Epäselvien

Epäselvien is the genitive plural of the Finnish adjective epäselvä, meaning unclear or ambiguous. In Finnish grammar, adjectives inflect to agree with the nouns they modify; the form epäselvien is used with plural nouns in the genitive case, translating roughly as “of the unclear [things]” or “the unclear ones.”

Etymology and meaning: The word is built from epä- (negation) and selvä (clear). Epäselvä describes something that lacks clarity or precision, and epäselvien conveys this lack of clarity when referring to multiple items or aspects in a genitive construction. The form is common in written and formal Finnish where ambiguity or lack of clarity is being analyzed or described.

Usage: The form appears predominantly in written Finnish, especially in analytical or formal prose. It is used when discussing ambiguity at a higher level and often accompanies nouns in genitive to denote unclear aspects of statements, rules, or documents. Examples include: epäselvien asioiden ratkaiseminen (solving unclear matters); epäselvien ohjeiden tulkinta (interpretation of unclear instructions); epäselvien lausuntojen tulkinnat (interpretations of unclear statements). The construction can also occur with phrases like epäselvien kohtien selvittäminen (clarifying unclear points).

Related terms and notes: Epäselvyys (ambiguity or lack of clarity) is the corresponding noun form. Epäselvä contrasts with words like selvä (clear) and kiistaton (undisputed). In grammar, epäselvien appears as a typical genitive plural form of an adjective used attributively to describe a set of unclear items.

See also: Finnish grammar of adjectives, epäselvyys, selkeys.