Hengen

Hengen is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun henki. Henki has several related senses: it commonly means breath or life force, but it can also denote spirit, ghost, or the essential nature of a person or object. In everyday language, henki also carries figurative meanings such as vitality, mood, or morale, and it serves as the basis for the adjective henkinen, meaning mental or spiritual. Phrases built from henki and related forms appear in discussions of well-being, culture, and philosophy.

The form hengen is used to indicate possession or relation to a life, breath, or spirit. It occurs in compounds and expressions describing conditions or qualities that affect life or the non-physical dimension. For example, compounds like hengenahdistus refer to shortness of breath, while hengenvaara is used in contexts describing danger to life. Such uses illustrate how the concept of henki ties together physical existence and non-physical aspects of experience.

In Finnish, the word henki and its derivatives are common in religious, literary, and medical language, reflecting the broad range of senses attached to life, breath, and spirit. The term remains flexible, shaping both concrete discussions of physiology and metaphorical discussions of character, mood, and ethical or existential questions.

See also: henki, henkinen, sielu.