Question 1

How does minkä kokoinen translate to "what size", and why is mikä in the genitive?

Accepted Answer

Minkä is the genitive form of mikä (what). When paired with kokoinen (sized), it literally translates to "of what size". This is the standard way to describe or ask about the size, age, or appearance of something in Finnish: you use the genitive of the pronoun or noun to modify the adjective.

Question 2

Is it correct to write minkä kokoinen as two words, or should it be one compound word?

Accepted Answer

Both are correct! You will frequently see it written together as a single compound word: minkäkokoinen. Writing it as two separate words (minkä kokoinen) is also perfectly fine and makes it easier to spot the genitive modifier.

Question 3

Why does the sentence end with matkalaukku on instead of on matkalaukku like a normal question?

Accepted Answer

The second half of the sentence (minkä kokoinen matkalaukku on) is an indirect question. Just like in English ("checks what size the suitcase is"), Finnish indirect questions keep a standard subject-verb word order. A direct question standing alone would put the verb first: Minkä kokoinen on matkalaukku?

Question 4

What case is rajatarkastuksessa and what is its root word?

Accepted Answer

It is in the inessive case (-ssa), meaning "in" or "at". The root word is the compound rajatarkastus, which is made of raja (border) and tarkastus (check or inspection). Putting it in the inessive case tells us the action happens at the border control.

Rajatarkastuksessa poliisi tarkistaa, minkä kokoinen matkalaukku on.

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