Epäreilulta

Epäreilulta is the adessive singular form of the Finnish adjective epäreilu, meaning unfair. In Finnish grammar, adjectives decline for case and number, and in predicative contexts they can take the adessive ending -ltä to express the manner in which something is experienced or judged. The form epäreilulta is therefore used after verbs of perception or evaluation, such as tuntuu (feels), kuulostaa (sounds), or näyttää (appears), to convey “feels unfair,” “sounds unfair,” or “appears unfair.” For example: Se tuntuu epäreilulta. Tilanne kuulostaa epäreilulta. Näyttää epäreilulta.

Usage notes: epäreilulta describes subjective impressions of unfairness rather than an objective statement about fairness. The corresponding adverb meaning “unfairly” is epäreilusti, used to describe actions, for example: Hän kohteli minua epäreilusti.

Etymology and related forms: epäreilu is formed from epä- (negation) + reilu (fair). The noun form is epäreiluus, meaning “unfairness.” Related terms include oikeudenmukainen (just) and epäoikeudenmukainen (unjust). Epäreilulta, like other adessive adjective forms, tends to appear in writing and in formal or evaluative contexts, while epäreilusti is the common everyday adverb for describing manner of actions.

In summary, epäreilulta is a grammatically specific way to express “unfair” in a perceptual or evaluative sense, typically following verbs such as tuntuu or kuulostaa, and it contrasts with the adverbial form epäreilusti used to describe actions performed unfairly.