Keskivertoinen

Keskivertoinen is a Finnish adjective meaning average, typical, or representative of the middle of a distribution. It is used to describe people, objects, or measurements that are not exceptional but common within a group. For example, one might refer to a “keskivertoinen suomalainen” or a “keskivertoinen hinnan taso.” The nuance is that keskivertoinen emphasizes typicality rather than a precise statistical mean, which is more closely associated with the term keskimääräinen.

The word is formed from the noun keskiverto, meaning the average or standard value, with the adjectival suffix -inen. Keskiverto itself derives from the idea of a value lying in the middle. Keskivertoinen is thus a standard Finnish term found in both written and spoken language, including journalism, reports, and essays.

In usage, keskivertoinen contrasts with keskimääräinen, which stresses a numerical mean, and with tavallinen, which conveys ordinariness without the specific sense of being representative of a population. Keskivertoinen can describe attributes such as income, height, opinions, or behavior that align with what is typical for a group, rather than extremes on either end of the spectrum.

In sum, keskivertoinen denotes the ordinary, middle-of-the-road character of a person or thing, conveying that it is characteristic of the majority rather than exceptional.