Finnish Loanwords Ending in nen – Septinen Kosminen Toksinen
February 18, 2021
November 16, 2024
On this page, you can find Finnish loanwords ending in -nen. This article specifically focuses on adjectives ending in -nen that are clearly loanwords.
The word sivistyssana is used often in Finnish to refer to the words on this page. The word sivistyssana can be literally translated as “word of civilization”. These words are international words that often are related to science and technology. They are often quite specific in nature.
Not everyone likes this type of words. Sometimes you can find a perfectly fine, native Finnish word that you could be using instead. However, this list might still give you some insight on how words are adapted to fit into the Finnish language.
Table of Contents
- Notes for the tables below
- Loanwords ending in -dinen
- Loanwords ending in -finen
- Loanwords ending in -ginen
- Loanwords ending in -linen
- Loanwords ending in -minen
- Loanwords ending in -ninen
- Loanwords ending in -ppinen
- Loanwords ending in -rinen
- Loanwords ending in -ksinen
- Loanwords ending in -tinen
- Loanwords ending in -ttinen
- Alternative (native) words
1. Notes for the tables below
- Loanwords ending in -nen marked with * have a preferable Finnish alternative name. Note how other terms often also have a Finnish equivalent term. I haven’t provided you with an alternative term for those words because they are often a combination of two or more Finnish words. Some of them have multiple meanings.
- The second column always contains an example noun for each adjective between brackets. I’ve added these in order to give you more of an idea of what the adjective means. For example, the adjective “sociological” is in context often accompanied by the noun “development”, so this noun is mentioned within brackets.
- This page isn’t an exhaustive list of every single loanword ending in -nen. I have taken the liberty of ignoring words that seemed too rare. This means that words such as adrenokortikotrooppinen, hypernatreeminen, fryyginen and helladinen haven’t made the list.
2. Loanwords ending in -dinen
Loanwords ending in -dinen have an English counterpart that generally ends in -dic.
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| euklidinen | euclidian (geometry) |
| heraldinen | heraldic (blazonry) |
| juridinen | juridic, juridical (responsibility) |
| melodinen | melodic (composition) |
| metodinen | methodical (principle) |
| ortopedinen | orthopaedic, orthopedic (care) |
| parodinen | parodic (poem) |
| periodinen* | periodic (paralysis) |
| sporadinen | sporadic (observation) |
| suggestopedinen | suggestopedic (education) |
3. Loanwords ending in -finen
Loanwords ending in -finen have an English adjective ending in -phical or -phic at their base.
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| graafinen | graphical, graphic (designer) |
| kalligrafinen | calligraphical, calligraphic (writing) |
| pornografinen | pornographic (picture) |
| etnografinen | ethnographical, ethnographic (research) |
| typografinen | typographical, typographic (correction) |
| kartografinen | cartographical, cartographic (name) |
| ortografinen | orthographic (projection) |
| filosofinen | philosophical, philosophic (question) |
| spesifinen | specific (symptom) |
Note how graafinen has a double -aa-, while all the other ones only have one -a-. This is occasionally the case for loanwords that are only two syllables long in English, or three syllables long in Finnish (after adding -nen).
4. Loanwords ending in -ginen
Loanwords that end in either -gic or -gical in English will often end in -ginen in Finnish.
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| maaginen | magical, magic (number) |
| traaginen | tragic (fate) |
| strateginen | strategical, strategic (position) |
| nostalginen | nostalgic (music) |
| metodologinen | methodological (principle) |
| ideologinen* | ideological, ideologic (conversation) |
| teologinen | theological, theologic (question) |
| morfologinen* | morphological, morphologic (analysis) |
| biologinen | biological, biologic (research) |
| sosiologinen | sociological (development) |
| fysiologinen | physiological, physiologic (effect) |
| psykologinen | psychological, psychologic (evaluation) |
| etymologinen | etymological (dictionary) |
| kronologinen | chronological (list) |
| etnologinen* | ethnological, ethnologic (museum) |
| meteorologinen* | meteorological, meteorologic (visibility) |
| astrologinen | astrological, astrologic (calendar) |
| neurologinen | neurological, neurologic (disability) |
| mytologinen | mythological, mythologic (figure) |
| looginen | logical, reasonable (development) |
| epälooginen | illogical, irrational (conclusion) |
| allerginen | allergic (to cats) |
| energinen | energetical, lively (youth) |
| kirurginen | surgical (instruments) |
Note how maaginen, traaginen and looginen have a double vowel, while biologinen doesn’t. This is due to the length of the word: words of four syllables or more generally don’t have a short vowel sound.
5. Loanwords ending in -linen
Loanwords that end in -aalinen often originate from English words that end in -al.
| Verb | Adjective |
|---|---|
| desimaalinen | decimal (number) |
| eksistentiaalinen | existential (crisis) |
| eksponentiaalinen | exponential (growth) |
| fiskaalinen | fiscal (goal) |
| glasiaalinen* | glacial (age) |
| globaalinen > globaali | global, worldwide (problem) |
| immateriaalinen* | immaterial (nature) |
| irrationaalinen | irrational (fear) |
| katastrofaalinen | catastrophal, catastrophic (situation) |
| konditionaalinen | conditional (sentence) |
| konventionaalinen | conventional (solution) |
| liberaalinen | liberal (party) |
| maksimaalinen | maximal, maximum (capacity) |
| marginaalinen | marginal (amount) |
| materiaalinen | material (support) |
| mineraalinen | mineral (taste) |
| minimaalinen | minimal (risk) |
| moraalinen | moral (support) |
| optimaalinen | optimal (solution) |
| oraalinen | oral (dose) |
| paradoksaalinen | paradoxical (situation) |
| potentiaalinen | potential, possible (customer) |
| optimaalinen | optimal, ideal (solution) |
| rationaalinen | rational (choice) |
| spatiaalinen | spatial (property) |
| spesiaalinen* | special |
| sosiaalinen | social (norms) |
| teatraalinen | theatrical (person) |
| traditionaalinen* | traditional (celebration) |
| vaginaalinen | vaginal (discharge) |
| verbaalinen* | verbal (communication) |
It’s interesting how Finnish also has a large number of words ending in -llinen. These words, however, are not straight loanwords. Words ending in -llinen (e.g. seremoniallinen) have been derived from a Finnish word (in this case seremonia). Of course seremonia is also a loanword, but seremoniallinen hasn’t been borrowed directly so it doesn’t belong on this page. I will be publishing another article about this type of words ending in -nen soon.
6. Loanwords ending in -minen
Many of the loanwords ending in -minen listed below contain a long vowel, which is either -aa- or -ee-. This vowel mirrors the English word they’re borrowed from. English words ending in -amic or -amical will in Finnish end in -aaminen. English words ending in -emic or -emical will get -eeminen.
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| aerodynaaminen | aerodynamic (diameter) |
| aerodynaaminen | aerodynamic (diameter) |
| dynaaminen | dynamical, dynamic (performance) |
| keraaminen | ceramic (stove) |
| termodynaaminen | thermodynamical, themrodynamic (factor) |
| akateeminen | academical, academic (degree) |
| aneeminen | anemic, anaemic (hypoxia) |
| endeeminen | endemic, indigenous (illness) |
| epideeminen | epidemic (illness) |
| pandeeminen | pandemic (virus) |
| poleeminen | polemic (critic) |
| systeeminen | systemic (medication) |
| anatominen | anatomical, anatomic (deformity) |
| ergonominen | ergonomic (chair) |
| kosminen | cosmic (dust) |
| koominen | comical, comic (performance) |
7. Loanwords ending in -ninen
The following table contain two larger groups as well as some more stand-alone words. The biggest groups are loanwords ending in -aaninen (from -anic or -anical) and loanwords ending in -eeninen (from –enic or -enical).
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| botaaninen | botanical (garden) |
| galvaaninen | galvanic (plating) |
| germaaninen | Germanic (language) |
| kleptomaaninen | kleptomaniacal (patient) |
| mekaaninen | mechanical, mechanic (toy) |
| orgaaninen | organic (compound) |
| puritaaninen | puritanical, puritanic (lifestyle) |
| republikaaninen | republican (party) |
| vulkaaninen | volcanic (island) |
| epähygieeninen | unhygienic (preparation) |
| heterogeeninen | heterogreneous (group) |
| homogeeninen | homogeneous, homogenous (mixture) |
| hygieeninen | hygienical, hygienic (environment) |
| mutageeninen | mutagenic (substance) |
| patogeeninen | pathogenic (virus) |
| skitsofreeninen | schizophrenic (person) |
| feminiininen | feminine, womanly (pronoun) |
| kliininen | clinical (examination) |
| maskuliininen | masculine, manly (voice) |
| biotekninen | biotechnical (process) |
| diakoninen | diaconal (work) |
| ikoninen | iconic (figure) |
| pyrotekninen | pyrotechnical, pyrotechnic (substance) |
| tekninen | technical (problem) |
| kakofoninen* | cacophonic, cacophonous (music) |
| demoninen | decomic, demoniacal (laughter) |
| filharmoninen | philharmonic (orchestra) |
| elektroninen | electronic (device) |
| ironinen | ironical, ironic (joke) |
| krooninen | chronic (illness) |
| platoninen | platonic (relationship) |
| synkroninen | synchronic, synchronous (event) |
| monotoninen | monotonic, monotone (speech) |
| etninen | ethnical, ethnic (group) |
| kyyninen | cynical, cynic (observer) |
8. Loanwords ending in -ppinen
There is also a fairly small number of words ending in –ooppinen. They have an English word ending in -opic they can be compared to.
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| atooppinen | atopic (eczema) |
| filantrooppinen* | philanthropic (funding) |
| mikroskooppinen | microscopical, microscopic (analysis) |
| stereoskooppinen | stereoscopic (vision) |
| subtrooppinen | subtropical, subtropic (climate) |
| teleskooppinen | telescopic (lens) |
| trooppinen | tropical, tropic (forest) |
9. Loanwords ending in -rinen
The following table contain one large word type as well as some smaller groups of words. The biggest group consists of loanwords ending in -aarinen, which usually originate from an English word ending in -arian or -ary).
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| antikvaarinen | antiquarian (bookstore) |
| autoritaarinen | authoritarian (regime) |
| barbaarinen | barbarian, barbaric (practice) |
| binaarinen | binary (system) |
| humanitaarinen | humanitarian (aid) |
| komplementaarinen* | complementary (distribution) |
| kulinaarinen | culinary (specialty) |
| legendaarinen | legendary (kingdom) |
| lineaarinen | linear (time) |
| militaarinen* | military (force) |
| parlamentaarinen | parliamentary (diplomacy) |
| planetaarinen | planetary (nebula) |
| polaarinen | polar (region) |
| primaarinen | primary (analysis) |
| proletaarinen | proletarian (background) |
| sekundaarinen | secondary (exposure) |
| sekulaarinen | secular (nature) |
| solaarinen | solar (radiation) |
| solidaarinen | solidary (attitude) |
| totalitaarinen | totalitarian (regime) |
| vegetaarinen | vegetarian (diet) |
| visionaarinen | visionary (art) |
| eteerinen | ethereal (being) |
| hysteerinen | hysteric, hysterical (person) |
| numeerinen | numeric, numerical (code) |
| perifeerinen | peripheral (vision) |
| veneerinen | venereal (disease) |
| empiirinen | empirical, empiric (formula) |
| satiirinen* | satirical, satiric (poem) |
| allegorinen* | allegorical, allegoric (language) |
| diktatorinen | dictatorial (regime) |
| euforinen | euphoric (mood) |
| hallusinatorinen | hallucinatory (trip) |
| improvisatorinen | improvisational (performance) |
| metaforinen | metaphorical, metaphoric (meaning) |
| organisatorinen | organisational, organizational (structure) |
| retorinen | rhetorical (question) |
| asymmetrinen | asymmetric, asymmetrical (system) |
| biometrinen | biometric (sample) |
| epäsymmetrinen | unsymmetrical, asymmetric (face) |
| geometrinen | geometric, geometrical (distribution) |
| trigonometrinen | trigonometric (function) |
| geriatrinen | geriatric (care) |
| psykiatrinen | psychiatric (hospital) |
| eksentrinen | eccentric (nature) |
Funnily enough, some words ending in -aarinen have a parallel word ending in -äärinen rather than -aarinen. The ending -aarinen is more commonly used.
| -äärinen | -aarinen |
|---|---|
| militäärinen | > militaarinen |
| autoritäärinen | > autoritaarinen |
| primäärinen | > primaarinen |
| binäärinen | > binaarinen |
| visionäärinen | > visionaarinen |
| kvartäärinen | > kvartaarinen |
| humanitäärinen | > humanitaarinen |
| sekundäärinen | > sekundaarinen |
10. Loanwords ending in -ksinen
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| kompleksinen | complex (structure) |
| paradoksinen | paradoxical (thought) |
| ortodoksinen | Orthodox (church) |
| epäortodoksinen | unorthodox (method) |
| toksinen | toxic (reaction) |
11. Loanwords ending in -tinen
Words that end in either -tic or -tical in English will often end in -tinen in Finnish. For words that end in -stic or -stical you will often find a Finnish alternative ending in -stinen.
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| antarktinen | antarctic (region) |
| arktinen | arctic (zone) |
| dialektinen | dialectic, dialectical (materialism) |
| didaktinen | didactic, didactical (experience) |
| faktinen* | factual (mistake) |
| hektinen | hectic (week) |
| praktinen | practical (philosophy) |
| profylaktinen | prophylactic (use) |
| subarktinen | subarctic (climate) |
| syntaktinen | syntactic, syntactical (parser) |
| taktinen | tactical (mistake) |
| apokalyptinen | apocalyptical, apocalyptic (literature) |
| antiseptinen | antiseptic (substance) |
| aseptinen | aseptic (cotton) |
| elliptinen | elliptical, elliptic (function) |
| epileptinen | epileptic (seizure) |
| optinen | optical, optic (illusion) |
| septinen | septic (shock) |
| skeptinen | sceptical (attitude) |
| anarkistinen | anarchistic, anarchic (competition) |
| drastinen | drastic (reduction) |
| epärealistinen | unrealistic (expectation) |
| eksistentialistinen | existential (ethics) |
| elastinen | elastic (tissue) |
| fantastinen | fantastic (evening) |
| federalistinen | federalist (party) |
| feodalistinen | feudalistic (system) |
| formalistinen | formalistic, formalist (approach) |
| fotorealistinen | photorealistic (art) |
| holistinen | holistic (medicine) |
| idealistinen | idealistic (approach) |
| imperialistinen | imperialistic, imperialist (politics) |
| individualistinen | individualistic, individualist (culture) |
| journalistinen | journalistic (writing) |
| kapitalistinen | capitalistic, capitalist (economy) |
| masokistinen | masochistic (pleasure) |
| minimalistinen | minimalist (art) |
| moralistinen* | moralistic (conclusion) |
| naturalistinen | naturalistic (painting) |
| nihilistinen | nihilistic (approach) |
| pasifistinen | pacifistic, pacifist (community) |
| plastinen | plastic (viscosity) |
| pleonastinen | pleonastic (expression) |
| rationalistinen | rationalistic, rationalist (view) |
| realistinen | realistic (view) |
| sadistinen | sadistic (torturer) |
| sarkastinen | sarcastic (attitude) |
| sosialistinen | socialistic, socialist (country) |
| spastinen | spastic (paralysis) |
| surrealistinen | surrealistic, surreal (painting) |
| termoplastinen | thermoplastic (material) |
12. Loanwords ending in -ttinen
If there’s a vowel in front of the -tic or -tical of the English words, the Finnish loanword in generally have a long vowel and a double -tt-.
| Finnish | English (example noun) |
|---|---|
| apaattinen | apathetic (stare) |
| aristokraattinen | aristocratical, aristocratic (family) |
| astmaattinen | asthmatic (patient) |
| automaattinen | automatic (reaction) |
| byrokraattinen | bureaucratic (system) |
| demokraattinen | democratic (country) |
| dogmaattinen | dogmatical, dogmatic (interpretation) |
| dramaattinen | dramatic (scene) |
| empaattinen | empathic, emphatic (friend) |
| epädemokraattinen | undemocratic (system) |
| fanaattinen* | fanatical, fanatic (zeal) |
| flegmaattinen | phlegmatic (nature) |
| homeopaattinen | homeopathic (remedy) |
| karismaattinen | charismatic (politician) |
| kinemaattinen | kinematic (gauge) |
| lymfaattinen | lymphatic (system) |
| matemaattinen | mathematical, mathematic (formula) |
| melodramaattinen | melodramatic (movie) |
| pneumaattinen | pneumatic (drill) |
| pragmaattinen | pragmatical, pragmatic (approach) |
| problemaattinen* | problematical, problematic (situation) |
| psykopaattinen | psychopathic (behavior) |
| psykosomaattinen | psychosomatic (condition) |
| reumaattinen | rheumatic (illness) |
| sosiaalidemokraattinen | social democratic (party) |
| staattinen | static (electricity) |
| sympaattinen | sympathetic (person) |
| symptomaattinen* | symptomatic (treatment) |
| systemaattinen* | systematic (mistake) |
| traumaattinen | traumatic (experience) |
| telepaattinen | telepathic (communication) |
| aritmeettinen | arithmetical, arithmetic (average) |
| askeettinen | ascetical, ascetic (lifestyle) |
| atleettinen | athletic (body) |
| eettinen | ethical, ethic (question) |
| esteettinen | esthetical, esthetic, aesthetic (value) |
| foneettinen | phonetic (spelling) |
| geneettinen | genetical, genetic (code) |
| hypoteettinen | hypothetical, hypothetic (question) |
| kineettinen | kinetic (energy) |
| konkreettinen | concrete (example) |
| kosmeettinen | cosmetic (surgery) |
| magneettinen | magnetic, magnetized (force) |
| majesteettinen | majestic (eagle) |
| poeettinen | poetic (expression) |
| sähkömagneettinen | electromagnetic (radiation) |
| synteettinen | synthetical, synthetic (color) |
| teoreettinen | theoretical, theoretic (question) |
| antibioottinen | antibiotic (medication) |
| eksoottinen | exotic (fruit) |
| eroottinen | erotic (movie) |
| hypnoottinen | hypnotic (effect) |
| kaoottinen | chaotic (situation) |
| makrobioottinen | microbiotic (diet) |
| narkoottinen | narcotic (substance) |
| neuroottinen | neurotic (person) |
| patrioottinen* | patriotic (act) |
| psykoottinen | psychotic (person) |
| symbioottinen | symbiotic (relationship) |
| terapeuttinen | therapeutical, therapeutic (treatment) |
| farmaseuttinen | pharmaceutical (product) |
| absoluuttinen | absolute (truth) |
| analyyttinen | analytical, analytic (testing) |
| psykoanalyyttinen | psychoanalytical, psychoanalytic (method) |
| elektrolyyttinen | electrolytic (reduction) |
| myyttinen | mythical, mythic (creature) |
13. Alternative – Native – Words
In the table below, you can find a selection of loanwords ending in -nen from the previous tables which have a perfectly good native Finnish equivalent you should probably learn as well (or instead).
| Loanword | Native word |
|---|---|
| absoluuttinen | ehdoton |
| aristokraattinen | ylimyksellinen |
| byrokraattinen | virkavaltainen |
| etnologinen | kansatieteellinen |
| fanaattinen | kiihkomielinen |
| foneettinen | äänteellinen |
| ideologinen | aatteellinen |
| meteorologinen | ilmatieteellinen |
| morfologinen | muoto-opillinen |
| patrioottinen | isänmaallinen |
| problemaattinen | ongelmallinen |
| symptomaattinen | oireellinen |
| autenttinen | aito |
| spesiaalinen | erikoinen, erityinen |
| systemaattinen | järjestelmällinen |
| verbaalinen | sanallinen, kielellinen |
| rationaalinen | järkevä, järjellinen |
| irrationaalinen | järjenvästäinen, käsittämätön |
| traditionaalinen | perinteinen, perinteellinen |
| filantrooppinen | ihmisystävällinen |
| militaarinen | sotilaallinen |
| komplementaarinen | täydentävä |
| satiirinen | pilkallinen, ivallinen |
| allegorinen | vertauksellinen, vertauskuvallinen |
| periodinen | jaksollinen, jaksoittainen |
| immateriaalinen | aineeton, epäaineellinen |
| glasiaalinen | jääkautinen |
| kakofoninen | epäsointuinen |
| faktinen | tosiasiallinen, todellinen |
| moralistinen | moralisoiva |
Check out these other sources too:
- Palomäki.info: Käänteissanakirjan -n-loppuiset sanat
- Wiktionary: Finnish nainen-type nominals
- VISK: Vierassanoissa yleinen johdostyyppi
As is probably obvious when browsing through this article, I’ve only included obvious loanwords ending in –nen. There are many other words ending in -nen in Finnish. Check out these articles for other groups:
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