Syntymäpäivänään

Syntymäpäivänään is a Finnish word that translates to "on his/her birthday" or "on their birthday." It is a possessive form of the word syntymäpäivä, which means birthday. The suffix -än indicates the genitive case, signifying possession or association. Therefore, syntymäpäivänään literally means "of his/her/their birthday."

This phrase is commonly used to indicate an action or event that occurs on someone's specific birthday. For example, "Hän sai lahjan syntymäpäivänään" translates to "He/She received a gift on his/her birthday." Similarly, "Perhe kokoontui syntymäpäivänään" means "The family gathered on their birthday." The pronoun, which is implied in Finnish, can refer to a male, female, or a group of people. The context of the sentence usually clarifies who "his," "her," or "their" refers to.

The use of syntymäpäivänään is a concise way to express this temporal relation in Finnish. It avoids the need for a separate possessive pronoun and the preposition "on" as would be typical in English. This grammatical structure is characteristic of Finnish, which often utilizes suffixes to convey grammatical relationships. Understanding this word is key to comprehending how birthdays and personal events are discussed in the Finnish language.