to kiss) could be analyzed as a derivation of suutaa : suuda- (which would be related to suu “mouth”), but no such verb is known.
Due to the great variation in meanings, verbs of these types need to be learned separately. If you see a word like vastustella and you do not know it, you might guess that it is a derivative of vastustaa : vastusta- (to oppose) and think that it could mean “to oppose repeatedly, to resist”. And here your guess would be right, but it would be better to check it from a dictionary. If you similarly thought that arvostella, being a derivative of arvostaa (to appreciate, to respect), means repeated appreciation, you would guess wrong; it means criticizing, often implying negative (unfavorable) rather than positive criticism. The explanation is that arvostaa, derived from arvo (value), generally means giving some value to something, estimating the value of something.
A few suffixes can be used to derive adjectives and nouns from proper names: lAinen and mAinen.
The lAinen suffix can be used to derive adjectives for inhabitants of an area or a place, but also for more abstract relations, often expressed in English with “-ian” derivations. For example, italialainen, derived from Italia (Italy) means “Italian” and einsteinlainen (∼ einsteinilainen) means “Einsteinian”, i.e. related to Einstein’s theories
However, many words based on proper names have been taken from other languages so that they already include a derivational suffix, e.g. aristoteelinen (from Swedish “aristotelisk”), cf. Aristoteles (Aristotle), and gregoriaaninen (Gregorian), cf. Gregorius (Gregory). Thus, such words are not derivations of proper names from the viewpoint of the Finnish language. However, the adjectives contain the Finnish suffix nen (or inen), which is the inflected part of the word, e.g. aristoteelinen : aristoteelisen. Such words are not capitalized in Finnish, except of course they have been assigned as proper names. Thus, savolainen as an adjective, meaning an inhabitant of the Savo region, is not capitalized, but Savolainen used as a surname is capitalized.
On the other hand, Finnish often uses the genitive of a proper name rather any adjective. For example, “Newtonian mechanics” is Newtonin mekaniikka in Finnish; here Newtonin is just the genitive of the name Newton.
The mAinen suffix indicates similarity. For example, einsteinmainen means “Einstein-like”. A mainen derivation may also have the meaning “typical of...”, “that we can/could expect from...”, so e.g. linnamainen could refer to something that Linna (perhaps Väinö Linna, the author) could have used, but also to something tha resembles Linna in some sense.