Breakdown of Millainen kissa on? Se on lihava.
olla
to be
kissa
cat
millainen
what kind of
lihava
fat (of a person or animal)
Questions & Answers about Millainen kissa on? Se on lihava.
Why use millainen instead of mikä here?
If you asked Mikä kissa on?, you would be asking 'What is a cat?' (looking for a dictionary definition of the animal). By using millainen, you are asking 'What kind of cat is it?' or 'What is the cat like?', which specifically asks for a description of its qualities.
Can I use minkälainen in this sentence instead?
Yes, you can say Minkälainen kissa on? and it means exactly the same thing. Millainen and minkälainen are completely interchangeable interrogative adjectives meaning 'what kind of'.
Why doesn't the adjective lihava have a partitive ending here?
Because kissa is a singular, countable noun. When describing a singular, countable subject with the verb olla (to be), the adjective stays in the basic nominative case (lihava). You only use the partitive case for the adjective when describing uncountable mass nouns (like vesi on kylmää, meaning 'the water is cold').
Why does the question end with the verb on?
In Finnish questions that start with a question word like millainen, the standard word order is Question Word + Subject + Verb. Therefore, we say Millainen kissa on? rather than putting the verb before the subject like we do in English.
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