Minkä

Minkä is a Finnish word: the genitive singular form of the interrogative pronoun and determiner mikä ("what" / "which"). As a declensional variant, minkä appears when the question word modifies a noun or otherwise requires the genitive case, and in several fixed expressions.

In syntax and use, minkä functions as a determiner in questions such as "Minkä kirjan luit?" (Which/what book did you read?) and in constructions that require genitive agreement like "Minkä värinen paita tämä on?" (What color is this shirt?). It also appears in common adverbial phrases formed from the interrogative stem, for example "minkä takia" or "minkä vuoksi", both meaning "why" or "for what reason".

Minkä contrasts with other forms of mikä (mikä, minkä, mihin, mille, etc.) across Finnish cases; speakers select the appropriate form depending on grammatical role (subject, object, location, instrument, etc.). In colloquial speech some compounds and idioms preserve minkä in conventionalized roles.

Etymologically minkä derives from the same Proto-Finnic interrogative stem as mikä and is related to interrogative pronouns found throughout the Uralic language family. Its usage is governed by standard Finnish case and agreement rules and is taught as part of basic Finnish grammar learning materials.