Finnish

(index ki)

Noun

kieli

1. language (form of communication)
2. genitive + ~ ; the names of most languages may be expressed in two ways in Finnish: as a single word, e.g. islanti ‎(“Icelandic”), or in combination with kieli, e.g. islannin kieli ‎(“Icelandic”). The combined form is preferred for less-known languages and in contexts where the name of a language may be confused with the name of the country, region or ethnic group according which the language is named, in this example Islanti ‎(“Iceland”).
3. tongue (organ)
4. (music) string (tightly tensioned wire that produces a tone)
5. (music) reed (vibrating part in the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument)

Declension

Derived terms

• nouns: kieleke
• adjectives: kielellinen, kielevä, kielinen
• verbs: kieliä

Compounds

Idioms

• kielen päällä
• kieli solmussa
• purra kieltänsä = to bite one's tongue (to leave something unsaid)
• pitää kieli keskellä suuta = to watch one’s words (be careful what one says)

Verb

kieli

1. Third-person singular indicative past form of kieliä.
2. Indicative present connegative form of kieliä.
3. Second-person singular imperative present form of kieliä.
4. Second-person singular imperative present connegative form of kieliä.

Anagrams

• leiki, liike

Karelian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *keeli.

Noun

kieli ‎(genitive kielen, partitive kieldy)

1. language
2. tongue