kauanko

Kauanko is a Finnish fused interrogative word meaning “how long,” used to ask about the duration of an event or situation. It is the contracted form of the standard two-part question kuinka kauan, with kuinka meaning “how” and kauan meaning “a long time.”

In standard Finnish, kuinka kauan is the neutral form, but kauanko occurs frequently in everyday speech and in many written contexts as a single question word. It is used to introduce questions about length of time and, like other Finnish question words, it precedes the verb in the clause. The verb is inflected for tense and person, while kauanko itself does not inflect.

Usage notes include that kauanko can appear in both direct questions and embedded clauses. For example, direct question: Kauanko tämä kestää? (“How long will this last?”). Embedded question: En tiedä kauanko tämä kestää. (“I don’t know how long this will last.”). In formal writing, kuinka kauan may be preferred for clarity and emphasis, but kauanko remains widely understood and common in everyday Finnish.

Typical contrasts with related forms: kuinka kauan is the standard, explicit form; kauanko is a compact, more conversational variant. Both serve the same function of querying duration, with the choice often depending on register and style.

Overall, kauanko is a core Finnish interrogative used to inquire about duration, functioning as a fused form of kuinka kauan that is especially common in spoken language and many written contexts.