Poikansa

Poikansa is a Finnish noun phrase meaning “his/her/its son.” It is formed from the noun poika (son) combined with the third-person possessive suffix -nsa (or -nsä, depending on vowel harmony). The result is a possessive construction that denotes the son belonging to the referent, without repeating the possessor’s name.

In practice, poikansa is used with an explicit possessor or within a context where the possessor is understood. The typical order is possessor pronoun or name followed by poikansa, as in Hänellä on poikansa, meaning “She/He has his/her son,” or more commonly, “Hänen poikansa” for “her/his son.” The suffix itself encodes the third-person possession, while the noun poika remains declined for other syntactic needs in the sentence.

Usage notes:

- The possessive suffix -nsa/-nsä reflects the possessor (his/her/its) and agrees with the possessor in person rather than with the possessed noun.

- It is common in everyday Finnish to omit the possessor noun when it is clear from context, leaving poikansa as the implied possessor phrase.

- The form changes between -nsa and -nsä to satisfy vowel harmony rules in Finnish.

Related forms and contrast:

- poikani = my son

- poikasi = your (singular) son

- poikamme = our son

- poikanne = your (plural) son

- poikanne = your (polite/plural) son

See also Finnish grammar on possessive suffixes for a broader explanation of how -nsa/-nsä and related forms express ownership across different nouns.