Eipääasiassa

Eipääasiassa is a nonstandard or colloquial Finnish expression that attempts to negate the sense of pääasiassa (mainly, for the most part). The standard form, widely accepted in Finnish writing, is ei pääasiassa, written as two separate words. The construction combines the negation particle ei with the adverb pääasiassa, yielding the sense “not mainly” or “not in general.” It is used to qualify a claim by restricting its scope, indicating that something may be true only in limited circumstances or to a lesser degree.

In standard usage, the phrase serves to push back against broad generalizations. For example, ei pääasiassa totta can be used to say that a statement is not largely true, though certain aspects may be correct. The form eipääasiassa (without a space) is not considered standard Finnish and is mainly found in informal writing, social media, or typographical errors.

Despite occasional appearances in informal text, most writers should prefer ei pääasiassa or alternative constructions to avoid nonstandard spelling. When nuance is needed, one can also use phrases such as ei suurin piirtein to express a similar idea, or phrase the sentence to emphasize partial accuracy (for example, “se on totta vain osittain” – it is true only partly).

See also: pääasiassa, ei, Finnish negation, linguistic usage.