Kiveä

Kiveä is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun kivi, meaning stone or rock. It is used to refer to an indefinite amount of stone or as the object in sentences that require the partitive case, such as negations, desires, or measurements.

The related forms include kivi (nominative singular), kiven (genitive singular), kiviä (partitive plural), and kivet (nominative plural). These forms reflect Finnish case and number patterns for the word kivi, with kiveä serving the partitive singular in everyday usage.

In practice, kiveä appears in contexts like "Tarvitsen kiveä" (I need some stone) or "En näe kiveä" (I do not see a stone). With quantities, the partitive plural is used: "paljon kiviä" (a lot of stones). The partitive singular often signals indefiniteness or partiality, contrasting with the nominative for a definite stone (Kivi on pöydällä) or genitive for possession (kiven muoto).

Note that kiveä can also occur as a direct object after certain verbs that take a partitive object, such as "etsii kiveä" (is looking for some stone). Etymology: The word kivi derives from Proto-Finnic *kivi, with cognates across Finnic languages. The partitive suffix -ä attaches to the stem to yield kiveä in the singular.