kysyjän

Kysyjän is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun kysyjä, meaning a person who asks questions or an interviewer. The term is used to refer to the one who poses questions in contexts such as interviews, surveys, discussions, or Q&A sessions. As a grammatical form, kysyjä functions as a base noun that can take possessive or attributive meaning through its genitive form.

In Finnish, kysyjä is an agent noun derived from the verb kysyä, “to ask.” The genitive singular ending -n marks possession or attribution, so kysyjän can be translated as “the questioner’s” or “of the questioner.” This form is commonly seen in phrases like kysyjän kysymys (the questioner’s question) or kysyjän mielipide (the questioner’s opinion). The genitive plural would be kysyjien, used to indicate possession by multiple questioners.

Usage and nuance: kysyjä refers to a role or function rather than a fixed title. It is neutral and descriptive, suitable for analytical or expository writing about interviewing, research methods, or dialogue. In everyday language, speakers might prefer alternatives such as haastattelija (interviewer) or kysymysten esittäjä in specific contexts, but kysyjä and its genitive form appear frequently in academic, journalistic, and technical Finnish when focusing on the act of asking.

Related terms include kysyä (to ask) and kysymys (a question). Kysyjän is not a separate concept with an independent meaning beyond its grammatical role as the possessive form of kysyjä.