potkujen

Potkujen is the genitive plural form of the Finnish noun potkut, which has two main senses in everyday language: a physical kick and a dismissive action meaning being fired from a job (slang). The form potkujen is used when the noun is in the genitive plural, typically to indicate possession, relation, or quantity with multiple kicks or with attributes referring to kicks.

In practical use, potkujen appears mainly in contexts relating to kicks as a physical action, or to describe the effects and characteristics of such kicks. Examples include phrases like potkujen määrä (the number of kicks) or potkujen voimakkuus (the intensity of the kicks). The construction helps attribute qualities or outcomes to the kicks themselves, rather than to the person performing them. It is less common to use potkujen when referring to employment termination; in that sense, the standard term is potkut, and talking about “the firing” is usually expressed without the genitive plural.

Etymologically, potku comes from the verb potkaista, meaning to kick. The noun form potku denotes the action or result of kicking, and potkujen is the possessive/genitive plural form used in phrases that require a plural-genitive relationship.

See also: potkut, potkaista, Finnish grammar on genitive cases. The word potkujen serves primarily as a grammatical form within broader phrases about kicks, and its usage is governed by standard genitive plural rules in Finnish.