Ruotsalaisen

Ruotsalaisen is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun-adjective ruotsalainen. The base ruotsalainen means “a Swede” (a person from Sweden) or “Swedish” in origin. In practice, ruotsalainen as a noun refers to a person from Sweden, while as an adjective it denotes something of Swedish origin or related to Sweden. The form ruotsalaisen is used to indicate possession or association, for example in phrases such as the Swede’s house.

Etymology and morphology: ruotsalainen is formed from ruotsi, meaning Sweden, with the productive Finnish derivational suffix -lainen, which creates demonyms and origin-based adjectives. The word follows standard Finnish declension patterns for nouns and adjectives. In addition to ruotsalaisen, the plural nominative is ruotsalaiset (the Swedes), and the genitive plural is ruotsalaisten (of the Swedes). The form ruotsalaisen specifically marks genitive singular: “the Swede’s [something]” or “of a Swede.”

Usage: Ruotsalainen can refer to a person (Hän on ruotsalainen) or be used attributively to indicate origin. The genitive ruotsalaisen appears in possessive constructions (ruotsalaisen talon ikkuna – the Swede’s house window). While ruotsalainen can describe nationality or origin, it does not normally describe the Swedish language; for language, Finnish uses ruotsi (the language) or phrases like “ruotsalaisen kielen sijaan” in context.

Related terms: Finnish distinguishes ruotsalainen from ruotsinkielinen (Swedish-speaking Finn). Other demonyms follow the same -lainen pattern, such as suomalainen (Finn), norjalainen (Norwegian).