Meidänkin

Meidänkin is a Finnish phrase formed by combining the possessive determiner meidän (“our”) with the suffix -kin (also/too/even). It functions as a determiner or discourse marker that signals inclusion of the speaker’s group in the proposition, roughly translating to “we too” or “ours as well” in English.

Grammatically, -kin attaches to the word it follows, and the combination meidänkin can precede a noun or introduce a clause. It can modify a noun, as in meidänkin lapset (our children too), or introduce a whole clause, as in Meidänkin on sanottava jotain (We too must say something) or Meidänkin mielestä tämä on tärkeää (In our view this is important).

Common examples include: Meidänkin täytyy myöntää, että … (We too must admit that …) and Meidänkin pitäisi varoa tässä (We should be careful here, too). The construction is versatile and widely used in everyday speech as well as in written Finnish.

Usage notes: kin is a general particle that adds inclusivity or emphasis to the preceding word, and meidänkin can be used together with other possessives in a similar way (teidänkin, hänenkin, meidänkin). It is more common in colloquial and semi-formal contexts, but also appears in news, commentary, and political rhetoric when a collective stance is being underscored.

See also: Finnish pronouns, kin suffix, Helsinki School of Finnish grammar.