Puolituntinen

Puolituntinen is a Finnish noun that designates a half-hour interval, typically a period of about thirty minutes. The word is formed by combining puoli, meaning half, with -tuntinen, a suffix related to tunti (hour) that is used to indicate a small time unit. In everyday Finnish, puolituntinen is used to describe a short, approximately 30-minute block of time, for example in schedules, meetings, or media notes.

Etymology and form: The term is built from puoli and tuntinen, reflecting a common Finnish pattern of creating time-unit nouns with the -inen suffix. This construction emphasizes a rough, non-precise duration rather than an exact measurement. The core meaning aligns with other Finnish expressions for roughly half an hour.

Usage and nuance: Puolituntinen conveys a conversational or semi-formal sense of duration. In more formal or precise contexts, speakers may prefer puoli tuntia or puolentunti, or specify the exact duration numerically (for example, kolmekymmentä minuuttia). The choice among these forms can depend on register, emphasis, and syntactic construction.

Related terms: Common alternatives include puoli tuntia meaning “half an hour,” puolentunti used in certain grammatical contexts, and simply kolmekymmentä minuuttia for a precise half hour. Regional or personal stylistic variation may influence preference.

See also: Finnish time expressions, tunti, tuntia, puoli.