Kummempi

Kummempi is a nonstandard or informal comparative form of the Finnish adjective kummallinen, which means strange, peculiar, or eerie. In standard Finnish, the normal comparative form of kummallinen is kummallisempi. Kummempi may be encountered in casual speech or online writing, but it is not recognized as correct in formal language.

Origins and usage

Kummallinen forms a comparative with a suffix pattern that in everyday speech can produce variants such as kummellisempi in standard usage. The form kummempi is generally considered a colloquial or erroneous contraction rather than a formal or prescribed variant. Its appearance is more common in informal discourse, limited dialectal contexts, or humorous writing, where speakers play with language for effect.

Grammatical notes

For most purposes, Finnish learners and writers should prefer kummallisempi when making a direct comparison of peculiarity or strangeness. Kummempi should be avoided in formal texts, academic writing, and standard journalism. When illustrating the distinction, it is common to point out the normative form kummallisempi and note that kummempi represents nonstandard usage.

Examples

Standard: Tämä tarina oli kummallisempi kuin edellinen. Nonstandard/informal: Tämä tarina oli kummempi kuin edellinen (kolokiallinen tai virheellinen variant). The nonstandard form is not widely accepted outside casual speech and may be flagged by editors as incorrect.

See also

Finnish adjectives, comparative forms, kummallinen.