neekeri

Until the second half of the 19th century, direct loan without adaptation of Swedish neger, at least in writing, which rarely happens in Finnish. Since Finns cannot pronounce /g/ and automatically replace it with /k/ and automatically add /i/ in speaking to foreign words ending in a consonant, the form neekeri was no doubt almost immediately used in speaking, long before it was used in writing. The Swedish word came from French nègre.

neekeri

1. (decreasingly common as a neutral term) a negro, a person of African descent
2. (derogatory, offensive) a nigger, a person with dark brown skin
3. (dated) journalist
4. (usually humorous) a person who performs hard or menial work

   Kukahan neekeri me saadaan tekemään se?

   "Who's the negro you think we will get to do it?"

Originally non-pejorative, but more and more often used in a pejorative manner.

The humorousness of the third case is often interpreted by the person in question, so extreme care must be observed.

• musta
• mustaihoinen
• tummaihoinen