Questions & Answers about Hänkin on samaa mieltä.
How does the -kin ending work in hänkin?
The ending -kin means "also" or "too". In Finnish, instead of using a separate word for "also", you attach -kin directly to the word it emphasizes. Here, attaching it to hän creates hänkin, meaning "he also" (as in, someone else agrees, and he does too).
Could I attach -kin to the verb instead, like hän onkin samaa mieltä?
You could, but it completely changes the meaning! The -kin particle highlights the exact word it is glued to. While hänkin on means "he also is" (adding another person to the group who agrees), saying hän onkin emphasizes the verb. It often expresses surprise, meaning something like "Actually, he does agree after all."
Why is "agrees" translated as three words: on samaa mieltä?
Finnish doesn't have a common, single verb that simply means "to agree". Instead, you use the idiom olla samaa mieltä, which literally means "to be of the same mind" or "to be of the same opinion". Since hän (he) is the subject, the verb olla becomes on.
Why do samaa and mieltä both have partitive case endings (-a and -tä)?