espanjan

Espanjan is the genitive form of the Finnish proper noun Espanja, meaning "of Spain" or "Spain's". In Finnish grammar, it functions to indicate possession, origin or association and is used in phrases such as "Espanjan kieli" (the Spanish language) or "Espanjan pääkaupunki on Madrid" (Spain's capital is Madrid).

As a morphological form, Espanjan is created from the base noun Espanja by adding the genitive ending -n, a regular pattern for Finnish nominative singular nouns. It contrasts with related forms like the partitive Espanjaa and the adjective Espanjalainen, which denotes nationality or origin (e.g., espanjalainen ruoka, Spanish cuisine). Because it derives from a proper noun, Espanjan is typically capitalized in Finnish orthography.

Pronunciation approximates to es-PAHN-yahn (Finnish: [ˈespɑn.jɑn]). The form appears in compound expressions and place-name constructions and is common in everyday language, media and formal writing when referring to attributes or possessions related to Spain. Its usage is governed by standard Finnish case and agreement rules, and it is taught in basic Finnish grammar as a straightforward example of genitive formation for foreign country names.