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Adjectives Ending in -NUT/-NYT

In this article, we will take a look at how you can put adjectives ending in -NUT in the Finnish cases. We have other articles on words ending in a consonant, such as words ending in -tAr, -tOn and -As.

Below, you can first find out more about the difference between -NUT words depending on their function in the sentence. After that, there is a list of adjectives ending in -nut/-nyt. I’ve also included information about these words get inflected in the cases, with some example sentences of that as well.

Active Past Participles as Adjectives

“Hän on kuollut” can be translated as “he has died” or as “he is dead”. In the first translation, we’re dealing with a verb in the perfect tense (died). In the latter translation, we’re dealing with an adjective (dead). Yet, in Finnish, both look the same. So how do we know?

The difference between verbs in the perfect tense and lexicalized adjectives is not very large. However, there is a difference. VISK gives the following example, where the verb vanhentua is used both as part of the perfect tense (#1), and as an adjective (#2). We can tell that one is part of the tense and one is an adjective because of the form the verb is in.

  1. Miehet ovat vanhentuneet nopeasti. “The men have gotten older quickly.”
    → the verb is conjugated in the active past participle, and made plural (we use -nut/-nyt in the singular and -neet in the plural for the perfect tense).
  1. Mallit ovat vanhentuneita. “The models are outdated.”
    → the adjective is inflected in the plural partitive form, as is usually the case with the complement of a plural sentence.

In this article, we will just look at NUT-participles that have lexicalized. They function as adjectives, and can sometimes even be used as nouns.

  • Tytöt olivat ahdistuneita. “The girls were anxious.”
  • Ahdistuneet tytöt itkivät. “The anxious girls were crying.”
  • Rakastin ahdistuneita tyttöjä. “I loved the anxious girls.”
  • Ahdistuneet masentuvat helposti. “Those who are anxious easily get depressed.”

List of Words Ending in -nut/-nyt

Finnish English
ahdistunut anxious
aivokuollut brain dead
aseistunut armed
autioitunut deserted
eksynyt lost
eronnut divorced
hajonnut disintegrated
helpottunut relieved
hermostunut nervous
hienostunut sophisticated
homehtunut moldy
huolestunut worried
huvittunut amused
häiriintynyt deranged
hämmentynyt bewildered
hämmästynyt amazed
ihastunut enamored
ikävystynyt bored
ilahtunut delighted
innostunut excited
itseoppinut self-taught
kauhistunut terrified
kiinnostunut interested
kokenut experienced
korruptoitunut corrupted
kuivahtanut dried-up
kulunut worn, scuffed
kuollut dead
loukkaantunut offended
lukenut educated
masentunut depressed
motivoitunut motivated
Finnish English
murtunut broken
muumioitunut mummified
nolostunut embarrassed
nöyryyttänyt humiliated
omistautunut dedicated
pelästynyt frightened
pettynyt disappointed
päihtynyt intoxicated
raivostunut furious
rakastunut in love
ruostunut rusted
saastunut contaminated
sivistynyt civilized
stressaantunut stressed
suuttunut angry, indignant
syrjäytynyt outcast
säikähtänyt frightened
tulehtunut infected
turhautunut frustrated
turvonnut bloated
tyrmistynyt baffled
uupunut exhausted
vastasyntynyt newborn
vaurioitunut damaged
velkaantunut indebted
viivästynyt delayed
väsynyt tired
ylirasittunut overworked
yllättynyt surprised
ällistynyt taken aback
ärsyyntynyt displeased

The Inflection of Words Ending in -NUT

In the singular cases, -nut/-nyt will be replaced with -nee- before the case ending. The partitive case is the exception: add -ta/-tä to the basic form of the word.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative väsynyt väsyneet
Partitive väsynyttä väsyneitä
Genitive väsyneen väsyneiden
Missä väsyneessä väsyneissä
Mistä väsyneestä väsyneistä
Mihin väsyneeseen väsyneisiin
Millä väsyneellä väsyneillä
Miltä väsyneeltä väsyneiltä
Mille väsyneelle väsyneille
Translative väsyneeksi väsyneiksi
Essive väsyneenä väsyneinä

Example Sentences

Case Finnish English
nominative Väsynyt mies ei tarvitse minua. The tired man doesn’t need me.
T-plural Väsyneet vauvat itkevät. The tired babies are crying.
singular partitive Silitän väsynyttä koiraa. I pet the tired dog.
plural partitive Me olemme väsyneitä. We are tired.
plural partitive En auta väsyneitä äitejä. I don’t have the tired moms.
singular genitive Haen väsyneen lapsen päiväkodista. I pick up a tired child from daycare.
singular ablative Näytät tosi väsyneeltä. You look really tired.
plural ablative Näytätte tosi väsyneiltä. You (plural) look really tired.
plural allative Älä huuda väsyneille lapsille! Don’t yell at the tired children!
singular allative Annan halin väsyneelle tytölle. I give a hug to the tired girl.
singular elative En tykkää siitä väsyneestä pojasta. I dont like that tired boy.
plural elative En pidä niistä väsyneistä pojista. I don’t like those tired boys.
singular essive Menin väsyneenä töihin. I went to work tired.
singular translative Tunnen itseni väsyneeksi aamulla. I feel tired in the morning.
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Krishna Sharma

What is the difference between kiinnostanut vs kiinnostunut

Kiinnostanut comes from the verb kiinnostaa. It’s usually used in the present or past tense: Minua kiinnostaa historia. Minua kiinnosti historia. “I am/was interested in history”.
Historia on kiinnostanut minua likewise means “I have been interested in history”. It’s the perfect tense, expressing that the interest happened in the past and continues until the present and into the future.

Kiinostunut comes from the verb kiinnostua. It’s usually used as an adjective. Minä olen kiinnostunut historiasta. “I’m interested in historia” does not have that perfect tense meaning. It’s just a similar sentence to Minä olen ahkera.

I’ve been meaning to write a more in-depth article on this topic but I haven’t gotten around to it just yet.

Krishna Sharma

So basically Minua on kiinnostanut historia & Historia on kiinnostanut minua, means the same thing.
Minua on kiinnostanut historia= I have been interested in history
Historia on kiinnostanut minua= History has interested me
 Minua kiinnostaa historia= I am interested in history
Historia kiinnostaa minua= History interests me

Yeah, the word order doesn’t significantly change the meaning 🙂 The only difference is which part of the sentence contains the “new information”. In Finnish, neutral word order puts the information already known at the beginning of the sentence, and the new information at the end.

So: Either we were talking about history, and I now tell you that i’m interested in it (start the sentence with historia). Or we were talking about my hobbies and I now tell you that history is one of them (start the sentence with minua).

Pikku Myy

Hey, I think there is a mistake.
Example Sentence:
Plural Partitive: En auta väsyneitä äitejä.= I don’t havehelp” the tired moms.