Hädässä

Hädässä is the inessiivinen form of the Finnish noun hätä, which means distress, danger, or need. The word describes a state in which someone or something is experiencing trouble and may require help or support. It is used in both literal and figurative contexts to indicate hardship, peril, or difficulty.

Usage and nuance: Hädässä can refer to immediate physical danger as well as broader problems such as economic or social distress. It is commonly used with the verb olla (to be), as in Hän on hädässä (He/She is in distress) or Talous on hädässä (The economy is in distress). In literary or journalistic writing, hädässä conveys hardship or suffering beyond a single urgent incident, and it appears in phrases and compound terms related to emergency or hardship.

Grammar and related forms: Hädässä is formed by adding the inessiivinen suffix -ssä to the root hätä. The form signals a state “in” something, here “in distress.” The term is part of everyday Finnish vocabulary and appears across media, education, and discourse when describing vulnerability or need.

Related terms and synonyms: Hätä (distress, emergency) is the base noun. Related expressions include hätätila (emergency situation) and common synonyms for being in trouble, such as pulassa or vaikeuksissa, depending on nuance and register.

See also: hätä, hätätila, pulassa, vaikeuksissa.