joistakin

Joistakin is a Finnish determiner formed by adding the particle -kin to the plural genitive form joista. It functions to indicate a subset of a larger group, roughly meaning “from some of” or “from several of,” and it is typically used with a noun in genitive plural.

The form joistakin is used when the speaker wants to emphasize that only part of a group is relevant to the statement. The following noun is placed in genitive plural, for example syistä, asioista, maista, or ihmisistä. This construction signals indeterminacy about which members are involved, focusing on the fact that the statement applies to some but not all members of the set.

Common examples include:

- Joistakin syistä en voi osallistua. (For some reasons I cannot participate.)

- Olen samaa mieltä joistakin asioista. (I agree with some of the things.)

- Joistakin maista on tullut lisää matkailijoita. (From some countries there have come more tourists.)

The -kin particle adds emphasis or inclusivity, reinforcing that the reference includes only a portion of the group and not the entire set. It is widely used in both spoken and written Finnish and can appear in formal prose as well as everyday conversation.

Etymology and related forms: joistakin derives from joista, the plural genitive of joka/jotka (which, those), with -kin providing the “also/some” nuance. Related expressions include joistakin (with various nouns) and other -kin constructions that modify pronouns or determiners to indicate partial applicability.

See also: Finnish pronouns and determiners, the -kin particle, Finnish case system.