Appendix:Finnish declension

This page is intended to give an overview of the declension (nominal inflection) types in Finnish, and to help editors find the right declension table template.

The numbering system is based on the Kotus numbering.

Kotus numbering
Kotimaisten kielten keskus (Kotus, officially translated as Institute for the Languages of Finland) lists 51 declension types for Finnish nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and numerals, as listed below.

Some types are far more common than others, as indicated by the Wiktionary entry counts.

The genitive plural suffix can always be replaced by the alternative form. To reduce clutter, this table does not show the form.

Consonant gradation
The possible asterisk and letter after a number represent a consonant gradation class. See Appendix:Finnish consonant gradation.

Tree of declension types

 * Ending in, , , ,
 * 2 syllables
 * Ending in, , , : (Category:Finnish valo-type nominals)
 * Ending in : (Category:Finnish nalle-type nominals)
 * 3+ syllables
 * Normal: (Category:Finnish palvelu-type nominals)
 * Ending in vowel +, , : (Category:Finnish valtio-type nominals)
 * Ending in long consonant +, : (Category:Finnish laatikko-type nominals)
 * Ending in
 * 2 syllables: (Category:Finnish risti-type nominals)
 * 3+ syllables: (Category:Finnish paperi-type nominals)
 * Ending in ,
 * Plural in ,
 * Genitive plural in, : (Category:Finnish kala-type nominals)
 * Genitive plural in, : (Category:Finnish kulkija-type nominals)
 * Genitive plural in, or ,
 * No gradation: (Category:Finnish katiska-type nominals)
 * Quantitative gradation: (Category:Finnish solakka-type nominals)
 * Plural in
 * Nominative in, : (Category:Finnish koira-type nominals)
 * Nominative in : (Category:Finnish vanhempi-type nominals)
 * Nominative in
 * Ending in ,
 * Rare genitive plural in : (Category:Finnish onneton-type nominals)
 * Rare genitive plural in : (Category:Finnish lämmin-type nominals)
 * Ending in ,
 * Partitive singular in, : (Category:Finnish sisin-type nominals)
 * Partitive singular in or :  (Category:Finnish vasen-type nominals)
 * Plural in or, :  (Category:Finnish omena-type nominals)
 * Plural in : (Category:Finnish korkea-type nominals)
 * Ending in (nominative not in )
 * Nominative in
 * in partitive: (Category:Finnish ovi-type nominals)
 * Syncope of in partitive
 * Ending in, , , ,
 * Genitive plural in : (Category:Finnish tiili-type nominals)
 * Genitive plural in or :  (Category:Finnish uni-type nominals)
 * Genitive plural in or :  (Category:Finnish pieni-type nominals)
 * Ending in : (Category:Finnish toimi-type nominals)
 * Ending in
 * Ending in : (Category:Finnish kaksi-type nominals)
 * Ending in, , : (Category:Finnish kynsi-type nominals)
 * Other: (Category:Finnish käsi-type nominals)
 * Ending in
 * Ending in, : (Category:Finnish lapsi-type nominals)
 * Ending in : (Category:Finnish veitsi-type nominals)
 * Nominative in consonant or
 * Ending in, , : (Category:Finnish sisar-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish kytkin-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish nainen-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish vastaus-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish kalleus-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish mies-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish kahdeksas-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish tuhat-type nominals)
 * Loss of final consonant between vowels (+ possible vowel coalescence)
 * Nominative ending in : (Category:Finnish vieras-type nominals)
 * Nominative ending in
 * Ending in /, /: (Category:Finnish kuollut-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish ohut-type nominals)
 * Ending in /: (Category:Finnish kevät-type nominals)
 * Nominative ending in : (Category:Finnish hame-type nominals)
 * Ending in long vowel or diphthong
 * 1 syllable
 * Ending in long vowel or i: (Category:Finnish maa-type nominals)
 * Ending in opening diphthong : (Category:Finnish suo-type nominals)
 * 2+ syllables
 * Most native words; illative singular in : (Category:Finnish vapaa-type nominals)
 * Most loanwords; illative singular in or :  (Category:Finnish filee-type nominals)
 * Foreign spellings
 * Last letter is a vowel: (Category:Finnish rosé-type nominals)
 * Last letter is a silent consonant: (Category:Finnish parfait-type nominals)

NSK to Kotus table
The table below maps NSK (Nykysuomen sanakirja) declension types to Kotus declension types.