Vastakohtansa

Vastakohtansa is a Finnish noun phrase meaning “its opposite” or “the opposite of it.” It is formed from the noun vastakohta (opposite, antonym) plus the third-person possessive suffix -nsa, which marks ownership or association by a previously mentioned subject. The variant -nsä appears when the stem requires front- or back-vowel harmony according to Finnish possessive morphology; in most common usage, vastakohtansa is the standard form.

In usage, vastakohtansa functions as a noun phrase that refers to the opposite of something already mentioned or implied in the discourse. It is often employed when the speaker wants to designate an antonymic or contrary property without naming the exact opposite again. The expression can appear with a demonstrative or personal reference, for example in phrases like sen vastakohtansa or hänen vastakohtansa, meaning “its opposite” or “his/her/their opposite” depending on the antecedent.

The term is common in linguistic, literary, and philosophical discussions where contrasts or dualities are analyzed. It illustrates Finnish possessive morphology, combining a base noun with a possessive suffix to create a referent that is contextually tied to another entity. Related terms include vastakohta, meaning “opposite” or “antonym,” and antonyymi, a more general synonym for “antonym.” As a functional expression, vastakohtansa relies on context to specify what its opposite is, rather than encoding a fixed, standalone concept.