eiköhän

Finnish

Etymology

eikö (indicating a negative question) +‎ -hän (indicating uncertainty)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈei̯køhæn/, [ˈe̞i̯k̟ø̞ɦæn]
• Rhymes: -eikøhæn
• Hyphenation^(key): ei‧kö‧hän

Adverb

eiköhän

1. Indicates that the speaker expects something to be the case.

   Etköhän jo ymmärtänyt sen.

   You should have already understood it.

   Eiköhän tämä riitä tältä erää.

   This ought to be enough for now.

2. Indicates that the speaker thinks the following proposition is possible or desirable, a bit like in the English expression "how about..." or "why don't we...".

   Eiköhän mennä jonnekin syömään? --Eiköhän se onnistu.

   Let's go somewhere to eat. --I don't see why it would not be possible.

3. Indicates hesitation.

   Kuinka monta olutta joit? -Eiköhän se ollut kahdeksan.

   How many beers did you drink? -I'd believe I had eight.

   Ketä on pidetty vankina Elballa ja St. Helenalla? --Eiköhän se ole Napoleon?

   Who has been held prisoner on Elba and on St. Helena? --It's Napoleon, isn't it?

Usage notes

As can be seen from the examples, there's no one English translation for eiköhän. The translation depends very much on the idea the speaker wants to convey.

Inflection

person	indicative mood
1st sing.	enköhän
2nd sing.	etköhän
3rd sing.	eiköhän
1st plur.	emmeköhän
2nd plur.	etteköhän
3rd plur.	eivätköhän