Finnish

Suffix

-nen

1. Forms diminutives nouns or terms expressing affection.

   lapsi ‎(“child”) + ‎-nen → ‎lapsonen ‎(“kid”)

   pala ‎(“piece”) + ‎-nen → ‎palanen ‎(“small piece”)

   kulta ‎(“gold”) + ‎-nen → ‎kultanen ‎(“darling”)

   tuuli ‎(“wind”) + ‎-nen → ‎tuulonen ‎(“gentle wind, breeze”)

   Ukko ‎(“the God of Thunder”) + ‎-nen → ‎ukkonen ‎(“thunder”)

2. Forms surnames of association, by now devoid of meaning. Can be translated as "of", the genitive case.

   virta ‎(“river”) + ‎-nen → ‎Virtanen ‎(“of the river”)

Declension

Back vowel harmony declension (includes vowels a, o, u)

Front vowel harmony declension (includes vowels ä, ö, y)

Usage notes

• Surnames ending in -nen were first recorded in Savo and Karelia in early 16th century, with -nen affixed to nicknames (Korhonen) and vernacular forms of given names (Heikkinen). In the 19th century surnames were required of all Finns, and many new names were created by adding -nen to topographic terms (Ahonen) and to words describing natural phenomena (Aaltonen).
• 38% of Finns had a surname ending in -nen in 1985.

Derived terms

See also

• -inen
• -lainen
• -llinen
• -mainen

References

• Sirkka Paikkala: Se tavallinen Virtanen, SKS 959 (2004), ISBN 951-746-567-X

Japanese

Romanization

-nen

1. rōmaji reading of ねん