# kuka
## Finnish
### Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *ku, from Proto-Uralic *ku- ~ *ko-. The nominative and genitive singular forms, which would have otherwise been monosyllabic, have been extended with -ka (as with joka and mikä). Cognate with Estonian kumb (“which”), Erzya кона (kona, “which”), кода (koda, “how”), Hungarian hol (“where”), Forest Enets [script needed] (hōke, “which one”), Nganasan [script needed] (kuninu, “where”), and Kamassian [script needed] (kāmǝ̑n, “if”).
Inflected forms in modern Finnish are suppletive, deriving from a merger with ken (see the inflection section).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈkukɑ/, [ˈkukɑ̝]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ukɑ
* Hyphenation: ku‧ka

### Pronoun

kuka
* (interrogative) who
    Kuka on ovella?Who is at the door?
* (relative) who (as an 'independent' relative pronoun; see the usage notes)
    En tiedä kuka sen teki.I don't know who did it.
* (relative, dialectal) who
    Synonyms: joka, mikä

#### Usage notes

* The singular forms are sometimes used colloquially instead of the actual plural forms. ketä is particularly common for keitä. In some dialects, ketä is used as the nominative singular form in place of kuka.
* kuka is only used as an 'independent' relative pronoun in standard Finnish. It is used for persons, while mikä is used otherwise. See the usage notes of mikä for more on this usage (#4). Outside of this usage (e.g. when attached to a demonstrative pronoun like se), kuka is used as a relative pronoun only in dialects, and joka or mikä is used instead.
* kuka may behave as an indefinite pronoun with an additional word like ikinä, hyvänsä, tahansa (after kuka), or vaikka (before kuka). Some relative uses may also be indefinite:
    Oli kuka oli. (dismissive nuance)Whoever it was.(literally, “[It] was who [it] was.”)

#### Inflection

* In modern Finnish, forms based on the stem form ke- or kene- are the usual inflected forms of the interrogative personal pronoun. Inflected forms based on the stem ku- are now archaic and somewhat poetic, even though the nominative singular kuka is modern. Conversely, the alternative nominative form ken is now archaic or poetic.
** Thus, kuta sinä rakastat?, while standard, would to a modern speaker appear roughly as archaic as "Whom dost thou love?"
* The illative, adessive, ablative and allative singular cases have alternative forms of equal value; both forms are commonly used. Thus, keneen ~ kehen, kenellä ~ kellä, kenelle ~ kelle and keneltä ~ keltä exist in free variation. Some speakers may consider the former forms to be somewhat more formal, but no such prescription exists.
* As with personal pronouns, a special accusative form exists: kenet (compare minut, sinut, etc.).
* Some cases of kuka/ken are hardly used at all. The inflection table below shows the archaic or otherwise rarely used forms in brackets.
* The instructive plural kuin(ka)*, the instructive singular kun* and the causative singular kuten* (with the dated, archaic form kutenka*) are used as adverbs with completely different meanings from “who”.
* In the inflection table below, poetic and/or archaic forms are shown in brackets and modern usage without brackets.
Declension of kuka
noun case
singular
pluraladverbial form
singular
plural
nominative
kuka (ken)
(kutka) ketkäsuperessive
genitive
(kunka) kenen
(kuiden) keiden (kuitten) keittendelative
partitive
(kuta) ketä
(kuita) keitäsublative
accusative
(kunka) kenet
(kutka) ketkälative
inessive
(kussa) kenessä
(kuissa) keissätemporal
(kulloin)
elative
(kusta) kenestä
(kuista) keistäcausative
(kuten*, kutenka*)
illative
(kuhun) keneen, kehen
(kuihin) keihinmultiplicative
adessive
(kulla) kenellä, kellä
(kuilla) keillädistributive
ablative
(kulta) keneltä, keltä
(kuilta) keiltätemp. dist.
allative
(kulle) kenelle, kelle
(kuille) keilleprolative
essive
(kuna) kenenä, kenä
(kuina) keinäsituative
translative
(kuksi) keneksi
(kuiksi) keiksioppositive
abessive
(kutta) kenettä
(kuitta) keittä
instructive
(kun*)
(kuin, kuinka*) (—)
comitative

#### Synonyms

* ken (see the inflection section above)

#### Derived terms

* kuhunka
* kuitenkaan
* kuitenkin
* kukaan
* kukin
* kulloin
* kumpi
* kunne
* kuten
* kutenka
* ei-kenenkään-maa
* kukaties
* kutakuinkin

#### Related terms

* joku
* jompikumpi
* kukaan
* kukaties
* kukin
* kumpi
* kumpikaan
* kumpikin

### See also

* kukapa tietää?

### Further reading

* “kuka”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

### Anagrams

* akku

## Hawaiian
### Etymology

From English coat.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈku.ka/, [ˈku.kə]

### Noun

kuka
* coat

## Hungarian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈkukɒ]
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: ku‧ka
* Rhymes: -kɒ

### Etymology 1

Uncertain; perhaps an Italian loan word, compare Northern Italian cuco (“goofy”).

#### Adjective

kuka
* dumb (as a fish), tongue-tied (not saying a word)

##### Derived terms

* Kuka (Dopey, one of the Seven Dwarfs)

### Etymology 2

Via Czech, from German KUKA, short for Keller und Knappich Augsburg, a German firm which manufactured and supplied orange refuse collection vehicles. Today the company KUKA produces industrial robots and automation technologies.

#### Noun

kuka (plural kukák)
* garbage can, trash can, refuse bin (especially an outdoor container)
    Coordinate terms: szemetes, szemetesvödör, szemétkosár, szemetesláda, szemétláda

##### Declension
### Further reading

* (dumb): kuka in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
* (garbage can): kuka in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
* (wooden hook used for drying tobacco): kuka in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

## Ingrian
### Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *kuka, from Proto-Uralic *ku-. Cognates with Finnish kuka (“who”).
The inflected forms derive from Proto-Finnic *ku.

### Pronunciation

* (Ala-Laukaa) IPA: /ˈkukɑ/, [ˈkukɑ]
* (Soikkola) IPA: /ˈkukɑ/, [ˈkuɡ̊ɑ]
* Rhymes: -ukɑ
* Hyphenation: ku‧ka

### Pronoun

kuka
* which? (of many)

#### Derived terms

* kukkaa
* kunne

### References

* Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 212

## Mwani
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gɪ̀a.

### Verb

kuka
* to go

## Pitjantjatjara
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈkʊkɐ]

### Noun

kuka
* edible animal
* meat

#### Derived terms

* kukaku ananyi (“to hunt”)
* kukaputju (“hunter”)
* kukanypa (“marked man, target”)

## Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈku.ka/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -uka
* Syllabification: ku‧ka

### Verb

kuka
* third-person singular present of kukać

## Quechua
### Etymology

Perhaps from Aymara.

### Noun

kuka
* coca

#### Declension

ñuqap - first-person singular
ñuqap (my)
singular
plural
nominative
kukay
kukaykuna
accusative
kukayta
kukaykunata
dative
kukayman
kukaykunaman
genitive
kukaypa
kukaykunap
locative
kukaypi
kukaykunapi
terminative
kukaykama
kukaykunakama
ablative
kukaymanta
kukaykunamanta
instrumental
kukaywan
kukaykunawan
comitative
kukaynintin
kukaykunantin
abessive
kukayninnaq
kukaykunannaq
comparative
kukayhina
kukaykunahina
causative
kukayrayku
kukaykunarayku
benefactive
kukaypaq
kukaykunapaq
associative
kukaypura
kukaykunapura
distributive
kukayninka
kukaykunanka
exclusive
kukaylla
kukaykunalla
qampa - second-person singular
qampa (your)
singular
plural
nominative
kukayki
kukaykikuna
accusative
kukaykita
kukaykikunata
dative
kukaykiman
kukaykikunaman
genitive
kukaykipa
kukaykikunap
locative
kukaykipi
kukaykikunapi
terminative
kukaykikama
kukaykikunakama
ablative
kukaykimanta
kukaykikunamanta
instrumental
kukaykiwan
kukaykikunawan
comitative
kukaykintin
kukaykikunantin
abessive
kukaykinnaq
kukaykikunannaq
comparative
kukaykihina
kukaykikunahina
causative
kukaykirayku
kukaykikunarayku
benefactive
kukaykipaq
kukaykikunapaq
associative
kukaykipura
kukaykikunapura
distributive
kukaykinka
kukaykikunanka
exclusive
kukaykilla
kukaykikunalla
paypa - third-person singular
paypa (his/her/its)
singular
plural
nominative
kukan
kukankuna
accusative
kukanta
kukankunata
dative
kukanman
kukankunaman
genitive
kukanpa
kukankunap
locative
kukanpi
kukankunapi
terminative
kukankama
kukankunakama
ablative
kukanmanta
kukankunamanta
instrumental
kukanwan
kukankunawan
comitative
kukanintin
kukankunantin
abessive
kukanninnaq
kukankunannaq
comparative
kukanhina
kukankunahina
causative
kukanrayku
kukankunarayku
benefactive
kukanpaq
kukankunapaq
associative
kukanpura
kukankunapura
distributive
kukaninka
kukankunanka
exclusive
kukanlla
kukankunalla
ñuqanchikpa - first-person inclusive plural
ñuqanchikpa (our(incl))
singular
plural
nominative
kukanchik
kukanchikkuna
accusative
kukanchikta
kukanchikkunata
dative
kukanchikman
kukanchikkunaman
genitive
kukanchikpa
kukanchikkunap
locative
kukanchikpi
kukanchikkunapi
terminative
kukanchikkama
kukanchikkunakama
ablative
kukanchikmanta
kukanchikkunamanta
instrumental
kukanchikwan
kukanchikkunawan
comitative
kukanchiknintin
kukanchikkunantin
abessive
kukanchikninnaq
kukanchikkunannaq
comparative
kukanchikhina
kukanchikkunahina
causative
kukanchikrayku
kukanchikkunarayku
benefactive
kukanchikpaq
kukanchikkunapaq
associative
kukanchikpura
kukanchikkunapura
distributive
kukanchikninka
kukanchikkunanka
exclusive
kukanchiklla
kukanchikkunalla
ñuqaykup - first-person exclusive plural
ñuqaykup (our(excl))
singular
plural
nominative
kukayku
kukaykukuna
accusative
kukaykuta
kukaykukunata
dative
kukaykuman
kukaykukunaman
genitive
kukaykupa
kukaykukunap
locative
kukaykupi
kukaykukunapi
terminative
kukaykukama
kukaykukunakama
ablative
kukaykumanta
kukaykukunamanta
instrumental
kukaykuwan
kukaykukunawan
comitative
kukaykuntin
kukaykukunantin
abessive
kukaykunnaq
kukaykukunannaq
comparative
kukaykuhina
kukaykukunahina
causative
kukaykurayku
kukaykukunarayku
benefactive
kukaykupaq
kukaykukunapaq
associative
kukaykupura
kukaykukunapura
distributive
kukaykunka
kukaykukunanka
exclusive
kukaykulla
kukaykukunalla
qamkunap - second-person plural
qamkunap (your(pl))
singular
plural
nominative
kukaykichik
kukaykichikkuna
accusative
kukaykichikta
kukaykichikkunata
dative
kukaykichikman
kukaykichikkunaman
genitive
kukaykichikpa
kukaykichikkunap
locative
kukaykichikpi
kukaykichikkunapi
terminative
kukaykichikkama
kukaykichikkunakama
ablative
kukaykichikmanta
kukaykichikkunamanta
instrumental
kukaykichikwan
kukaykichikkunawan
comitative
kukaykichiknintin
kukaykichikkunantin
abessive
kukaykichikninnaq
kukaykichikkunannaq
comparative
kukaykichikhina
kukaykichikkunahina
causative
kukaykichikrayku
kukaykichikkunarayku
benefactive
kukaykichikpaq
kukaykichikkunapaq
associative
kukaykichikpura
kukaykichikkunapura
distributive
kukaykichikninka
kukaykichikkunanka
exclusive
kukaykichiklla
kukaykichikkunalla
paykunap - third-person plural
paykunap (their)
singular
plural
nominative
kukanku
kukankukuna
accusative
kukankuta
kukankukunata
dative
kukankuman
kukankukunaman
genitive
kukankupa
kukankukunap
locative
kukankupi
kukankukunapi
terminative
kukankukama
kukankukunakama
ablative
kukankumanta
kukankukunamanta
instrumental
kukankuwan
kukankukunawan
comitative
kukankuntin
kukankukunantin
abessive
kukankunnaq
kukankukunannaq
comparative
kukankuhina
kukankukunahina
causative
kukankurayku
kukankukunarayku
benefactive
kukankupaq
kukankukunapaq
associative
kukankupura
kukankukunapura
distributive
kukankunka
kukankukunanka
exclusive
kukankulla
kukankukunalla :

#### Derived terms

* kuka allpa (“cocaine”)

#### Descendants

* → Spanish: coca
** → English: coca
*** → Chinese: 古柯 (gǔkē)

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kuka (“hook, hook-shaped”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kûka/
* Hyphenation: ku‧ka

#### Noun

kȕka f (Cyrillic spelling ку̏ка)
* hook

##### Declension
#### Further reading

* “kuka”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kûka/
* Hyphenation: ku‧ka

#### Noun

kȕka f (Cyrillic spelling ку̏ка)
* Mediterranean slipper lobster (Scyllarides latus)

##### Declension
#### Further reading

* “kuka”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

### Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Noun

kuka (Cyrillic spelling кука)
* genitive singular of kuk

## Swedish
### Verb

kuka (present kukar, preterite kukade, supine kukat, imperative kuka)
* Only used in kuka ur

## Tok Pisin
### Noun

kuka
* crab

## Tokelauan
### Etymology

Borrowed from English cook.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈku.ka]
* Hyphenation: ku‧ka

### Noun

kuka
* cook, chef
* cooked food

### Verb

kuka
* (transitive) to cook

#### Derived terms

* umukuka

### References

* R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎, Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 168

## Yosondúa Mixtec
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Noun

kuka
* comb

#### Derived terms

* chuꞌun kuka

### References

* Beaty de Farris, Kathryn, et al. (2012) Diccionario básico del mixteco de Yosondúa, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 46)‎ (in Spanish), third edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 40