Pehmentyä

Pehmentyä is a Finnish intransitive verb meaning to become soft or to soften, describing a change of state rather than an action performed on something. It is used for literal softening of materials—such as leather, wood, or bread—as well as for figurative softening of attitudes, moods, or atmospheres.

The word derives from the adjective pehmeä (soft) with the suffix -nty-, which marks a process or state, together with the infinitive marker -ä. As a result, pehmentyä expresses the transition into a softer condition. The related transitive verb pehmentää means “to soften something,” while pehmeneminen or pehmentyminen denotes the process of softening.

Usage notes: pehmentyä typically takes a subject in the nominative and describes a change of state rather than an external action. It can occur through natural processes like moisture or heat, or gradually over time, and it is common in both concrete and abstract contexts. Esimerkki: Nahka pehmeni kosteuden vaikutuksesta. (The leather became softer due to moisture.) Esimerkki: Hänen asenteensa pehmeni. (His attitude softened.)

Noun forms related to the concept include pehmeneminen or pehmentyminen, referring to the process of becoming soft. Related terms include the verb pehmentää (to soften something) and the adjective pehmeä (soft).