Kiinnostavan

Kiinnostavan is the genitive singular form of the Finnish adjective kiinnostava, meaning “interesting.” In Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun they modify, and when that noun is in the genitive case, the adjective takes the genitive form. Therefore, kiinnostavan is used to describe a genitive noun, as in kiinnostavan aiheen or kiinnostavan henkilön.

The adjective kiinnostava is formed from the verb kiinnostaa, “to interest,” together with the common adjective-forming suffix -va, which yields “interesting.” The related noun kiinnostus means “interest.” The genitive form kiinnostavan reflects this adjective’s agreement with a following genitive noun.

Usage and examples:

- kiinnostavan aiheen tutkiminen – the study of an interesting topic

- kiinnostavan henkilön tarina – the story of an interesting person

- kiinnostavan ilmiön havainnointi – the observation of an interesting phenomenon

In ordinary, non-genitive contexts, the nominative form kiinnostava is used to say that something is interesting, for example “tämä on kiinnostava kirja” (this is an interesting book). Kiinnostavan appears primarily in noun phrases where the head noun is in genitive, reflecting possession or association within a clause.

See also:

- kiinnostava

- kiinnosta, kiinnostus

- Finnish adjective inflection and genitive construction

Kiinnostavan thus functions as a grammatical form rather than a standalone adjective, appearing whenever the description “interesting” must agree with a genitive noun in Finnish.