Mitkä

Mitkä is the plural form of the Finnish interrogative pronoun mikä, meaning “which” or “which ones.” It is used to ask about two or more items and functions as a determiner or pronoun in questions about a set of things. The form corresponds to the nominative (and accusative) plural when referring to the items directly.

Usage and examples

Mitkä is used with a following noun in its nominative plural to name the items being asked about. For example: Mitkä kirjat ovat pöydällä? “Which books are on the table?” Mitkä ovat suurimmat kaupungit Suomessa? “Which are the largest cities in Finland?” It can also appear in questions where you ask about a subset of items previously mentioned: Mitkä niistä valitsit? “Which of them did you choose?” In direct questions, mitkä can stand alone as a short question: Mitkä? “Which ones?”

Grammatical notes

Mitkä agrees in number with the noun it modifies, typically appearing with plural nouns in the question. In embedded or indirect questions, Finnish retains the same form, adjusting only the surrounding clause as needed. The pronunciation is roughly “MIT-kä” with the first syllable stressed.

Related usage

Mitkä is part of a broader Finnish system of interrogatives that includes mikä (singular) and mitkä (plural) to ask about identification, selection, and classification. It can combine with various case forms when the noun its referring to is in different grammatical roles, though in common questions about a known set, the base nominative plural form is most frequent.

Summary

Mitkä is a common, neutral way to ask about multiple items in Finnish. It pairs with a plural noun and enables precise references to more than one item within a defined group.