ihmisen

Ihmisen is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun ihminen, which means a human being or a person. It is used to indicate possession or a close relationship between the noun it modifies and another noun, similar to how "of a person" or "a person’s" would be expressed in English.

Forms and basic grammar: The noun ihminen declines as follows in the singular and plural: nominative singular ihminen; genitive singular ihmisen. Nominative plural ihmiset; genitive plural ihmisten. In practice, ihmisen is used whenever you want to talk about something belonging to or associated with one person. The plural genitive ihmisten is used for things belonging to multiple people.

Usage notes: Ihmisen is common in everyday Finnish and in formal writing when referring to a single person in the possessive sense. For example, “ihmisen talo” means “a human’s house” or “the house of a person.” For more general or formal references to a person, other words such as henkilö and the corresponding genitive henkilön may be used, depending on nuance and formality. In scientific or philosophical contexts, ihminen is often used with possessive forms to discuss human properties, rights, or conditions.

Etymology and related forms: Ihminen is a native Finnic word with cognates in other Finnic languages, such as Estonian inimene (genitive inimese). The genitive suffix -sen in Finnish is typical for -nen nouns, producing a form that distinguishes ownership or relational meaning.

In summary, ihmisen is the standard genitive singular of the common noun ihminen, used to express ownership or relation to a single person, with ihmisten serving as the corresponding genitive plural.