monihenkinen

Monihenkinen is a Finnish adjective meaning that something is composed of many members or individuals. It is commonly used to describe groups or units that include multiple people, such as households, families, committees, or organizations, in contrast to single-member entities. For example, monihenkinen perhe refers to a family with several members.

In grammar, monihenkinen forms like other adjectives ending in -inen and agrees with the noun it modifies. The singular form is monihenkinen, with inflected variants such as monihenkisen (genitive), monihenkistä (partitive), and in plural monihenkiset. A common antonym is yksihenkinen, meaning a single-member or one-person unit.

Etymology-wise, the word combines moni- (many) with henkinen (related to people or persons), underscoring the presence of multiple individuals within a unit. While widely understood, the term is most natural when describing human-based groups rather than non-human collections.

Usage notes and context: Monihenkinen is widely used in demographic, sociological, and everyday contexts to characterize the size of a group of people. It can describe family size in surveys, housing terms, or member-based organizations, but may be less suitable for describing impersonal, non-human collections. In contrast, yksihenkinen is used for one-person units.