Rukousten

Rukousten is the genitive plural form of the Finnish noun rukous, which means prayer. It is used to express a relationship to prayers, such as possession, attribution, or association, and translates roughly to “of the prayers” or “the prayers’.” The form commonly appears in contexts where multiple prayers are being discussed or when referring to prayer in a collective sense.

In practical use, rukousten appears in phrases like rukousten sanat (the words of the prayers), rukousten sisältö (the content of the prayers), or rukousten vaikutus (the influence of the prayers). Finnish grammar employs genitive forms to indicate ownership or connection without using a separate possessive marker, so rukousten serves that function for the plural object of rukous.

Context and style: rukousten is most likely to be found in religious, liturgical, historical, or literary Finnish. It can appear in translations of religious texts or in academic writing discussing prayer practices, texts, or traditions. In everyday speech, speakers may rephrase to avoid long genitive constructions, depending on the readability and rhythm of the sentence.

Notes: rukousten is a standard inflected form in Finnish and does not function as an independent lexical item beyond its relational meaning. Its counterpart in singular is rukouksen (the prayer’s) and its other cases follow regular Finnish inflection rules for the noun rukous.