mikä (kysymyssana)

What (Mikä)

Level 1

Mikä is the Finnish word for 'what' when asking about objects, animals, or names. It also acts as a relative pronoun ('which/that') when referring back to a whole sentence or a superlative.

How It Works

1. Interrogative Use ('What')
Use mikä to ask about non-human entities. It appears in several common forms:

  • Mikä (Singular): Used for basic identity. Mikä tämä on? (What is this?)
  • Mitkä (Plural): Used when asking about multiple items. Mitkä nämä ovat? (What are these?)
  • Mitä (Partitive): Used for ongoing actions, mass nouns, or abstract concepts. Mitä sinä teet? (What are you doing?)
  • Minkä (Genitive): Used for possession or total objects. Minkä kirjan ostit? (Which book did you buy?)

2. Relative Use ('Which/That')
In relative clauses, mikä is used instead of joka when referring back to:

  • An entire preceding clause: Hän myöhästyi, mikä harmitti minua. (He was late, which annoyed me.)
  • The demonstrative pronoun se: Ota se, mikä on pöydällä. (Take that which is on the table.)
  • Indefinite pronouns like 'kaikki' (everything) or when the antecedent is missing/implied: Ota mitä haluat. (Take what you want.)
  • A superlative: Se on parasta, mitä tiedän. (It is the best thing [that] I know.)

3. Register Differences
In spoken Finnish, mikä is often used as a universal relative pronoun, frequently replacing joka even when referring to specific nouns.

Examples (6)

  1. Mikä sinun nimesi on?

    What is your name?

    Word by Word: What your name is?

    The nominative form 'mikä' is used here to ask for a name (a thing/concept).

  2. Mitkä nämä ovat?

    What are these?

    Word by Word: What (plural) these are?

    The plural form 'mitkä' is used when asking about multiple things.

  3. Mitä sinä syöt?

    What are you eating?

    Word by Word: What (partitive) you eat?

    The partitive 'mitä' is used because eating is an ongoing process.

  4. Ota se, mikä on pöydällä.

    Take the one that is on the table.

    Word by Word: Take it, which is on-table.

    When referring back to the pronoun 'se' (it/that), you must use 'mikä' instead of 'joka'.

  5. Ota mitä haluat.

    Take what you want.

    Word by Word: Take what (partitive) you-want.

    When there is no explicit noun as an antecedent, 'mikä' (here in the partitive 'mitä') is used.

  6. Hän ei tullut, mikä oli sääli.

    He didn't come, which was a pity.

    Word by Word: He not come, which was pity.

    Here 'mikä' acts as a relative pronoun referring to the entire previous fact (that he didn't come).

Common Mistakes

  • Mikä hän on? is fine, but it asks what someone is, not who.

    Different MeaningMikä hän on?
    Kuka hän on?

    'Mikä hän on?' asks about a person's profession or nature (What is he?), whereas 'Kuka' asks for their identity (Who is he?).

  • Using 'mikä' instead of 'joka' for specific nouns in formal writing.

    Tämä on se auto, mikä minä ostin.
    Tämä on se auto, jonka minä ostin.

    In standard Finnish, 'joka' refers to a specific noun (auto), while 'mikä' refers to whole sentences or superlatives.

  • Using the wrong case for the question word.

    Mikä sinä olet kiinnostunut?
    Mistä olet kiinnostunut?

    The verb 'kiinnostua' requires the elative case (-sta), so 'mikä' must change to 'mistä'.

How It Connects

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mikä (kysymyssana)Level 1What (Mikä)

Learn This First

To use 'mikä' effectively, you need to understand the basic 'to be' verb (olla) for simple questions and the partitive case, as 'mikä' frequently shifts to 'mitä' depending on the verb being used.

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mikämikä