Tuttavaa

Tuttavaa is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun tuttava, meaning an acquaintance or a familiar person. The headword tuttava denotes a person known to the speaker, not necessarily a close friend. In everyday language it sits between terms like kaveri (buddy) and ystävä (friend), signaling a reluctant or neutral level of familiarity rather than intimacy.

Morphology and forms include: nominative singular tuttava; genitive singular tuttavan; partitive singular tuttavaa. In the plural: nominative tuttavat; genitive tuttavien; partitive tuttavia. The related noun tuttavuus expresses the notion of familiarity or the state of being acquainted.

The partitive tuttavaa is used in constructions where the object is indefinite or requires the partitive, and it appears in negations or with verbs that govern a partitive object. For example, en tunne tuttavaa (‘I don’t know an acquaintance’) and minulla on tuttavia (‘I have acquaintances’). The word is widely understood and neutral in tone, suitable for most social contexts without implying a close personal relationship.

Etymology derives from the adjective tuttu, meaning familiar, with the derivational suffix -va to form a noun describing a person characterized by familiarity. A closely related concept is tuttavuus, which focuses on the state or quality of being familiar rather than on a specific person.

See also: tuttavuus, tuttu, kaveri, ystävä.