There are a great deal of nouns that have an adjective as their base. The most common way to derive a noun from an adjective is to give it the -uus/-yys ending. Below is a large list of words ending in -uus/-yys as well as an explanation on how to inflect them.

In linguistic sources, -uus/-yys is sometimes marked as -UUs. This way, we can generalize the ending without forgetting that vowel harmony influences the vowels.

If you’re looking for -Us-Ukse- words, we have a separate article on those.

1.Regular adjective derivatives

Generally, the -UUs is added to the basic word with the last letter removed: e.g. ahker-a and ahker-uus, kuiv-a and kuiv-uus). However, there are some words that undergo a little change. Among those are uusi and pitkä, which you can find at the bottom of the table below.

2. Adjectives ending in -inen

For adjectives ending in -inen and -llinen, you use -suus/-syys to turn them into a noun.

3. Adjective derivatives with -us/-ys

There are certain adjectives that won’t get -uus/-yys, but rather just -us/-ys. This difference is caused by the structure of the word:

• Adjectives ending in two vowels: remove the final vowel + -us/-ys
• Adjectives ending in -o/ö: add -us/-ys to the basic form
• Adjectives ending in -e: add -us/-ys to the basic form
• Adjectives ending in -as: remove the -s and add -us/-ys
• Adjectives ending in -is: remove the -is and add -eus/-eys

4. Consonant gradation for words ending in -uus/-yys

Words that belong to wordtype A will retain their strong grade when being turned into a noun. Meanwhile, wordtype B words, which are weak in their basic form, will become strong.

5. The inflection of -uus/-yys words

In the singular, all the words above will get -uude- in the singular and -uuksi- in the plural.

A few examples

Related posts:

Words Ending in -ton/-tön – Finnish Vocabulary Words Ending in -inen – Derivational Suffix Johdin Johdos Character & Personality – Luonne & Persoonallisuus Positive Emotions – Positiiviset tunteet