Finnish

Suffix

-kki

1. Creates action nouns from verbs.

   levikki ‎(“circulation of a newspaper”), from levitä ‎(“to spread”)

   menekki ‎(“sales, demand”), from mennä (kaupaksi) ‎(“to sell”)

   hävikki ‎(“loss (accounting)”), from hävitä ‎(“to disappear. lose”)

2. Creates diminutive nouns from verb that indicate the object of an action.

   ajokki ‎(“vehicle”), from ajaa ‎(“to drive”)

   hoidokki ‎(“patient”), from hoitaa ‎(“to care”)

   lemmikki ‎(“pet”), from lempiä ‎(“to love”)

3. Creates nouns that indicate similarity, allegory or diminutiveness. The relationship is sometimes obscure.

   valokki, from valo ‎(“light”)

   hanhikki, from hanhi ‎(“goose”)

   punikki ‎(“socialist (derogatory)”), from punainen ‎(“red”)

   seitikki ‎(“webcap”), from seitti ‎(“gossamer, fine thread”)

   tyräkki

4. Creates female given names, especially for cows.

   Ainokki, from ainoa ‎(“only”)

   Mielikki, from mieliä ‎(“to desire”)

   Mustikki, from musta ‎(“black”)

   Sarvikki, from sarvi ‎(“horn”)

   Tuulikki, from tuuli ‎(“wind”)

Usage notes

In some cases the usage is largely synonymous with -kko. As an example, the noun asukki ‎(“inhabitant, often unwanted or temporary one”) from the verb asua ‎(“to live in”) might as well be asukko.

Derived terms