Lukumääränsä

Lukumääränsä is a Finnish word form meaning “its number” or “its quantity.” It is built from the noun lukumäärä (the number, quantity) in the genitive form lukumäärän, combined with the third‑person possessive suffix sä (-sä). The result, lukumääränsä, literally conveys “the number of it” and is used to refer to the quantity belonging to a known subject.

Morphology and form: The construction illustrates Finnish suffix stacking, where both the genitive ending (-n) and the third‑person possessive suffix (-sä) are affixed to the noun stem. The final -sä indicates the third‑person possessor, but the grammatical number of the possessor (singular or plural) is determined by context rather than by the suffix itself.

Usage and nuance: Lukumääränsä appears most often in formal, technical, or literary Finnish. In everyday speech, speakers commonly rephrase to avoid the stacked form, for example by using sen lukumäärä (its/their number) or by restructuring the sentence. The form is a stylistic option that can add precision when describing quantities tied to a specific subject.

Related terms: Lukumäärä (the number) is the base noun. It is related to general concepts of quantity and amount, and to other possessive constructions in Finnish grammar, such as omansa (“one’s own”) or samanlainen with possessive suffixes.

See also: Finnish grammar, Genitive case in Finnish, Possessive suffixes, Lukumäärä.