lähimmän

Lähimmän is the genitive singular form of the Finnish adjective lähin, meaning nearest or closest. The base word lähin functions as the superlative form describing the closest in distance or position relative to a reference point. Like other Finnish adjectives, lähin declines to match the noun in number and case, so lähimmän is used before a noun in genitive, for example lähimmän talon meaning “of the nearest house.”

Common uses include indicating which item is closest within a group or context. For instance, lähimmän kaupungin rautatieasema refers to the railway station of the nearest city, while lähimpään taloon means to the nearest house. In plural form, the corresponding genitive would be lähimpien talojen (the nearest houses), and the illative would be lähimpään taloon (to the nearest house).

Etymology and related forms: lähin derives from the Finnish root lähi- meaning near or close, related to words such as lähellä (near), läheinen (close), and lähiö (suburb). The form lähin and its inflected variants are part of the broader family that expresses proximity and closeness in Finnish.

Usage notes: lähin is used to compare proximity to a reference point, not to quality or familiarity. It contrasts with the more general lähellä (in proximity) or läheinen (near/close) in different grammatical contexts. As a grammatical form, lähimmän is specifically the genitive singular, while other cases and numbers follow standard Finnish adjective declension.

See also: läheinen, lähellä, lähiö, suomalainen kieli.

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