ystävän

Ystävä is a Finnish noun meaning a friend, a person with whom one has a close, trusting relationship. Ystävän is its genitive singular form, used to indicate possession or association, as in the common phrase ystävän koti, meaning the friend’s house.

The concept of ystävä typically implies a bond beyond a casual acquaintance. In Finnish, different words convey varying levels of closeness; kaveri is more informal and casual, while ystävä generally denotes a deeper, chosen companionship. A friendship may be longstanding and supportive, but it is not restricted to romantic partners or family.

Declension and usage. The word is declined like a regular Finnish noun with the following basic forms: singular—nominative ystävä, genitive ystävän, partitive ystävää; plural—nominative ystävät, genitive ystävien, partitive ystäviä. Possessive forms include ystäväni (my friend), ystäväsi (your friend), ystävänsä (his/her/their friend), and so on. Ystävä can also appear in phrases such as ystävän kanssa (with a friend) or ystävän luona (at a friend’s place).

In modern Finnish, ystävä remains a common, neutral term for someone you value as a friend. It coexists with more informal terms like kaveri or ally/companion in various contexts, but it typically signals a meaningful personal relationship rather than mere acquaintance. The word is widely used across ages and registers, from everyday conversation to literary language.