eiköhän
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
eikö (indicating a negative question) + -hän (indicating uncertainty)
Pronunciation
Adverb
eiköhän
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 |
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