Typical compound adjectives - Finnish adjectives

This page contains a very large amount of typical compound adjectives. They have been organized by their meaning and by the latter part of them. Only adjectives ending in -nen are included in this article.

You can read more about compound adjectives in the introductory article.

Thank you, GinaT86, for repeatedly proof-reading this article!

Table of Contents

Describing human/animal hair (tukkainen, hiuksinen, turkkinen)
Describing legs and feet (jalkainen)
Describing backs and shoulders (hartiainen, selkäinen)
Describing faces (naamainen, kasvoinen)
Describing noses and teeth (nenäinen, nokkainen, hampainen)
Describing ears and eyes (korvainen, silmäinen)
Describing skin (ihoinen)
Describing names (niminen)
Describing wages (palkkainen)
Describing illnesses (tautinen)
Describing patterns (raitainen, kuvioinen)
Describing colors (värinen)
Describing fabric (kankainen)
Describing coverings (päällysteinen, kantinen)
Describing shapes and forms (muotoinen)
Describing movement (liikkeinen)
Describing speech (sanainen, puheinen)
Describing facial expressions (katseinen, ilmeinen)
Describing sight or appearance (näköinen)
Describing feel (tuntuinen)
Describing impressions (oloinen)
Describing similarity (tapainen)
Describing comparability (veroinen)
Describing types (tyyppinen)
Describing core characteristics (omainen)
Describing spirit or mind (henkinen)
Describing the nature of something (luonteinen)
Describing will or intention (tahtoinen)
Describing intellect (älyinen)
Describing abilities and skills (kykyinen, taitoinen)
Describing suitability (kelpoinen)
Describing worth (arvoinen)
Describing condition (kuntoinen)
Describing power (tehoinen)
Describing level (tasoinen)
Describing age (ikäinen)
Describing sizes (kokoinen)
Describing amounts (suuruinen)
Describing scale (mittainen)
Describing numerical measurements (kiloinen, metrinen, senttinen)
Describing length or height (pituinen)
Describing prices (hintainen)
Describing page numbers (sivuinen)
Describing stages or parts (osainen, vaiheinen)
Describing occurrences or repetition (kertainen)
Describing numbers of people (jäseninen, paikkainen, oppilainen)
Describing capacity (paikkainen)
Describing time (aikainen)
Describing time periods (kautinen)
Describing time spans in years (vuotinen)
Describing afterness (jälkeinen)
Describing being behind/past (takainen)
Describing the build of something (rakenteinen)
Describing the base or bottom of something (pohjainen)
Describing the origin of something (peräinen)
Describing the contents of something (pitoinen)
Describing the make of something (tekoinen)
Describing sides (puolinen, puoleinen)
Describing adjacencies (viereinen)
Describing internal things (sisäinen)
Describing relations (välinen)
Describing being under (alainen)
Describing dominance or prevalence (valtainen)
Describing dependency (varainen)
Describing specificity (kohtainen)
Describing conformity (mukainen)
Describing opposition (vastainen)

1. Compound adjectives describing human/animal hair

-tukkainen: The word tukka is used to refer to a full head of hair. This word is always singular.
-hiuksinen: The word hius means “a hair” but is usually used in the plural as hiukset, in which case it’s a synonym for tukka. As such, vaaleahiuksinen and vaaleatukkainen are synonyms used to refer to a blonde person’s hairdo.
-karvainen: The word karva means “a hair”, but generally refers to the hair of an animal. We can have, for example, pitkäkarvainen kissa “a long-haired cat”.
-turkkinen: The word turkki means “fur” and is used for animal hair. For example, tuuheaturkkinen koira refers to a dog with thick fur.

Finnish	English
ruskeatukkainen nainen	a brown-haired woman
harmaatukkainen vanhus	a grey-haired senior citizen
tuuheatukkainen mies	a thick-haired man
vaaleatukkainen tyttö	a blonde-haired girl
tummatukkainen kaunotar	a dark-haired beauty
punatukkainen näyttelijä	a red-haired actor
valkotukkainen isoäiti	a white-haired grandmother
kiharatukkainen lapsi	a curly-haired child
lyhyttukkainen kaveri	a short-haired guy
pitkätukkainen opettaja	a long-haired teacher
ohuttukkainen vaari	a thin-haired grandpa
pörrötukkainen poika	a fluffy-haired boy
harmaahiuksinen poliitikko	a grey-haired politician
vaaleahiuksinen myyjä	a blonde-haired salesperson
hopeahiuksinen rouva	a silver-haired lady
suorahiuksinen malli	a straight-haired model
lyhythiuksinen koululainen	a short-haired pupil
pitkähiuksinen prinsessa	a long-haired princess
kiharakarvainen terrieri	a curly-haired terrier
lyhytkarvainen kaniini	a short-haired rabbit
sileäkarvainen noutaja	a flat-coated retriever
pitkäkarvainen angorakissa	a long-haired Angora cat
kiiltäväkarvainen kissa	a shiny-haired cat
pörrökarvainen koira	a fluffy-haired dog
karkeakarvainen kettuterrieri	a coarse-haired fox terrier
tuuheaturkkinen vahtikoira	a thick-haired watchdog
kiharaturkkinen villakoira	a curly-haired poodle
pehmeäturkkinen eläin	a soft-coated animal

2. Compound adjectives describing legs and feet

The word jalka can mean both “leg” and “foot” in Finnish.
We can use compound words such as nopeajalkainen “fast-legged” to describe how a person or animal moves on their legs. In addition, we can use –jalkainen to refer to the look (kolmijalkainen “three-legged”).

Finnish	English
lyhytjalkainen mäyräkoira	a short-legged dachshund
pitkäjalkainen koripalloilija	a long-legged basketball player
nopeajalkainen pelaaja	a fast-legged player
kankeajalkainen ukko	a stiff-legged old man
kaksijalkainen eläin	a two-legged, biped animal
kolmijalkainen jakkara	a three-legged stool
nelijalkainen eläin	a four-legged animal
puujalkainen merimies	a wooden-legged sailor
lättäjalkainen lapsi	a flatfooted child
lattajalkainen lapsi	a flatfooted child
pitkäkoipinen kaveri	a spindle-legged, long-legged guy

3. Compound adjectives describing backs and shoulders

Adjectives ending in -hartiainen come from the noun hartia “shoulder”.
Adjectives ending in -selkäinen comes from the noun selkä “back”.
In addition to people, some things also have backs in Finnish: chairs, clothing and books.

Finnish	English
kapeahartiainen mies	a narrow-shouldered man
kapeaharteinen mies	a narrow-shouldered man
leveähartiainen lurjus	a broad-shouldered rascal
kumaraselkäinen herrasmies	a stooped gentleman
kyttyräselkäinen mies	a humpbacked man
kyyryselkäinen vanhus	a hunchbacked elderly person
suoraselkäinen tuoli	a straight-backed chair
avoselkäinen mekko	an open-backed dress
korkeaselkäinen tuoli	a high backed chair
nahkaselkäinen kirja	a leather-backed book

4. Compound adjectives describing faces

Adjectives ending in -naamainen come from the noun naama, which means”face”
Adjectives ending in -kasvoinen come from the noun kasvot “face”, which also means “face”.
With these words, we can describe the shape of the face or the expression it carries.

Finnish	English
pyöreänaamainen taapero	a round-faced toddler
kuunaamainen peikko	a moon-faced goblin
finninaamainen nuorukainen	a pimple-faced youngster
kurttunaamainen sihteeri	a wrinkle-faced secretary
pokerinaamainen diplomaatti	a poker-faced diplomat
hevosnaamainen näyttelijä	a horse-faced actor
kapeakasvoinen nainen	a narrow-faced woman
pitkäkasvoinen kampaaja	a long-faced hairdresser
pulleakasvoinen vauva	a plump-faced baby
punakasvoinen mies	a red-faced man
pyöreäkasvoinen hoitaja	a round-faced nurse
soikeakasvoinen tyttö	an oval-faced girl
kalpeakasvoinen potilas	a pale-faced patient
vakavakasvoinen poliisi	a serious-faced policeman
kaksikasvoinen ihminen	a two-faced person

5. Compound adjectives describing noses and teeth

Adjectives ending in -nenäinen come from the noun nenä which means “nose”.
Adjectives ending in -kuonoinen come from the noun kuono which means “snout”.
Adjectives ending in -nokkainen come from the noun nokka “beak”. In English, you would use “billed”.
Adjectives ending in -hampainen come from the noun hammas which means “tooth”.
“Snouted”, “beaked” and “toothed” all sound a little unnatural in English. Still, it’s easy to understand what it means when there’s a vinohampainen mies waiting at the dentist’s.

Finnish	English
terävänenäinen noita-akka	a sharp-nosed witch
punanenäinen nainen	a red-nosed woman
lättänenäinen nyrkkeilijä	a flat-nosed boxer
kyömynenäinen mies	a hook-nosed man
pystynenäinen tyttö	a girl with an upturned nose
tylppäkuonoinen koirarotu	a blunt-nosed dog breed
koukkunokkainen kotka	a hook-billed eagle
käyränokkainen lintu	a curve-billed beak
pitkänokkainen lintu	a long-billed bird
keltahampainen tupakoija	a yellow-toothed smoker
harvahampainen suu	a sparsely toothed mouth
terävähampainen peto	a sharp-toothed beast

6. Compound adjectives describing ears and eyes

Adjectives ending in -korvainen come from the noun korva “ear”. It can be used in compound adjectives to describe the type of ears an animal has. A rabbit, for example, can be both luppakorvainen “floppy-eared” and pystykorvainen “upright-eared”.
Adjectives ending in -silmäinen come from the noun silmä “eye”. It is used in compound adjectives to describe the color, size or shape of a person’s or animal’s eyes. An yksisilmäinen merimies for example is a “one-eyed pirate”.

Finnish	English
luppakorvainen koiranpentu	a lop-eared puppy
pystykorvainen koirarotu	an upright-eared dog breed
tupsukorvainen orava	a tassel-eared squirrel
harmaasilmäinen vieras	a gray-eyed guest
ruskeasilmäinen lapsi	a brown-eyed child
punasilmäinen kaniini	a red-eyed rabbit
sinisilmäinen lapsi	a blue-eyed child (also means naive)
mustasilmäinen sankari	a black-eyed hero
vihreäsilmäinen kaunotar	a green-eyed beauty
tummasilmäinen nuorukainen	a dark-eyed youth
suurisilmäinen lapsi	a big-eyed child
nappisilmäinen pikkupoika	a button-eyed slip of a boy
mantelisilmäinen kaunotar	an almond-eyed beauty
vinosilmäinen lohikäärme	a slant-eyed dragon
kierosilmäinen poika	a cross-eyed boy
teräväsilmäinen haukka	a sharp-eyed eagle
surusilmäinen tyttö	a sad-eyed girl
kirkassilmäinen oppilas	a clear-eyed pupil
tähtisilmäinen tyttö	a star-eyed girl
tihrusilmäinen sika	a bleary-eyed pig
yksisilmäinen jättiläinen	a one-eyed giant

7. Compound adjectives describing skin

Adjectives ending in -ihoinen come from the noun iho “skin. It’s used to describe the color or the type of skin someone has. There are, for example, skin products specifically for people with sensitive skin, which will generally have the word herkkäihoiselle “for people with sensitive skin” on it.

Finnish	English
ruskeaihoinen sankaritar	a brown-skinned heroine
vaaleaihoinen malli	a fair-skinned model
kalpeaihoinen potilas	a pale-skinned patient
punakkaihoinen tarjoilija	a red-skinned waiter
tummaihoinen tuomari	a black(-skinned) judge
valkoihoinen perhe	a Caucasian family
herkkäihoinen nainen	a woman with sensitive skin

8. Compound phrases describing names

The noun nimi “name” can be turned into an adjective when specifying what something is called. While this doesn’t work in standard English, it’s still easy to understand: “Matti Nieminen –niminen näyttelijä” is literally “a Matti Nieminen named actor”.
Note how you will always use a dash with -niminen! The only compound adjectives without a dash are samanniminen “of the same name”, eriniminen “differently-named”, senniminen “thusly named” and tämänniminen “of this name”.

Finnish	English
Parler-niminen palvelu	a service called Parler
Wistle-niminen yritys	a company called Whistle
deksametasoni-niminen steroidi	a steroid called dexamethasone
Jimothy Tilks –niminen tubettaja	a youtuber called Jimothy Tilks

9. Compound adjectives describing wages

Adjectives ending in -palkkainen come from the noun palkka which means means “wages, pay”.
Compound adjectives made from palkka can be used to refer both to the job (e.g. huonopalkkainen ammatti) and to the recipient of the pay (e.g. huonopalkkainen virkailija).

Finnish	English
korkeapalkkainen virkamies	a high-paid official
korkeapalkkainen työ	a high-paying job
suuripalkkainen näyttelijä	a well-paid actor
suuripalkkainen tehtävä	a high-paying assignment
hyväpalkkainen ammattilainen	a well-paid professional
matalapalkkainen työpaikka	a low-paying job
pienipalkkainen työntekijä	a low-paid employee
huonopalkkainen ammatti	a poorly-paying profession
alipalkkainen opettaja	an underpaid teacher

10. Compound adjectives describing illnesses

Adjectives ending in -tautinen come from the noun tauti which means “illness, disease”. We can use the adjective tautinen to say “diseased”.
The word tauti is present in the names of a large part of illnesses, such as punatauti “rubella”, raivotauti “rabies” and keltatauti “jaundice”.

Finnish	English
punatautinen vanki	a prisoner affected by rubella
kuppatautinen henkilö	a person with syphilis
sydäntautinen potilas	a heart disease patient
luulotautinen henkilö	a hypochondriacal person
kuumetautinen lapsi	a febrile child, affected by a fever
raivotautinen koira	a rabid dog, affected by rabies
sokeritautinen mummo	a diabetic grandma
hermotautinen tyttö	a girl affected by a neurological disease

11. Compound adjectives describing patterns

Adjectives ending in -raitainen come from the noun raita which means “stripe”. It can be used in a compound adjective to express what type of stripes a clothing item has.
Adjectives ending in -kuvioinen come from the noun kuvio which means “pattern”. It can be used to give more information about the pattern on an item of clothing or other object.

Finnish	English
vaakaraitainen muki	a horizontally striped cup
vinoraitainen pipo	a diagonally striped winter hat
pystyraitainen puku	a vertically striped suit
kapearaitainen matto	a narrow-striped carpet
leveäraitainen pusero	a wide-striped blouse
poikkiraitainen huppari	a cross-striped hoodie
punaraitainen paita	a red striped shirt
kukkakuvioinen sohva	a floral pattern couch
kukonaskelkuvioinen hame	a dogtooth check patterned skirt
kirjavakuvioinen matto	a multi-patterned carpet
maastokuvioinen takki	a camouflage patterned coat

12. Compound adjectives describing colors

Adjectives ending in -värinen come from the noun väri which means “color”.
Note how many of these words utilize the genitive case: color of gold, color of a peach.

Finnish	English
kullanvärinen silmä	a gold-colored eye
hopeanvärinen sormus	a silver-colored ring
pronssinvärinen patsas	a bronze-colored statue
ruosteenvärinen katto	a rust-colored, rusty-brown roof
ihonvärinen paita	a flesh-colored, nude shirt
luonnonvärinen tukka	a natural, not dyed hairstyle
kirkasvärinen matto	a brightly-colored carpet
kirkkaanvärinen matto	a brightly-colored carpet
persikanvärinen seinä	a peach-colored, peachy-colored wall
tiilenvärinen mekko	a brick-colored dress
kauniinvärinen pusero	a beautifully colored blouse
rumanvärinen takki	an ugly-colored coat
yksivärinen paita	a monochrome, solid-colored shirt
kaksivärinen hattu	a two-color hat, bicolored
kolmivärinen nauha	a tricolor, trichromatic ribbon
erivärinen T-paita	a T-shirt of a different color
samanvärinen T-paita	a T-shirt of the same color
monivärinen kuvio	a multicolored design

You will also find compound adjective phrases which are used in combination with a genitive. This is the case of less-established phrases to fit a certain situation.

Finnish	English
khakin värinen takki	a khaki colored coat
iloisen värinen huivi	a cheerfully colored scarf
hillityn värinen paita	a shirt of subdued color
pirteän värinen asu	a brightly colored outfit
tasaisen värinen iho	an evenly colored skin
terrakotan värinen ruukku	a terracotta colored pot

13. Compound adjectives describing fabric

Adjectives ending in -kankainen come from the noun kangas which means “fabric, cloth, canvas”.
We can use -kankainen to describe what the fabric is like or what it’s made of. We can, for example, talk about a denim shirt farmarikankainen paita or a woolen shirt villakankainen paita. As you can see from these two examples, in English you generally don’t say that it’s a “denim fabric shirt” or a “woolen fabric shirt”.

Finnish	English
villakankainen takki	a woolen coat
farmarikankainen takki	a denim coat
joustokankainen maski	an elastic fabric mask
tuulikankainen ulkoilutakki	a wind canvas outdoor jacket
öljykankainen suojus	an oil cloth cover
vahakankainen pöytäliina	a wax cloth tablecloth
mokkanahkainen hame	a suede skirt
krokotiilinahkainen vyö	a crocodile skin belt
tekonahkainen sohva	an imitation leather couch

14. Compound adjectives describing coverings

Adjectives ending in -päällysteinen come from the noun päällyste which means a covering or coating. A road can be covered in asphalt for example.
Adjectives ending in -kantinen come from the noun kansi which means a cover or a lid. A jar can have a glass lid for example, while books can have a soft or hard cover.

Finnish	English
muovipäällysteinen patja	a plastic-coated mattress
metallipäällysteinen sähköjohto	a metal-coated power line
asfalttipäällysteinen tie	an asphalt surfaced road
kangaspäällysteinen tuoli	a fabric covered chair
tiukkakantinen purkki	a tight-lidded jar
kovakantinen kirja	a hardbound, hardcover book
pehmeäkantinen romaani	a paperbacked, soft-cover novel
lasikantinen laatikko	a glass-lidded box
kangaskantinen muistikirja	a fabric-covered notebook

15. Compound adjectives describing shapes and forms

Adjectives ending in -muotoinen come from the noun muoto which means “shape”. It can be used to express the shape of something (e.g. heart-shaped), but also has less literal uses.
We can use -muotoinen in order to, for example, express the form or format of something: a letter could be runomuotoinen, ie. be written in poem form, in stanzas. You’re likely to come across the word vapaamuotoinen when referring to a free-form letter of application or an informal meeting.

Finnish	English
sydämenmuotoinen rasia	a heart-shaped box (also sydämen muotoinen)
munanmuotoinen koriste	an egg-shaped, ovoid, oval-shaped decoration (also munan muotoinen)
epämuotoinen nivel	a misshapen, deformed, malformed joint
kaunismuotoinen maljakko	a shapely, beautifully shaped vase
pienimuotoinen juhla	a small-scale part
proosamuotoinen teksti	a text in prose format
runomuotoinen näytelmä	a play in poem format
vapaamuotoinen haastattelu	free-form, informal, casual interview

Compound adjective phrases with muotoinen generally compare an object to a familiar shape such as a star. We use a phrase rather than a compound word when an adjective has been made up to fit a specific situation. Generally adjectives such as the ones in the table below do not appear in the dictionary.

Finnish	English
kolmion muotoinen uima-allas	a triangular swimming pool
kurpitsan muotoinen lyhty	a lantern shaped like a pumpkin
puolikuun muotoinen lahti	a crescent-shaped bay
tähden muotoinen ikkuna	a star-shaped window
ovaalin muotoinen kenttä	an oval-shaped field
kummallisen muotoinen vihannes	a strangely shaped vegetable

16. Compound adjectives describing movement

Adjectives ending in -liikkeinen come from the noun liike which means “movement”. It’s used to describe how someone moves. We can have, for example, kankealiikkeinen vanhus who’s stiff and moves rigidly. In contrast, a sulavaliikkeinen balettitanssija refers to a ballet dancer who moves gracefully and smoothly.

Finnish	English
nopealiikkeinen hämähäkki	a fast-moving spider
hidasliikkeinen jättiläinen	a slow-moving giant
notkealiikkeinen eläin	an agile, supple animal
ketteräliikkeinen koira	an agile, nimble dog
sulavaliikkeinen kissa	a graceful cat
siroliikkeinen tanssija	a graceful dancer
vilkasliikkeinen lapsi	a lively child
raskasliikkeinen mies	a heavy, sluggish man
keveäliikkeinen tanssija	a light-moving dancer
kankealiikkeinen vanhus	a stiff-moving elderly person
jäykkäliikkeinen vanha koira	an old, rigid-moving dog
kömpelöliikkeinen vasta-alkaja	a clumsy beginner

17. Compound adjectives describing speech

Adjectives ending in -sanainen come from the noun sana “word”. They give us more information about the style of a message or speech.
Adjectives ending in -puheinen come from the noun puhe “speech”. These words give us more information about the type of speaker someone is.

Finnish	English
suorasanainen ystävä	an outspoken, blunt, direct friend
ankarasanainen arvostelu	a harsh-worded review
runsassanainen romaani	a wordy, verbose, long-winded novel
voimakassanainen nuhtelu	a strong-worded reprimand
selväsanainen viesti	a clear-worded, clear-cut message
teräväsanainen lauselma	a sharp-worded statement
lyhytsanainen lausunto	a concise, short statement
harvapuheinen mies	a tight-lipped, guarded, terse man
harvasanainen nainen	a tight-lipped, guarded, terse woman
niukkasanainen vastaus	a tight-lipped response, a scant answer
hidaspuheinen ihminen	a slow-speaking person
karkeapuheinen mies	a rough-spoken, rude man
kaunopuheinen saarnamies	an eloquent, smooth-spoken preacher
rohkeapuheinen uudistaja	a bold-spoken, bold-tongued maid
vähäpuheinen nainen	a taciturn, quiet woman

18. Compound adjectives describing facial expressions

Adjectives ending in -katseinen come from the noun katse “gaze, look”. They are used to express the way someone looks at the world.
Adjectives ending in -ilmeinen come from the noun ilme “expression”. They specify the expression on someone’s face. A vakavailmeinen poliisi is a policeman with a serious look on their face.

Finnish	English
ahdaskatseinen fundamentalisti	a narrow-minded fundamentalist
avarakatseinen valtiomies	a broad-minded, idealistic statesman
avokatseinen sotilas	an open-eyed, alert, vigilant soldier
kaukokatseinen poliitikko	a foresightly, far-seeing politician
kirkaskatseinen lapsi	a bright-eyed child
kylmäkatseinen henkilö	a cold-eyed person
tarkkakatseinen huomioija	an eagle-eyed, sharp-eyed, keen-sighted observer
teräväkatseinen asiantuntija	a sharp-eyed, intense-looking expert
vakavailmeinen puhuja	a speaker with a serious, somber face
tiukkailmeinen vartija	a security guard with a strict expression
kireäilmeinen fanaatikko	a fanatic with a tense expression

19. Compound adjectives describing sight or appearance

Adjectives ending in -näköinen come from the noun näkö. This noun means “vision”, “sight” or “appearance”. It’s used in three distinct ways.
Using an adjective in the genitive case in combination with näköinen expresses what something or someone visually looks like to an onlooker. Note how some of the words with an adjective in the genitive case can also be written in two words.
An adjective in the basic form can be used to express whether you have good vision or are visually impaired.
In addition, some of these words express a more abstract type of vision: we can express whether, for example, a business has foresight or only focuses on the present.

Finnish	English
hyvännäköinen nainen	a good-looking woman (also hyvän näköinen)
huononnäköinen nainen	a bad-looking woman
hauskannäköinen tyttö	a nice-looking, comely girl (also hauskan näköinen)
pahannäköinen haava	an unsightly, bad-looking, nasty looking wound
ilkeännäköinen ruhje	a nasty looking contusion
hurjannäköinen ilmestys	a wild-looking apparition
oudonnäköinen mies	a strange looking man (also oudon näköinen)
rumannäköinen auto	an ugly-looking car (also ruman näköinen)
tutunnäköinen nainen	a familiar looking woman (also tutun näköinen)
vakavannäköinen kolari	a car crash that looks like it’s serious (also vakavan näköinen)
heikkonäköinen henkilö	a visually impaired, near-blind person
huononäköinen nainen	a visually impaired, near-blind woman
hyvänäköinen mies	a man with good eyesight
likinäköinen henkilö	a myopic, nearsighted, short-sighted person
ahdasnäköinen työläinen	a narrow-minded worker
kaukonäköinen poliitikko	a foresighted, far-sighted, innovative politician
lyhytnäköinen poliitikko	a short-sighted, lacking foresight politician
tarkkanäköinen lääkäri	a perceptive, observant doctor
todennäköinen syy	a probable, likely cause “looking true/real”

In addition, it’s possible to make compound adjective phrases to express less common looks. For this, we use the genitive case.

Finnish	English
vastaremontoidun näköinen huoneisto	an apartment that looks newly renovated
tylsän näköinen äijä	a boring looking guy
tutun näköinen henkilö	a familiar looking person
nuoren näköinen nainen	a young-looking woman
vaarallisen näköinen syöksy	a dangerous looking plunge
tyylikkään näköinen auto	a stylish looking car
houkuttelevan näköinen ympäristö	an attractive looking, alluring environment

20. Compound adjectives describing feel

Adjectives ending in -tuntuinen come from the noun tunto “feel, feeling”. These compound adjectives are usually written in two words.

Finnish	English
hyvän tuntuinen kenkä	a shoe that feels good (also hyväntuntuinen)
toden tuntuinen uni	a dream that feels true (also todentuntuinen)
mukavan tuntuinen pusero	a sweater than feels comfortable
miellyttävän tuntuinen kasvomaski	a pleasant-feeling face mask
terveen tuntuinen iho	skin that feels healthy
jämäkän tuntuinen pikkuauto	a small car that feels sturdy, robust
elottoman tuntuinen eläin	an animal that seems to be lifeless

21. Compound adjectives describing impressions

Adjectives ending in -oloinen come from the noun olo “being, existence”, but it’s hard to see the connection to these lexicalized adjectives. We can convey the impression something leaves on us with compound adjectives ending in oloinen.

Finnish	English
rennon oloinen näyttelijä	an actor who comes across as relaxed
kiireisen oloinen ministeri	a minister who comes across as busy, in a hurry
tyytyväisen oloinen mies	a man who comes across as contented
huolettoman oloinen hiustyyli	a hairstyle that seems casual, carefree
mukavan oloinen sohva	a couch that seems comfortable

22. Compound adjectives describing similarity

Similarity and likeliness can be expressed using compound adjectives ending in tapainen and kaltainen. These have lexicalized considerably.

Finnish	English
samantapainen suunnitelma	a similar plan
tämäntapainen vastaus	this type of a reply
tuontapainen toiminta	that type of activity
sentapainen päätös	that type of a decision
samankaltainen tavoite	a similar objective
tämänkaltainen määräys	this kind of order
tuonkaltainen pelkuruus	that kind of cowardice
senkaltainen palvelu	such a service

Compound adjective phrases using tapainen and kaltainen are a common way to describe similarity as the situation requires. These words are not found in the dictionary. The first part will always appear in the genitive case.

Finnish	English
ruven tapainen pläntti ihossa	a scab-like spot on the skin
pöydän tapainen taso	a table-like level
ebolan tapainen sairaus	an ebola-like illness
kolmiodraaman tapainen tilanne	a situation similar to a love triangle
sirpalepommin tapainen räjähde	an explosive similar to a fragmentation bomb
Koronavilkun tapainen sovellus	an app similar to Koronavilkku
viime kesän kaltainen tilanne	a situation similar to last summer
suunnitellun kaltainen malli	a model similar to the one planned
ukkosen kaltainen jylinä	a thunder-like rumble
viime kevään kaltainen piikki	a spike similar to last spring
Netflixin kaltainen suoratoistopalvelu	a Netflix-like streaming service
Isisin kaltainen islamistiryhmä	an Islamist group like Isis

23. Compound adjectives describing comparability

When we’re comparing things, we can use the following three adjectives to mean that the things compare well to one another. All three mean the same thing.

Finnish	English
samanveroinen arvostus	an equal appreciation (also saman veroinen)
yhdenveroinen kilpailija	an equal competitor
tasaveroinen kohtelu	an equal treatment

Using the genitive case and a two-word construction, we can also specify what something is comparable with.

Finnish	English
Bärlundin veroinen nyrkkeilijä	a boxer on par with Bärlund
Obaman veroinen presidentti	a president on par with Obama
nimensä veroinen tuote	a product worthy of its name
maineensa veroinen ravintola	a restaurant worthy of its reputation

24. Compound adjectives describing types

Adjectives ending in -tyyppinen come from the noun tyyppi which means “type”.

Finnish	English
miestyyppinen kaljuuntuminen	male pattern baldness
naistyyppinen kaljuuntuminen	female pattern baldness
samantyyppinen visio	the same type of vision (also saman tyyppinen)
vastaavantyyppinen toimi	a similar type of action (also vastaavan tyyppinen)
tietyntyyppinen ihminen	a certain type of person
tämäntyyppinen tilanne	this type of situation (also tämän tyyppinen)
erityyppinen liiketoiminta	a different type of business

You can also come across compound adjective phrases with tyyppinen. If the first part is one word (such as wokkipannu), you will use the genitive case. If the first part consists of several words, you will use a dash.

Finnish	English
wokkipannun tyyppinen pannu	a wok type pan
haistakaa paska -tyyppinen ilmaisu	a “fuck you” type of expression
Last Man Standing -tyyppinen ratkaisu	a “last man standing” type of solution
Cessna U206C -tyyppinen lentokone	a Cessna U206C type of aircraft

25. Compound adjectives describing core characteristics

Adjectives ending in -omainen come from the word oma “own”. This is a pretty lexicalized type of adjective, which is used to express what something resembles on a deeper level: their very essence, their core characteristic.
In addition omainen is also a noun which means “next of kin”.

Finnish	English
aavistuksenomainen tunne	a subtle, elusive feeling
haaveenomainen tunnelma	a dreamlike atmosphere
kansanomainen tyyli	a folksy style
kodinomainen sairaala	a homely, home-style hospital
lapsenomainen innostus	a childlike enthusiasm
luonteenomainen ulkonäkö	a characteristic, distinctive appearance
nimenomainen kutsu	an express, explicit invitation
pakonomainen tarve	a compulsive need
rauhanomainen ratkaisu	a peaceable, peaceful solution
rutiininomainen tutkimus	a routine, perfunctory examination
sadunomainen tunnelma	a fairytale-like atmosphere
taianomainen vetovoima	a magical attraction
tarunomainen henkilö	a legendary, fabled person
tavanomainen kesto	a normal, conventional duration
tutunomainen maisema	a familiar landscape

There are also compound phrases which express a more situational similarity. These are created using the genitive case for the first part of the phrase.

Finnish	English
refleksin omainen tapa	a reflex-like habit
Harry Potterin omainen taikamaailma	a magical world similar to Harry Potter
sairaalan omainen tunnelma	a hospital-like atmosphere
supistuksen omainen kipu	a contraction-like pain, resembling a contraction
pakkomielteen omainen suhde	an obsessive-like relationship, resembling an obsession
cocktailin omainen laadukas juoma	a cocktail-like quality drink

26. Compound adjectives describing spirit or mind

Adjectives ending in -henkinen come from the noun henki. Compound words ending in henkinen are used to express what type of a mind someone has.
Often it refers to what someone is focused on, so we could refer to a salesperson who’s focused on selling things to be myyntihenkinen kauppias. Similarly, kilpailuhenkinen opiskelija is a student who sees most things as a competition and wants to best others.
Another use for -henkinen would be when referring to the amount of people something contains or is meant for. For example, kolmihenkinen perhe is a family with three people. A band with two people in it can be referred to as a kaksihenkinen bändi.

Finnish	English
myyntihenkinen puhelinmyyjä	a sales-oriented telemarketer
puhdashenkinen seikkailukertomus	a pure-minded adventure story
kilpailuhenkinen henkilö	a competitive person
lämminhenkinen puhe	a warm-hearted speech
samanhenkinen seura	like-minded company
palveluhenkinen henkilökunta	service-minded staff
laumahenkinen ihminen	a herd-minded person
kapinahenkinen nuorukainen	a rebellious youngster
yksihenkinen kotitalous	a one-person household
kaksihenkinen perhe	a two-person family
kolmihenkinen tiimi	a three-person team
nelihenkinen perhe	a four-person family
kuusihenkinen miehistö	a crew of six people

27. Compound adjectives describing the nature of something

Adjectives ending in -luonteinen come from the noun luonne which means “nature, personality”.
Firstly, this type of adjective can refer to the personality of a person.
In addition, these adjectives are often used to refer to events that are of a certain nature: something may be serious in nature, or be temporary.

Finnish	English
arkaluonteinen tilanne	a delicate, sensitive situation
heikkoluonteinen ihminen	a weak-minded person
ilkeäluonteinen lapsi	a child of a malicious nature
lempeäluonteinen eläin	an animal of a gentle nature, mild-mannered
jyrkkäluonteinen esimies	a supervisor of a strict nature
vaikealuonteinen äiti	a mother who’s difficult in nature
vakavaluonteinen tappouhkaus	a death threat of a serious nature
kausiluontoinen työttömyys	seasonal unemployment, specific for a certain period
sesonkiluonteinen matkailu	seasonal travel, specific for a certain season
kertaluonteinen ilmiö	a one-off phenomenon, occurring only once, one-time

28. Compound adjectives describing will or intention

Adjectives ending in -tahtoinen come from the noun tahto which means “will”.
Using this type of adjectives, we can describe how strong someone’s will is.
We can also describe their stance or attitude towards something. In these cases we will use the genitive case for the first part of the compound adjective.

Finnish	English
lujatahtoinen henkilö	a strong-willed, driven, determined person
heikkotahtoinen hallitsija	a spineless, wishy-washy weak-willed ruler
vahvatahtoinen nainen	a strong-willed, opinionated woman
voimakastahtoinen mies	a strong-willed, forceful man
rautatahtoinen pääministeri	an iron-willed prime minister
hyväntahtoinen ihminen	a good-natured, well-intentioned, well-meaning person
pahantahtoinen voima	a malicious, malevolent, ill-natured power
rauhantahtoinen politiikka	inclined to peace, peaceable politics
voitontahtoinen joukkue	a team that’s focused on winning
vastentahtoinen myönnytys	a reluctant, involuntary, unwilling admission

29. Compound adjectives describing intellect

Adjectives ending in -älyinen come from the noun äly “intellect, intelligence”. They’re used to specify the nature of someone’s mind.

Finnish	English
vähä-älyinen idiootti	a low-witted, simple-minded idiot
terävä-älyinen tutkija	a sharp, keen, intelligent researcher
nopeaälyinen nuorimies	a quick-witted young man
normaaliälyinen lapsi	a child of normal intelligence
hidasälyinen hylkiö	a slow-witted, obtuse outcast

30. Compound adjectives describing abilities and skills

Adjectives ending in -kykyinen come from the noun kyky which means “ability”.
Adjectives ending in -taitoinen come from the noun taito which means “skill”.
Both are used to create compound adjectives which express that something or someone has the capability of doing something.

Finnish	English
ajokykyinen nuorukainen	a youngster able to drive
elinkykyinen sikiö	a viable fetus, able to live
huomiokykyinen lapsi	an observant, perceptive child
imukykyinen materiaali	an absorbent material
kilpailukykyinen hinta	a competitive price, able to compete
lentokykyinen lintu	a bird capable of flying, airworthy
liikuntakykyinen potilas	a mobile, ambulatory patient
lisääntymiskykyinen rotu	a fertile breed, able to reproduce
oppimiskykyinen lintu	a bird able to learn, capable of learning
puhekykyinen papukaija	a parrot able to speak, speech-endowed
toimintakykyinen hallitus	a functioning, operational government
työkykyinen työnhakija	a job seeker able to work, fit for work
tuotantokykyinen tehdas	a factory with productive capacity
vajaakykyinen lapsi	a disabled child
ammattitaitoinen työntekijä	a skilled, competent employee
kielitaitoinen työnhakija	a job seeker with language skills
lukutaitoinen maahanmuuttaja	a literate immigrant, able to read
uimataitoinen lapsi	a child that’s able to swim
monitaitoinen mies	a versatile man, skilled in many things

31. Compound adjectives describing suitability

Adjectives ending in -kelpoinen come from the adjective kelpo which means “good, decent, proper”. This type of adjectives is used to describe what something is suitable to do or be.

Finnish	English
naimakelpoinen nainen	a marriageable woman, suitable for marriage
elinkelpoinen investointi	a viable investment, able to thrive
ajokelpoinen tie/auto	driveable road, roadworthy car
luottokelpoinen hakija	a creditworthy applicant
todistuskelpoinen asiakirja	a verifiable document, suitable as evidence
julkaisukelpoinen käsikirjoitus	a publishable manuscript, suitable for publication
käyttökelpoinen menetelmä	a workable method, suitable to be used
mallikelpoinen työntekijä	an exemplary employee
merikelpoinen vene	a seaworthy boat
syömäkelpoinen sieni	an edible, eatable mushroom
vertailukelpoinen liikevoitto	a comparable operating profit
viljelykelpoinen maa	cultivatable, cultivable soil
vähennyskelpoinen alv	deductible VAT

32. Compound adjectives describing worth

Adjectives ending in -arvoinen come from the noun arvo “worth, value” and can be used in compound adjectives to express the worth or worthiness of something. We can express that something is worth noticing, noteworthy by using the adjective huomionarvoinen. We can also express that something or someone is worth less (ala-arvoinen) or more (ylempiarvoinen).

Finnish	English
ala-arvoinen laatu	an inferior, substandard quality
alempiarvoinen laji	an inferior, subordinate species
ylempiarvoinen upseeri	a higher-rank officer
ensiarvoinen kysymys	a primary, paramount question
kallisarvoinen lahja	a precious, valuable present
korkea-arvoinen virkamies	a high-ranking official
suuriarvoinen työ	a job of great value
tasa-arvoinen yhteiskunta	an egalitarian, equal society
vähäarvoinen tuote	a low value product, insignificant
huomionarvoinen esimerkki	a noteworthy, notable example (also huomion arvoinen)
kullanarvoinen tilaisuus	an opportunity worth its weight in gold (also kullan arvoinen)
samanarvoinen asema	an equal position (also saman arvoinen)

Compound adjective phrases can also include arvoinen. This is especially common when expressing how much money something is worth: 10 miljoonan euron arvoinen yritys is a firm that’s worth 10 million euros. The number and the currency will be inflected in the genitive case. For the first example below, this means you should read the phrase as “viiden tuhannen euron arvoinen“.

Finnish	English
5 000 euron arvoinen kiinteistö	a property worth 5,000 euros
tuhansien eurojen arvoinen taideteos	a work of art worth thousands of euros
30 euron arvoinen ostos	a purchase worth 30 euros
tuhannen euron arvoinen rannekello	a watch worth a thousand euros
mitalin arvoinen suoritus	a medal-worthy performance
harkinnan arvoinen tarjous	an offer worth considering
luottamuksen arvoinen esimies	a trustworthy employer

33. Compound adjectives describing condition

Adjectives ending in -kuntoinen come from the noun kunto which means “condition” or “shape”. It can be used to create adjectives that express what someone is in the right condition to do (such as work).

Finnish	English
ajokuntoinen auto	a driveable, roadworthy car
asekuntoinen nuorukainen	a youngster fit for military service
epäkuntoinen laite	a broken, malfunctioning, unusable device
huonokuntoinen talo	an unsound house, in bad condition
huonokuntoinen henkilö	an unfit person
hyväkuntoinen auto	a sound car, in good condition
hyväkuntoinen juoksija	a fit runner
käyttökuntoinen piano	a piano that’s in working order, usable
toimintakuntoinen järjestelmä	an operational, operable system
työkuntoinen työnhakija	a job seeker fit to work

34. Compound adjectives describing power

Adjectives ending in -tehoinen come from the noun teho. When describing how much power a machine has, teho can be turned into tehoinen to create useful adjectives.

Finnish	English
alitehoinen koneisto	underpowered machinery
heikkotehoinen moottori	a low-powered engine
nopeatehoinen nukutusaine	a fast-acting anaesthetic
pienitehoinen moottoripyörä	a low-power motorcycle
suuritehoinen ydinvoimala	a high-power power plant
aivojen vajaatehoinen toiminta	impaired brain function

35. Compound adjectives describing level

Adjectives ending in -tasoinen come from the noun taso which means “level”.

Finnish	English
korkeatasoinen suoja	a high-level protection
matalatasoinen tulehdus	low-level infection
keskitasoinen riski	an average, medium risk
monitasoinen hallinto	multilevel governance
yliopistotasoinen	university level
eritasoinen kehitys	a development of a different level
samantasoinen palvelu	a same-level service (also saman tasoinen)

If we want to compare something to a known entity or person, we can do so using tasoinen in a compound adjective phrase. A dash is usually used in these when we’re mentioning a name or brand.

Finnish	English
salaliittoteorian tasoinen aihe	a conspiracy theory level topic
IFK:n tasoinen joukkue	an IFK level team
Michelin-tasoinen ruoka	Michelin level food
Mike Tysonin –tasoinen nyrkkeilijä	a Mike Tyson level boxer

36. Compound adjectives describing age

Adjectives ending in -ikäinen come from the noun ikä which means “age”. The word ikä “age” is very common in compound adjectives. Generally, these adjectives are written as one word: kouluikäinen, työikäinen, keski-ikäinen.
While these words are first and foremost adjectives, some of them can also be used as nouns. For example, the sentence “I have an infant daughter” translates as Minulla on vauvaikäinen tytär. “Infant” is an adjective here. However, we can also make the sentence “Vauvaikäiset nukkuvat 20 tuntia vuorokaudessa”. In this sentence we’re using infant as a noun: “Infants sleep 20 hours a day”.

Finnish	English
vauvaikäinen lapsi	an infant child
imeväisikäinen lapsi	an infant child of nursing age
vaippaikäinen lapsi	a diaper-aged child
leikki-ikäinen lapsi	a toddler-aged child
esikouluikäinen poika	a preschool age boy
kouluikäinen tyttö	a school age girl
peruskouluikäinen lapsi	a primary school age child
kasvuikäinen lapsi	a child of growing age
teini-ikäinen poika	a teenage boy
murrosikäinen tyttö	a pubescent girl
työikäinen mies	a working age man
alaikäinen lapsi	a minor child
täysi-ikäinen mies	an adult man
keski-ikäinen äiti	a middle-aged mother
pitkäikäinen avioliitto	a long-lasting marriage
lyhytikäinen rauha	a short-lived peace
elinikäinen	a lifelong friendship
samanikäinen ystävä	a same-age friend

Compound adjective phrases can also specify the age in years or months. When talking about adults, -vuotias is much more common: 47-vuotias rather than 47 vuoden ikäinen.

Finnish	English
kahden vuoden ikäinen poika	a two-year-old boy
vuoden ikäinen lapsi	a one-year-old child
muutaman kuukauden ikäinen vauva	a few months old baby

37. Compound adjectives describing sizes

Adjectives ending in -kokoinen come from the noun koko which mean “size”.

Finnish	English
suurikokoinen kissarotu	a large cat breed, “of large size”
isokokoinen mies	a large man, “of large size”
pienikokoinen älypuhelin	a small, compact smartphone, “of small size”
pienoiskokoinen leikkimökki	a miniature playhouse “miniature-sized”
miniatyyrikokoinen veistos	a miniature-sized sculpture
minikokoinen retkikeitin	a tiny, small-size camping stove
jättiläiskokoinen patsas	a gigantic statue, “of giant size”
keskikokoinen mies	a medium size, average size man
normaalikokoinen ovi	a normal size door
standardikokoinen näyttö	a standard-sized screen
vakiokokoinen tulostin	a standard-sized printer
matkakokoinen peli	a travel-size game
taskukokoinen sanakirja	a pocket-sized dictionary
nyrkinkokoinen kasvain	a fist-sized tumor (also nyrkin kokoinen)
samankokoinen pusero	a same-size blouse (also saman kokoinen)

It’s also fairly common for kokoinen to appear in compound adjective phrases. Note the use of the genitive case in these phrases.

Finnish	English
nyrkin kokoinen kasvain	a fist-sized tumor
käytännöllisen kokoinen laukku	a practically sized bag
peukalon kokoinen pala inkivääriä	a thumb-sized piece of ginger
ihmisen pään kokoinen kivi	a stone the size of a human head
400 neliön kokoinen talo	a 400 sqm house
sopivan kokoinen pesukone	a suitably sized washing machine

38. Compound adjectives describing amounts

Adjectives ending in -suuruinen come from the noun suuruus “magnitude” and the adjective suuri “large”. Such adjectives are used to express the amount or magnitude of something, rather than just its size.

Finnish	English
erisuuruinen palkkio	a different amount (size) of reward
vakiosuuruinen jännite	a constant voltage, same amount continuously
samansuuruinen maksu	a payment of the same amount (also saman suuruinen)
vastaavansuuruinen	equivalent, of similar/equal size (also vastaavan suuruinen)

Compound adjective phrases with suuruinen are usually used for monetary quantities or the size of properties. The numbers in these phrases will be inflected in the genitive case. The first example in the table below would be pronounced as “neljänkymmenenkolmen euron suuruinen“.

Finnish	English
43 euron suuruinen rikosuhrimaksu	a crime victim fee of 43 euros
20 000 euron suuruinen apuraha	a grant of 20 000 euros
satojen eurojen suuruinen huijaus	a scam of hundreds of euros
360 dollarin suuruinen sakkorangaistus	a fine of 360 dollars
sadan hehtaarin suuruinen niitty	a hundred-acre meadow
20 tuhannen neliömetrin suuruinen palatsi	a palace of 20 thousand square meters

39. Compound adjectives describing scale

Adjectives ending in -mittainen come from the noun mitta which means “measurement, meter”. It can be used in adjective phrases to specify the length, size or scale of something.

Finnish	English
alamittainen kala	an undersized fish, below the desired size
keskimittainen mies	a man of average size/height/build
laajamittainen korjaus	a large-scale repair
määrämittainen kaapeli	a cable of fixed length
samanmittainen mies	a man with the same measurements (also saman mittainen)
standardimittainen tuote	a standard size product
suurimittainen katastrofi	a large-scale catastrophe
täysimittainen sisällissota	a full-blown civil war; full-scale, all-out

It’s common to use –mittainen to specify lengths of time, by adding the specific amount in front of the adjective in the genitive case. For example, “kuukauden mittainen poikkeustila” refers to a state of emergency which is measured to be one month long. In English, you’d just say “a one-month state of emergency”.

Another common use for mittainen is in combination with lengths marked in, for example, centimeters or miles. The phrase “kilometrin mittainen aita” refers to a fence which is measured to have a length of one kilometer. In English, you’d say “a kilometer-long fence”.

Finnish	English
kahden vuoden mittainen tuomio	a two-year sentence
vuosien mittainen oikeustaistelu	years of legal struggle
kolmen viikon mittainen työkokemus	three weeks of work experience
muutaman sadan metrin mittainen matka	a distance of a few hundred meters
20 millimetrin mittainen kovakuoriainen	a 20 mm long beetle

40. Compound adjectives describing numerical measurements

Adjectives ending in -kiloinen come from the noun kilo.
Adjectives ending in -senttinen come from the noun senttimetri “centimeter”.
Adjectives ending in -metrinen come from the noun metri “meter”.
Adjectives ending in -kuutioinen come from the noun kuutiometri “cubic meter”.

Finnish	English
puolikiloinen ahven	a half-kilo perch
parikiloinen hauki	a pike of a couple of kilos
viisikiloinen lohi	a five-kilo salmon
satakiloinen kivi	a 100-kilo rock
15-kiloinen jättihauki	a 15-kilo giant pike
69-kiloinen urheilija	a 69-kilo sportsman
90-kiloinen alligaattori	a 90-kilo alligator
tuskin 40-kiloinen nainen	a woman of barely 40 kilos
190-senttinen mies	a 190-centimeter man
33-senttinen lisko	a 33-centimeter lizard
160-senttinen malli	a 160-centimeter model
3-metrinen krokotiili	a 3-meter crocodile
2428-metrinen kiitorata	a 2428-meter runway
10-metrinen vapaapotku	a 10-meter free kick
200-metrinen betoniseinä	a 200-meter concrete wall
85-metrinen heitto	an 85-meter throw
450-kuutioinen moottoripyörä	a 450-cubic motorcycle
1600-kuutioinen moottori	a 1600-cubic engine
1800-kuutioinen Harley-Davidson	an 1800-cc Harley-Davidson

41. Compound adjectives describing length or height

Adjectives ending in -pituinen come from the noun pituus “length” and the adjective pitkä “long, tall”.
Note how the adjective pitkä in Finnish is used both for the length of things and the height of a person. A tall man would be pitkä mies in Finnish. As such, -pituus can also be used to express a person’s height.

Finnish	English
polvipituinen hame	a knee-length skirt
lantiopituinen jakku	a hip-length jacket
nilkkapituinen mekko	an ankle-length dress
pohjepituinen hame	a calf-length skirt
vyötäröpituinen takki	a waist-length coat
normaalipituinen mies	a man of normal height
samanpituinen mies	a man of the same height
eripituinen loma	a vacation of a different length
tasapituinen otsatukka	an even-length fringe

Compound adjective phrases with pituinen can be used to express numerical lengths of time or distance. Not how the numbers get inflected in the genitive case.

Finnish	English
kuuden vuoden pituinen suhde	a six-year relationship, a length of six years
10 vuoden pituinen sopimus	a 10-year contract, a length of 10 years
viikon pituinen pakkasjakso	a week-long frost period
kuukauden pituinen lomamatka	a month-long holiday trip
kahden metrin pituinen turvaväli	a safe distance of two meters
54 kilometrin pituinen matka	a journey of 54 kilometers

42. Compound adjectives describing prices

Adjectives ending in -hintainen come from the noun hinta “price”. It can be used to specify what type of a price a product has.

Finnish	English
minkähintainen?	what price (also minkä hintainen)
samanhintainen tuote	a similarly priced product (also saman hintainen)
keskihintainen auto	an average priced car
normaalihintainen tuote	a normal price product (ie. not reduced in price)
sopuhintainen pesukone	an affordable washing machine
kohtuuhintainen asunto	an affordable apartment
huokeahintainen hääpuku	an affordable wedding dress
halpahintainen temppu	a cheap, trashy trick

When specifying the exact price of a product, we can use numbers in the genitive case in combination with hintainen.

Finnish	English
euron hintainen ateria	a meal priced at one euro
kolmen euron hintainen pihvi	a steak priced at three euros
viiden euron hintainen pusero	a sweater priced at five euros
parin tonnin hintainen moottoripyörä	a motorcycle priced at a couple of thousand
sopivan hintainen asunto	a suitably priced apartment
meille oikean hintainen asunto	an apartment of the right price for us
siedettävän hintainen tarjous	a tolerable price offer
järkevän hintainen sijoitus	a reasonably priced investment

43. Compound adjectives describing page numbers

Adjectives ending in -sivuinen come from the noun sivu which means “page”. It can be made into an adjective sivuinen, which specifies the number of pages of an object.

Finnish	English
nelisivuinen kirje	a four-page letter
monisivuinen lista	a multipage list
muutamasivuinen lehtinen	a leaflet of a couple of pages
erisivuinen kolmio	a scalene triangle (geometry term)
100-sivuinen kirja	a 100-page book
1300-sivuinen sopimus	a 1300-page contract
43-sivuinen raportti	a 43-page report

44. Compound adjectives describing stages or parts

Adjectives ending in -vaiheinen come from the noun vaihe which means “stage”.
Adjectives ending in -osainen come from the noun vaihe which means “part”.

Finnish	English
yksivaiheinen järjestelmä	single phase system
kaksivaiheinen prosessi	biphasic, two-phase process
kolmivaiheinen muutos	triphasic, three-phase transformation
monivaiheinen menettely	multiphase procedure
yksiosainen sanakirja	one-piece, one-part dictionary
kaksiosainen nimi	two-piece, two-part name
kolmiosainen tv-sarja	three-part tv series
neliosainen strategie	four-part strategy
moniosainen sanakirja	multi-part dictionary
vähäosainen perhe	an underprivileged family (socially/economically)
parempiosainen perhe	a better-off family (socially/economically)

45. Describing occurrences or repetition

Adjectives ending in -kertainen come from the noun kerta which can be used to describe how many times something takes place, or how many times something is done.
Some words are so lexicalized that their relation with the word kerta is lost. For example, yksinkertainen doesn’t mean “one-time” but rather “simple”.

Finnish	English
moninkertainen käyttö	multiple use
kaksinkertainen verotus	twofold, double taxation
kolminkertainen voittaja	a threefold winner
nelinkertainen maailmanmesteri	a four-time world champion
kymmenkertainen voittaja	a ten-time winner
edelliskertainen teema	the theme from last time
tämänkertainen voittaja	this time’s winner (also tämän kertainen)
ainutkertainen ilmiö	a unique phenomenon
keskinkertainen menestys	a mediocre success
yksinkertainen vastaus	a simple answer

A number with a dash is also common when we’re talking about things that take place ten times or more.

Finnish	English
16-kertainen riski normaalitilanteen verrattuna	16-fold risk compared to normal
10-kertainen energiatiheys tyypillisiin akkuihin nähden	10 times the energy density of typical batteries
20-kertainen ero	a 20-fold difference
12-kertainen palkka viime vuoteen verrattuna	12 times the salary of last year

46. Compound adjectives describing numbers of people

Adjectives ending in -jäseninen come from the noun jäsen which means “member”
Adjectives ending in -oppilainen come from the noun oppilas which means “student”
We can turn these words into adjectives to express how many members or students a place or group has. English has a similar type of sentence construction for specifying the number of people in something, as you can see from the examples in the table.

Finnish	English
kolmijäseninen toimikunta	a three-member committee
monijäseninen komitea	a multi-member committee
kuusijäseninen johtokunta	a six-member executive board
7-jäseninen ryhmä	a group of 7 members
30-jäseninen valtuusto	a 30-member council
40-jäseninen orkesteri	a 40-member orchestra
700-oppilainen koulupiiri	a 700-student school district
500-oppilainen alakoulu	a 500-student elementary school
24-oppilainen luokka	a 24-student class

47. Compound adjectives describing capacity

Adjectives ending in -paikkainen come from the noun paikka which means “place” or “seat”. We can use it to describe the capacity of something, ie. how many people will fit there.

Finnish	English
yksipaikkainen lentokone	a single-seater aircraft
tuhatpaikkainen teatteri	a thousand-seat theater
8000-paikkainen stadion	an 8000-seat stadium
10-paikkainen teho-osasto	a 10-bed ICU
68-paikkainen kenttäsairaala	a 68-bed field hospital
17-paikkainen hoitokoti	a 17-bed nursing home

48. Compound adjectives describing time

Adjectives ending in -aikainen come from the noun aika which means “time”. Many of these words have a very specific meaning, as you can see from the table below.

Finnish	English
osa-aikainen työ	a part-time job
kokoaikainen työ	a full-time job
samanaikainen tapahtuma	simultaneous event (also saman aikainen)
väliaikainen	temporary
määräaikainen	fixed term
viimeaikainen	recent
vanhanaikainen	old-fashioned
lyhytaikainen	short-lived
pitkäaikainen	long-term
ennenaikainen	premature
elinaikainen	lifelong
elämänaikainen	during life
reaaliaikainen	real time
sota-aikainen	wartime
sodanaikainen	wartime
keskiaikainen	medieval
viikinkiaikainen	from the Viking Age

We can also use the genitive case in combination with aikainen as a separate word to fit a more specific, temporary meaning. In English, you will generally just place the time frame in front of the noun. In Finnish, the word aikainen will perform the duty of the phrase “from the time of”, which can be added to the English phrase as well but is less commonly used.

Finnish	English
Kiinan Ming-dynastian aikainen astia	a Chinese Ming Dynasty dish (“from the time of”)
toisen maailmansodan aikainen pommi	a World War II bomb (“from the time of”)
kylmän sodan aikainen bunkkeri	a Cold War bunker (“from the time of”)
jääkauden aikainen taideteos	an Ice Age artwork (“from the time of”)
sisällissodan aikainen taistelutunnus	a battle emblem of the civil war (“from the time of”)

49. Compound adjectives describing time periods

Adjectives ending in -kautinen come from the noun kausi which means “period” or “age” (as in Ice Age, Iron Age etc).
The adjectives elinkautinen and vuorokautinen have a lexicalized meaning, as you can see from the table below.

Finnish	English
jääkautinen hiidenkouru	a glacial chute (ice age)
rautakautinen kalmisto	an iron age burial ground
pronssikautinen hauta	a bronze age grave
kivikautinen man	a stone age man
liitukautinen dinosaurus	a cretaceous dinosaur
elinkautinen tuomio	a life sentence
vuorokautinen työaika	a daily (24 hours) food requirement

50. Compound adjectives time spans in years

Compound adjectives ending in -vuotinen come from the noun vuosi “year”. They tell us how many years something lasts. In addition to writing the numbers in letters, we can also use digits and a dash to specify the number of years. For numbers above 10, you will always use numbers.
The adjective vuotinen is also used in biology to talk about plants which have a lifespan of two or three years.

Finnish	English
kaksivuotinen työohjelma	a two-year work program
kuusivuotinen koulutus	a six-year education
kymmenvuotinen sota	a ten-year war
16-vuotinen valtakausi	a 16-year reign
3-vuotinen sopimus	a 3-year contract
20-vuotinen ura	a 20-year career
Nokian 126-vuotinen historia	Nokia’s 126-year history
asiakirjojen 25-vuotinen salassapito	the 25-year confidentiality of documents
edellisvuotinen päätös	the decision of the previous year
jokavuotinen tapahtuma	an annual, yearly event
kokovuotinen vaikutus	the full-year effect
monivuotinen aikataulu	a multi-annual timetable
monivuotinen kasvi	a perennial plant
kaksivuotinen kasvi	a biennial plant

51. Compound adjectives describing afterness

Adjectives ending in -jälkeinen come from the word jälkeen which means “after”.
There are only two compound adjectives ending in -jälkeinen: kuolemanjälkeinen “post-mortem, posthumous” and sodanjälkeinen “post-war”.
More common are compound phrases using –jälkeinen, which are used in order to refer to events happening after a thing. In English, the prefix post- is often used for this purpose.

Finnish	English
kuolemanjälkeinen elämä	life after death
sodanjälkeinen Eurooppa	post-war Europe
joulun jälkeinen tilanne	the post-Christmas situation
leikkauksen jälkeinen aika	postoperative time, the time after a surgery
avioeron jälkeinen riita	the post-divorce dispute
ottelun jälkeinen lehdistötilaisuus	the post-match press conference
synnytyksen jälkeinen masennus	postpartum depression, depression after giving birth
urheilu-uran jälkeinen elämä	life after a sports career
rasituksen jälkeinen uupumus	post-exertion exhaustion

52. Compound adjectives describing being behind/past

The suffix –takainen is related to the word for “behind”: takana. By using it, we can express that something is behind or beyond something else.

Finnish	English
haudantakainen	posthumous, beyond the grave
kuolemantakainen	posthumous, beyond death
merentakainen	overseas
rajantakainen	behind the border, on the other side of the border, cross-border
seläntakainen	backbiting, behind someone’s back

In addition, we can use the genitive case with takainen as well. In these cases, the meaning generally refers to how much time has passed since an event in the past. English doesn’t seem to have a similar sentence construction as Finnish does, so I’ve translated the [x:n takainen] as “from x ago”.

Finnish	English
muutaman vuoden takainen tuomio	the verdict from a few years ago
neljäntoista vuoden takainen kuolema	the death from fourteen years ago
McGregorin vuoden takainen voitto	McGregor’s victory from a year ago
vuoden takainen rikos	the crime from a year ago
puolen vuoden takainen ottelu	the match from half a year ago
viikon takainen kirje	the letter from a week ago

53. Compound adjectives describing the build of something

Adjectives ending in -rakenteinen come from the noun rakenne “construction, build”.

Finnish	English
heikkorakenteinen alus	a weakly structured ship
kevytrakenteinen lentokone	a lightweight, lightly built aircraft
lujarakenteinen rakennus	a sturdy building, built to withstand
raskasrakenteinen kuorma-auto	a heavyset truck
tiivisrakenteinen malto	malt with a dense, compact structure
vahvarakenteinen hevonen	a solidly built horse
vankkarakenteinen kone	a robust machine, with a study structure

54. Compound adjectives describing the base or bottom of something

Compound adjectives ending in -pohjainen come from the noun pohja “bottom, base”.
The word pohja can be used to describe the base element of a mixture. For example, öljypohjainen salaatinkastike is a salad dressing with an oil base.
In addition, pohja can also describe the size or quality of the bottom of a thing. For example, shoes can have different types of bottoms: a pehmeäpohjainen lenkkari “soft-bottomed sneaker” is used in different situations than a paksupohjainen nilkkuri “thick-bottomed ankle boot”.
Some lexicalized words also exist, such as tietopohjainen and tunnepohjainen, which can both be used to specify the base of a decision: whether you base it on knowledge or on emotion.

Finnish	English
kasvipohjainen materiaali	a plant-based material
vesipohjainen maali	a water-based paint
saippuapohjainen pesuaine	a soap-based detergent
öljypohjainen kastike	an oil-based sauce
pehmeäpohjainen kenkä	a soft-bottomed shoe
kovapohjainen kenkä	a hard-bottomed shoe
paksupohjainen kattila	a thick-bottomed kettle
ohutpohjainen pizza	a thin-bottomed pizza
tasapohjainen vene	a flat-bottomed boat
sileäpohjainen vuoka	a smooth-bottomed casserole
maapohjainen talli	a stable with an earthy bottom (floor)
hiekkapohjainen lahti	a bay with a sandy bottom
tunnepohjainen reaktio	a feeling-based, emotional reaction
ilmiöpohjainen oppiminen	phenomenon-based learning

55. Compound adjectives describing the origin of something

Adjectives ending in -peräinen come from the noun perä. These adjectives refer to the substance something was created from. For example, kasviperäinen proteiini is protein which originates from plants, while eläinperäinen proteiini originates from animals.
There are some words which more abstractly refer to the original of something: e.g. a järkiperäinen selitys is an explanation based on rational thinking rather than beliefs.

Finnish	English
kasviperäinen jäte	waste of vegetable origin
eläinperäinen tuote	a product of animal origin
luontoperäinen lannoite	a fertilizer of natural origin
ihmisperäinen kudosnäyte	a tissue sample of human origin
eloperäinen maaperä	soil of organic origin
kokemusperäinen tieto	experiential; empirical knowledge
järkiperäinen selitys	a rational explanation
hämäräperäinen lähde	an obscure source
hämäräperäinen liiketoiminta	a shady business
alkuperäinen päätös	an original, initial decision

56. Compound adjectives describing the contents of something

Adjectives ending in -pitoinen come from the noun pitoisuus which means “content, concentration”. Such adjectives give us information about the contents of a substance or thing. For example, a toothpaste can contain fluorine (fluoripitoinen), soil can contain chalk (kalkkipitoinen) and a food can contain lots of nutrients (ravinnepitoinen).

Finnish	English
alkoholipitoinen juoma	an alcoholic drink
fluoripitoinen hammastahna	a fluorinated toothpaste
happipitoinen ilmakehä	an oxygenated atmosphere
hiilipitoinen aines	a carbonaceous material
rautapitoinen ydin	a ferrous core
typpipitoinen ilmasto	a nitrogenous atmosphere
kuitupitoinen ravinto	a fibrous diet
energiapitoinen elintarvike	an energy-rich food
ravinnepitoinen lannoite	a nutrient-rich fertilizer
hiekkapitoinen maakerros	a sand-rich soil layer
sokeripitoinen välipala	a sugary snack
rasvapitoinen voide	an oily cream
suolapitoinen maaperä	salty soil
jodipitoinen suola	iodised salt
lyijypitoinen bensiini	leaded petrol
happopitoinen plakki	acidic plaque
kalkkipitoinen maaperä	calcareous soil
metallipitoinen hiekka	metalliferous sand
kivennäispitoinen maa-aines	mineral-rich soil

57. Compound adjectives describing the make of something

Adjectives ending in -tekoinen come from the verb tehdä “to do, to make”, from which we get the noun teko “act, action”. Adjectives ending in -tekoinen are more closely related to the verb: they describe how something has been made.
In addition, we can use -tekoinen much like –rakenteinen to express how something is built.

Finnish	English
kotitekoinen juusto	a homemade cheese
omatekoinen lahja	a self-made gift
karkeatekoinen kaappi	a roughly made, rustic cupboard
nopeatekoinen kakku	a quickly made cake
lujatekoinen pöytä	a solid, sturdy table, made to last
tukevatekoinen mies	a muscular man, heavily built
rotevatekoinen mies	a bulky man, robustly built

58. Compound adjectives describing sides

Adjectives ending in -puolinen come from the word puoli. In addition to meaning “half”, puoli also means “side”. Compound adjectives ending in -puolinen and -puoleinen are used to express on what side something is situated. A window can be facing seaward (merenpuoleinen). A room can be situated in a building towards the road (tienpuoleinen).
There is no clear difference in meaning between -puolinen and -puoleinen but the latter is usually used with the genitive case. This is clear when looking at the words itäpuolinen and idänpuoleinen. Read more about this in Finnish here.
Many of these words have lexicalized and can’t be understood literally. For example, pintapuolinen literally means “surface side”, but it is used to describe something which is superficial, cursory or perfunctory.

Finnish	English
eteläpuolinen / etelänpuoleinen	southerly, on the southern side
itäpuolinen / idänpuoleinen	eastside, on the eastern side
pohjoispuolinen / pohjoisenpuoleinen	north, on the northern side
länsipuolinen / lännenpuoleinen	westside, on the western side
miespuolinen johtaja	a male leader
naispuolinen esimies	a female supervisor
sisäpuolinen tasku	an inner pocket, internal, interior
ulkopuolinen tarkkailija	an external observer, exterior, outer
tasapuolinen edustus	equitable representation, unbiased, impartial
toispuolinen halvaus	unilateral paralysis, one-sided, uneven
yksipuolinen sitoumus	a one-sided, unilateral commitment
kaksipuolinen teippi	a two-sided tape, bilateral (also 2-puoleinen)
molemminpuolinen suostumus	a mutual, reciprocal commitment
pintapuolinen tutkimus	a superficial or cursory study
monipuolinen ruokavalio	a versatile, diverse diet
oikeanpuoleinen ajovalo	a right-side headlight
vasemmanpuoleinen sarake	a left-side column
tuulenpuoleinen rannikko	a windward coast
järvenpuoleinen mökki	a lakeside cottage, facing the lake
kadunpuoleinen ikkuna	a streetside window, facing the street
tienpuoleinen reuna	a roadside edge, facing the road
äidinpuoleinen isoisä	a maternal grandfather
isänpuoleinen isoisä	a paternal grandfather

We can also create some compound adjective phrases.

Finnish	English
Euroopan puoleinen Venäjä	the Europe-side of Russia
(auton) matkustajan puoleinen kylki	the passenger side flank (of the car)
(talon) olohuoneen puoleinen lattia	the floor on the living room’s side (of the house)
(talon) rautatien puoleinen pääty	the railway facing end (of the house)

59. Compound adjectives describing adjacencies

Adjectives ending in -viereinen are related to the postposition vieressä “next to”. They’re used to specify what a specific thing is situated next to, adjacent to.
Only seinänviereinen is lexicalized enough to be written as one word: all other adjectives created with –viereinen are written as two words.

Finnish	English
seinänviereinen penkki	the bench next to the wall
keittiön viereinen huone	the bedroom next to the kitchen
tontin viereinen katu	the street next to the plot
järven viereinen sauna	the sauna next to the lake
valtatien viereinen rakennus	the building next to the highway
autotallin viereinen talo	the house next to the garage

60. Compound adjectives describing internal things

Adjectives ending in -sisäinen come from the postposition sisällä which means “inside”.
There are only a couple of compound adjectives ending in -sisäinen that are written as one word: suonensijäinen (intravenous) and solunsisäinen (intercellular).

Finnish	English
suonensisäinen	intravenous
solunsisäinen	intracellular

More commonly, sisäinen is used in compound phrases to express the group within a thing takes place. In English, you will often use the adjective “internal” for this.

Finnish	English
maajoukkueen sisäinen ryhmähenki	the team spirit within the national team
puolueen sisäinen ongelma	internal party problem
eduskunnan sisäinen tarkastus	internal audit of parliament
vanhemman sisäinen ääni	the inner voice of a parent
ryhmän sisäinen viestintä	intra-group communication
Venäjän sisäinen matkailu	Russian inland tourism

61. Compound adjectives describing relations

Adjectives ending in -välinen come from the postposition välissä which means “in between”. In English, you will often use the prefix inter- for these words.

Finnish	English
tasavälinen jaotus	an even distribution, equidistant
tieteidenvälinen tutkimus	an interdisciplinary study
alueidenvälinen yhteistyö	interregional cooperation
lajienvälinen vuorovaikutus	interspecies communication
mannertenvälinen liikenne	intercontinental traffic
ihmistenvälinen etäisyys	interpersonal distance
hallitustenvälinen konferenssi	an intergovernmental conference
kansainvälinen lentoasema	an international airport
tähtienvälinen avaruus	interstellar space

It’s common in newspapers to create compound adjectives to fit a situation. In these cases, you will be dealing with a compound phrase where välinen appears on its own without a prefix. In place of the prefix, there is an element in the genitive case.

Finnish	English
valtioiden välinen koalitio	an interstate coalition (“between states”)
kaupunkien välinen lento	an intercity flight (“between cities”)
Maan ja Kuun välinen etäisyys	the distance between Earth and the Moon
joukkueiden välinen ottelu	the match between the teams
urheilijoiden välinen kunnioitus	respect between athletes
osapuolten välinen ikäero	the age difference between the parties
Kiinan ja Venäjän välinen suhde	relations between China and Russia

62. Compound adjectives describing being under

Adjectives ending in -alainen come from the postposition alla which means “under, underneath”.
Some adjectives take the meaning on -alainen literally (e.g. vedenalainen means “underwater”).
Most of the time, however, we’re dealing with lexicalized adjectives that have gotten a less literal meaning.

Finnish	English
vedenalainen kaapeli	an underwater cable
pinnanalainen lämpötila	a subsurface temperature
maanalainen kaivos	an underground mine
kyseenalainen keino	questionable, dubious means
kiistanalainen teoria	disputed, controversial theory
veronalainen toimi	a taxable transaction
laaja-alainen ilmiö	a widespread phenomenon

In compound phrase adjectives, alainen is used to express that something is subservient to something. While compound phrase adjectives are likely fairly common in written Finnish, I’ve had a hard time finding them though regular search functions because the word alainen is also a noun, meaning a subordinate; a person of lower status.

Finnish	English
valtioneuvoston alainen viranomainen	an official under the Council of State
kovakalvon alainen verenvuoto	a subdural bleeding
Valviran valvonnan alainen työntekijä	an employee under the supervision of Valvira
virallisen syytteen alainen rikos	an offense under official prosecution

63. Compound adjectives describing dominance or governance

Adjectives ending in -valtainen come from the noun valta which means “power, force, authority”.
In the table below, you can find two types of words ending in -valtainen: the first group expresses that the consistency of something is predominantly of a certain type, such as a forest with mainly pine trees or a meeting containing mainly men. The second group of words refer to politics: who is in charge.

Finnish	English
lehtipuuvaltainen metsä	a deciduous forest
koivuvaltainen metsä	a birch-dominated forest
mäntyvaltainen metsä	a pine-dominated forest
miesvaltainen työpaikka	a predominantly male workplace
naisvaltainen ala	a predominantly female field of work
arvovaltainen mies	a prestigious, authoritative man
kokonaisvaltainen strategia	a holistic, comprehensive strategy
mielivaltainen toiminta	an arbitrary action

64. Compound adjectives describing dependency

Adjectives ending in -varainen are lexicalized words that express dependency: they tell us what something depends on.

Finnish	English
omavarainen	self-sufficient, self-contained, not dependant on anything
tulkinnanvarainen	ambiguous, dependant on one’s interpretation
harkinnanvarainen	discretionary, dependant on one’s own discretion
valinnanvarainen	optional, dependant on the person choosing
sopimuksenvarainen	contractual, based on an agreement
muistinvarainen	based on memory alone
sattumanvarainen	coincidental, based on chance, luck
vaistonvarainen	instinctive, intuitive, dependant on one’s instincts
silmävarainen	to be interpreted visually, dependant on what one sees
luvanvarainen	subject to license, dependant on whether you have a permit
vieraanvarainen	hospitable, welcoming guests

65. Compound adjectives describing specificity

Adjectives ending in -kohtainen are lexicalized words. I would recommend just learning these words without paying too much attention to their literal meaning.

Finnish	English
omakohtainen kokemus	subjective, first-hand experience
ajankohtainen aihe	current, topical subject
yksityiskohtainen selitys	detailed, elaborate explanation
tapauskohtainen ratkaisu	case-by-case solution
henkilökohtainen päätös	personal, private decision
käyttäjäkohtainen tunnus	user specific login

66. Compound adjectives describing conformity

Adjectives ending in -mukainen come from the word mukana “with”. They express that a thing conforms with something or is in accordance with something. For example, oikeudenmukainen means “fair, just, in accordance with the law”, totuudenmukainen means “truthful, in accordance with the truth”, and odotuksenmukainen means “predictable, as expected, “in accordance with the expectation”.

Finnish	English
asianmukainen hoito	an adequate, appropriate treatment
tavanmukainen käytäntö	a customary, conventional, standard practice
oikeudenmukainen puolustus	a fair, just, equitable defense
epäoikeudenmukainen kohtelu	unjust, wrongful, unfair treatment
totuudenmukainen selostus	a truthful narrative, based on the truth
järjenmukainen toiminta	a rational action
tarkoituksenmukainen menetelmä	an adequate, appropriate method
odotuksenmukainen tulos	a predictable, expected result
luonnonmukainen ruoka	natural, organic food
johdonmukainen ajattelu	coherent, consistent thinking
epäjohdonmukainen ajattelu	inconsistent, incoherent thinking

While odotuksenmukainen is a lexicalized word which is written as one word, the plural form odotusten mukainen is written as two words.

Finnish	English
ohjeiden mukainen pesu	washing according to instructions
perustuslain mukainen virkasyyte	prosecution in accordance with the Constitution
suositusten mukainen määrä	amount according to the recommendations
odotusten mukainen suoritus	performance in accordance with the expectations
EU:n sopimusten mukainen hätärahoitus	emergency funding in line with EU treaties
ulkomaalaislain mukainen velvollisuus	obligation in accordance with the Aliens Act

67. Compound adjectives describing opposition

Adjectives ending in -vastainen come from the word vasten or vastaan “against, counter”.

Finnish	English
järjenvastainen väite	an irrational, unreasonable claim
hallituksenvastainen mielenosoitus	an anti-government demonstration
lainvastainen menettely	illegal, unlawful conduct
oikeudenvastainen toiminta	an illicit, unlawful activity
luonnonvastainen ilmiö	an unnatural phenomenon
odotuksenvastainen kehitys	an unexpected development
sodanvastainen mielenosoitus	an anti-war, pacifist demonstration
totuudenvastainen väite	an untrue allegation
päinvastainen mielipide	an opposing opinion

In addition, vastainen is used in phrases, where the first element appears in the genitive case. These phrases express that something doesn’t conform with the element appearing in the genitive case.

The adjective vastainen also has another special function, which makes it very common in newspapers: the word vastainen is also used to express that something happens in the night between two days. See the examples below!

Finnish	English
sääntöjen vastainen	against the rules
sääntöjen vastainen taklaus	unlawful rigging
sääntöjen vastainen hyppypuku	illegal jumping suit
perustuslain vastainen poliittinen kostotoimi	political retaliation against the Constitution
perustuslain vastainen oikeudenkäynti	unconstitutional trial
myyntiluvan vastainen päätös	decision against the marketing authorization
omien etujen vastainen toiminta	action against their own interests
sunnuntain vastainen yö	the night before Sunday
tiistain vastainen yö	the night before Tuesday

That’s all for this extensive article on typical compound adjectives ending in -nen. Regardless of the length of this article, this is by no means a complete list. I do hope you find this article useful and that it helps you understand better how compound adjectives work!

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Typical compound adjectives – Finnish adjectives