Jäsen

Jäsen is a Finnish noun with several related meanings. The primary sense is a person who belongs to a group, organization, or body, such as a club, association, party, or committee. It is also used to refer to a member state of an international organization, for example a member state of the European Union. In addition, jäsen can denote a part or component of a larger whole, such as a constituent element in a system or a body part in a formal or technical context.

In everyday language, jäsen refers to belonging and membership. The word appears in many common phrases such as member rights, responsibilities of a member, and membership fees. The concept of being a jäsen carries various implications in organizational settings, including participation in meetings, voting rights, and adherence to agreed rules or statutes. Jäsen is widely used in legal and administrative language to describe the status of individuals within groups or structures.

In anatomy and biology, jäsen can be used to denote a limb or appendage in a formal or historical sense, though everyday Finnish more often uses specific terms like raaja for limb. The word also appears in technical compound nouns and institutional terminology, reflecting its broad applicability to both people and parts of a whole.

The plural form is jäsenet, and the word is declined like a standard Finnish noun. Common related terms include jäsenmaksu (membership fee), jäsenjärjestö (member organization), and jäsenvaltio (member state).

See also: jäsenvaltio, jäsenkunnan, jäsenistö.