todistajan

Todistajan is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun todistaja, meaning “witness.” It marks possession or a relationship to a witness in phrases such as todistajan lausunto (the witness’s statement) or todistajan oikeudet (the witness’s rights). The form is used in legal, administrative, and everyday language to indicate that something pertains to or comes from a witness.

In usage, todistajan appears in compound expressions where the noun it modifies refers to a feature, document, or obligation associated with a witness. Examples include todistajan kuuleminen (hearing of a witness), todistajan todistus (the witness’s certificate), and todistajan vastuu (the witness’s responsibility). As a genitive form, todistajan does not stand alone as a subject or object; its function is to specify ownership or relation to todistaja.

Grammatically, todistaja is a regular Finnish noun. Declension includes: nominative todistaja, genitive todistajan, partitive todistajaa; plural nominative todistajat, plural genitive todistajien, plural partitive todistajia. Thus todistajan is the standard genitive singular ending for this word.

Etymology: todistaja comes from the verb todistaa, “to prove” or “to testify,” with the agentive suffix -ja, forming a noun meaning “one who testifies” or “witness.” The genitive singular todistajan reflects typical Finnish noun inflection.

See also: todistaja, todistus, todistusasiakirja, oikeudellinen menettely.