hammasta

Hammasta is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun hammas, meaning tooth. The base term hammas refers to a tooth in humans and many animals, and it forms part of a broader set of dental-related words in Finnish. In Finnish grammar, nouns decline for case, and hammasta is used in constructions where a partitive object or indefinite amount is implied. The genitive singular of hammas is hampaan, while the partitive singular is hammasta.

In everyday Finnish, hammasta appears most notably in phrases describing dental pain or activity. A common expression is hammasta kolottaa, which translates to “a tooth hurts” or “one has a toothache.” This idiom illustrates how the partitive form can denote the subject in expressions about sensation or need, rather than a countable, specific tooth.

Beyond its literal meaning, hammas serves as the root in many compound words tied to dentistry and oral care, such as hammaslääkäri (dentist), hampaat (teeth, plural), and hammasharja (toothbrush). While hammasta itself is a grammatical form, its usage is most frequent in contexts involving dental pain, partial references to a tooth, or idiomatic expressions.

Related terms include hammas (tooth) and broader dental vocabulary in Finnish. The word is widely understood in Finnish-speaking communities and appears in medical, educational, and everyday language.

See also: hammas, hammaslääkäri, hampaat, hammasharja.