ykkösten

Ykkösten is the genitive plural form of ykkönen, a Finnish noun derived from the numeral yksi meaning one. In ordinary Finnish, ykkönen denotes the quantity one, the first item in a series, or the top position in a ranking. The word is used in mathematics, statistics, sports, and everyday speech to indicate something that is number one or first.

In Finnish student culture, ykköset (the plural form) is a common nickname for first-year students in universities and universities of applied sciences. The genitive ykkösten is used when referring to the group or to events connected with them, for example ykkösten viikko (orientation week for the first-years) or ykkösten illat (evenings organized by the first-years). The term reflects the status of newcomers and is widely recognized in campus life.

In other contexts, ykkönen is also used colloquially to mean "No. 1" or "the best," as in rankings or popular phrases. The form ykkösten appears primarily in possessive constructions or when describing groups of first-years.

Etymology: ykkönen comes from yksi with the suffix -nen, a common pattern for forming nouns related to a number. The plural is ykköset and the genitive is ykkösten.

See also: Ykkönen, Kakkonen.