heidän

See also: heidan

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhei̯dæn/, [ˈhe̞i̯dæn]
• Rhymes: -eidæn
• Syllabification: hei‧dän

Etymology 1

Genitive form of he ("they").

Pronoun

heidän

1. their — only of human beings; used with the possessive suffix -nsa/-nsä appended to the main word owned.

   Heidän äitinsä on 45-vuotias.

   Their mother is 45 years old.

2. theirs (that which belongs to them, used without a following noun)

   Tämä kirja on heidän.

   This book is theirs.

3. they — only of human beings; used with monopersonal verbs which require genitive such as pitää, täytyä, tulla, olla + passive present participle etc.

   Heidän pitää/täytyy/tulee tehdä / on tehtävä tämä nyt.

   They have to do this now.

Usage notes

• In spoken language the possessive suffix -nsa/-nsä is often omitted.
• In spoken language often replaced by niiden (“their, theirs”).

Etymology 2

From he with the accusative marker -n.

Pronoun

heidän

1. (dialectal, dated) Accusative form of he.

   Synonym: heidät

Anagrams

• häiden